Getty D.J. Augustin, Rockets
With the retooling of the roster that took place in the NBA offseason, from bringing in star point guard Kyle Lowry to adding tough-minded veterans like P.J. Tucker and Markieff Morris, the Miami Heat have mostly checked all the boxes on the team’s wish list. But if there is one exception, it is backup point guard and the good news for the Heat is that the team will likely be in position to fill that gap should it decide to make an in-season swap.
DJ Augustin with the 3⃣
@augustinDj14 TONIGHT vs TWolves
20 MINUTES
13 POINTS
4-5 FIELD GOALS
4 ASSISTS
2 REBOUNDS
@HoustonRockets I #Rockets I AT&T SportsNet
At Bleacher Report, analyst Zack Buckley has an ideal solution for that problem—another veteran, D.J. Augustin, currently with the Rockets. Adding Augustin would take some ballhandling pressure off sixth man Tyler Herro, who has exploded this season into a top-level scorer, but who also serves as the team’s second-unit point guard. Herro is more naturally a shooting guard.
Wrote Buckley:
Augustin might be up for the task, though, and the 34-year-old could even get some extra pep in his step by having a contender graciously end his run with the Rockets. He can run a second-team attack, but he doesn’t need to play on the basketball, so Miami could still let Herro dominate as many possessions as he wants. Augustin’s experience and trusty three ball (career 38%) could prove invaluable for Herro’s ongoing development.
Augustin Stuck on Rebuilding Rockets
Augustin does make a lot of sense for the Heat—certainly more sense than he makes on the rebuilding Rockets, who are 1-11 and playing for as high a draft pick as possible.
Augustin, a 14-year-veteran, is averaging 11.2 minutes per game, scoring 4.2 points per game, but he is making 47.8% of his 3-pointers thus far. He’s surely hungry for a shot at a championship, having signed with Milwaukee in the 2020 offseason before being traded to the Rockets at the trade deadline in the Bucks’ deal for Tucker.
Tucker went on to help the Bucks to a championship, while Augustin toils in Houston.
Eric Gordon and Dj Augustin on this young rockets team:
Augustin is set to make $7 million this year, which makes it difficult for the Heat to bring him in. Miami would have to dump three minimum-level players onto the Rockets to do it, with KZ Okpala and Gabe Vincent being the obvious choices. But the Heat would have to pick a third player among a group it actually uses, or plans to—Victor Oladipo, Max Strus or Dewayne Dedmon. That might be too high a price for Miami.
Heat Could Stand Pat at Point Guard
The Heat could stand pat at backup point guard, with Herro succeeding in that role and Oladipo expected to play at some point this year—though there has been no update as to when. Oladipo, like Herro, is not a pure point guard but can be a serviceable backup at the position. Vincent, whom the Heat hoped would step into the role, does not appear to have impressed the team to this point.
If Vincent is not an option and if it appears that Oladipo’s return is in question, Miami might feel more compelled to address its point-guard depth. Lowry is 35 and prone to nagging injuries, and has already undergone two ankle scares. The Heat does have veteran Brandon Knight playing for its G League team in Sioux Falls, and he could be a break-glass-emergency option.
Augustin would make some sense. But given the difficulty of putting together a package to acquire him, the Heat would have to exhaust other choices first.