Even though the Miami Heat just signed Precious Achiuwa with the hope that he could emerge as a rotation piece in the frontcourt, that’s far from a foregone conclusion. And Heat beat writer Ira Winderman made that pretty clear when he said the quiet part out loud about his situation with the Heat.
Putting it plainly, Winderman said that there are some who are overstating the signing of Achiuwa. After all, Achiuwa was signed to a non-guaranteed veteran’s minimum deal. Winderman notes that a player on a deal like Achiuwa “hardly is the type of contract utilized to inject someone into your primary rotation.”
And if it does, there’s some bigger problems that the team may have on its roster.
Unless something drastically changes, it’s pretty clear that Achiuwa should be viewed as a training camp roster, and a player that may not be anything more than that. I’m sure the Heat have a small glimmer of hope that Achiuwa could rekindle his career during his second stint with the team, but, at the same time, it’s not something that should be expected.
It would be a pleasant surprise, but it’s also not likely.
What does that mean for the Heat’s frontcourt rotation?
If we’re tempering the expectations of the Achiuwa signing, that probably does little to settle the complicated situation that awaits the Heat at the beginning of training camp in the frontcourt.
Beyond Bam Adebayo and Kel’el Ware, the Heat don’t have many other options. Maybe the team truly believes in Vlad Goldin, but that’s unfair expectations to place on an undrafted free-agent signing.
Even if the Heat end up starting both Bam and Ware, Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra is likely going to stagger their minutes throughout their game and play much more small ball than perhaps they should be playing, especially considering their lack of overall shooting.
Nevertheless, especially if a player like Achiuwa doesn’t prove he deserves consistent minutes, it’s the best option forward for the Heat.
That means we should get used to seeing the likes of Nikola Jovic, Simone Fontecchio, Andrew Wiggins, and perhaps even Jaime Jaquez Jr. playing the power forward position next to either Bam or Ware.
The good news is that the Heat does have a solid rotation of rotation-worthy wings on its roster, but the fact that the team is going to be punished for the lack of size again is not something the fans want to see.
