Getty Pat Riley, Miami Heat president
The Miami Heat have been whale hunting this offseason hoping to land that star to play with Jimmy Butler and lift the team over the championship hump. They have been at the forefront of the Kevin Durant deal almost the entire time since he requested to be traded from the Brooklyn Nets. That’s not all though, Miami has also been in pursuit of Donovan Mitchell from the Utah Jazz. Mitchell reportedly has the Heat at the top of his list to go to, but the team has been unable to put together an attractive enough offer to finalize the deal.
One thing you can count on with Pat Riley as the team president of the Miami Heat is that he will have a contingency plan. The Godfather continues to prove that he can assemble teams to compete for titles. His collection of Dion Waiters, Hassan Whiteside, James Johnson and company almost made it to the NBA playoffs. So if Riley can’t get a deal done with Brooklyn or Utah because both are currently looking for historic deals for their stars, fans should always trust in Riley having a quality backup plan.
One possible backup plan for the Heat could be another sharpshooting big man from the Dallas Mavericks.
Heat Could Acquire David Bertans From the Mavericks
On a recent episode of the “Five on the Floor” podcast, co-hosts Greg Sylvander and Alex Toledo discussed potential backup plans for the Heat, and one backup plan named by his league source was the 6’10 big man David Bertans.
“As I trolled around some of the people that I speak to leaguewide, they were like, ‘Hey, that’s a guy you could probably get for Duncan straight up,’” Sylvander said during the show.
Bertans has seen a dip in productivity the last two seasons averaging 5.6 points per game, but his career high was in the 2019-20 NBA season for the Washington Wizards, where he averaged 15.4 points, 4.5 rebounds, and nearly 2 assists per game. Bertans did show flashes in the postseason, including a 15-point game against the Jazz and 12-point (four three-pointers) game versus the Phoenix Suns.
Will the Heat Move Robinson?
Would this be enough for the Heat to deal Robinson? Is Bertans an upgrade from Duncan Robinson? Maybe not. How committed to Robinson are the Heat? He has been actively shopped this offseason and saw his playing time diminish in this year’s postseason. During the season 10.9 points, nearly 3 rebounds, and nearly 2 assists per game. The Heat signed Robinson to a $90 million contract which may be the source of the team’s frustration. Robinson, before poor play at the end of the season and playoffs, was a shining example of Heat Culture and their player development as an undrafted forward.
Perhaps the Heat will look to give Robinson a second chance. The team already has high expectations for its players and is good at giving players clear goals on what they need to improve. If he can increase his consistency and become a better defender, Robinson could return as a major piece of the Heat rotation.