Heat Named Top Landing Spot for Controversial 9-Time All-Star

Russell Westbrook

Getty Russell Westbrook #0 of the Los Angeles Lakers

The Miami Heat spent the summer chasing whales to add via trade. They were listed as potential suitors in the Kevin Durant and Donovan Mitchell trade rumors. They also were said to be interested in signing John Wall before he landed with the Los Angeles Clippers. At one point, they had Kyrie Irving in their sights. They also even reportedly enquired about trading for Dejounte Murray before he was dealt to the Atlanta Hawks. 

However, no deal got done. The Heat were hesitant to include players like Bam Adebayo in their trade discussions, and the team appears to be running it back with the core they had last year. However, one possible addition was listed that the Heat could pull off without giving up much value. That player is Russell Westbrook, who has been on the trade block for the Los Angeles Lakers all summer. 


Russell Westbrook to the Miami Heat? 

With a well-documented history of rehabilitating NBA players’ careers, Miami was listed by one NBA executive to Fox Sports’ Ric Bucher as one of the places that makes the most sense for Westbrook to land if he is dealt from the Lakers. 

“It makes sense,” an Eastern Conference executive told Fox Sports’ Ric Bucher. “Miami believes they can rehabilitate anyone.”

Bucher went on to note why Miami makes sense in his most recent column. 

“Team executives and scouts could only come up with one potential landing spot: the Miami Heat. Team president Pat Riley has a history of cultivating fiery competitive players, from Alonzo Mourning to Brian Grant to Jimmy Butler. He hoped that point guard Kyle Lowry would be the finishing piece to another championship-caliber team last season, but after posting the best record in the East, the team lost to Boston in the conference finals. Lowry, plagued by several nagging injuries, played in only 10 of their 18 postseason contests and was a shell of himself, averaging 7.8 points on 29.1 percent shooting. Depending on how this season goes for the Heat in general and Lowry in particular, Westbrook might be a worthwhile gamble,” Bucher wrote


Heat Rehabilitation Program aka Heat Culture

The rehabilitation that happens in Miami is best known as Heat Culture. Heat Culture is one of the reasons that the Heat made it a priority to re-sign Udonis Haslem for his twentieth NBA season despite appearing in less than 15 games for the Heat last season. Haslem is the heart of Heat Culture and one of the driving forces in carrying that on each year he has been in South Beach. It’s the sacrifice Haslem mentions when he cites his reasons in coming back to Miami for year 20. 

“This ain’t no damn charity case. This is a sacrifice. I’m sacrificing for the next generation.

You know, as the bearer of Heat culture, I take it serious. It’s not a game. It’s not a joke. I know people talk about it. People, they may have this stigma on what it is and what it’s not. But it’s real. It is real. The culture is real. The culture has saved very many guys, not just me.

When you look at these undrafted guys, these guys who were on their way out of the league and people didn’t believe in them and people didn’t give them an opportunity, the culture saved them. That’s why I come back. Because I’ve watched the culture save so many like it saved me,” Haslem shared upon re-signing in Miami. 

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