Getty Jimmy Butler #22 and Victor Oladipo #4 of the Miami Heat
The Miami Heat were unable to lure the Brooklyn Nets into completing a deal for Kevin Durant before the superstar forward rescinded his trade request following a meeting with Nets officials Steve Nash, Sean Marks, and team governors Joe and Clara Wu Tsai. It was announced that all sides operating in Brooklyn have decided to move forward together, thus ending the possibility of Miami to land Durant.
“[Coach] Steve Nash and I, together with [governors] Joe Tsai and Clara Wu Tsai, met with Kevin Durant and Rich Kleiman in Los Angeles yesterday,” Marks said in a statement. “We have agreed to move forward with our partnership. We are focusing on basketball, with one collective goal in mind: build a lasting franchise to bring a championship to Brooklyn.”
However, while the Heat missed out on Durant, they are still getting praise for their offseason. Despite only adding Nikola Jovic via the draft, the Heat re-signed other key players, including Caleb Martin, Dewayne Dedmon, and Victor Oladipo
Oladipo Named Top-Five Underrated Offseason Signing
The Heat re-signing Victor Oladipo to a two-year, $18.2 million deal to stay in Miami was heralded by Bleacher Report’s Greg Swartz to be one of the top-five underrated moves of the NBA offseason.
Oladipo returned from injury to play in eight Heat regular season games before making it into the Heat’s playoff rotation. Oladipo wasn’t back to full form from his injury, but this season the star recently spoke out about returning to his previous All-Star form for the Heat next season.
“I’m one of the best players in the world, period,” he said on The VC Show with Vince Carter. “I think that my injury has kind of built a misconception of who I am as a player. …
“I’m itching just thinking about it. It’s so crazy. It’s like a rebirth. … And being in my 10th year, it feels like I’m in Year 1 all over again, you know what I’m saying? But it’s like a Year 1 with a little bit of experience.”
Last season, Oladipo averaged 12.4 points, 3.5 assists, and nearly 3 rebounds per game in Miami last season and hopes to become another scoring threat off of the Heat bench.
Other Heat Offseason Moves
Oladipo isn’t the only move the Heat have made this season. The franchise just re-signed the bearer of Heat culture, Udonis Haslem. Haslem joins other signings like Martin and Dedmon. Caleb Martin could also be considered an underrated signing for the Heat as the forward has entered the conversation to be the team’s replacement for PJ Tucker at the starting power forward position. Marting also feels like he could slide in and start as well.
“I feel like I can step in and start. It doesn’t matter what the role is and what a team needs from me, I feel like I can fill that void. My game expanded shooting-wise, being more efficient and consistent … I feel like I took big steps and I feel like I’m only going to take larger steps going forward.” Martin continued.
The Heat hope that these underrated signings can make up for not accomplishing a blockbuster move for a player like Durant or Mitchell.