Credit the Miami Heat. No, credit president Pat Riley. He expressed in April that he was sick and tired of the mediocrity and wanted change. Just five months later, Riley, with the help of general manager Andy Elisburg, entirely revamped the Heat roster, starting with the addition of Giannis Antetokounmpo in one of the ground-shaking trades in NBA history.
The Heat has addressed multiple roster concerns, from frontcourt depth to 3-point shooting. The one knock — because there is always that group that stays ready to keep pushing the Heat down — on the team is that it still lacks reliable table-setting around Antetokounmpo. It still needs someone who can not only settle the offense in turbulent times but also erupt for a flurry of scoring to tilt the tide.
No, there is no one out there the Heat can acquire to check those boxes. But there is one player who has freshly hit the open market after being waived by the Memphis Grizzlies.
Miami Heat a Landing Spot for D’Angelo Russell
It sure seems NBA fans haven’t been too high on D’Angelo Russell after that one incident years ago when he was a young player in Los Angeles. But the Heat typically doesn’t care how fans view a certain player. According to Bleacher Report’s Adam Wells, the Heat appears to be the top landing spot for Russell.
“Assuming Russell wants to land with a team that has aspirations of being a playoff contender, potential destinations like the Miami Heat, Charlotte Hornets and Denver Nuggets have a need for depth in their backcourt,” Well wrote. “The Heat are the most obvious potential destination for Russell. Their current point guard depth chart features Davion Mitchell, Dru Smith, Ryan Conwell and Tre Donaldson.”
Russell, 30, has averaged 17 points, 3.3 rebounds and 5.6 assists per game over his 11 seasons. Although he is not the 23-point-per-game star he was for the Golden State Warriors and Minnesota Timberwolves in the 2019-20 season, Russell would provide the Heat with a backcourt archetype that could benefit the team.
“Mitchell is the only true point guard from that group, though Giannis Antetokounmpo figures to get plenty of run as the primary ballhandler for head coach Erik Spoelstra,” Wells wrote. “Given the injury issues Antetokounmpo had last season, the Heat may not want to put a lot on his plate too early in the season. Russell could slot in as the backup for Mitchell in Miami.”
What Could Be Next for Russell
Russell, who was waived by the Grizzlies on Friday, is already eying his next team, according to NBA insider Brett Siegel.
“It shouldn’t shock anyone that the Grizzlies waived D’Angelo Russell,” Siegel wrote in an X post, “who was destined to hit waivers since the moment he was traded to Memphis this offseason. Russell, sources said, wants to join a playoff-contending team.”
The Heat was mentioned as a potential suitor for Russell after it was reported that the Grizzlies were likely to move on from the veteran guard through either a contract buyout or a trade.
Heat insider Ira Winderman believes Miami wouldn’t be making a bad decision if it gave Russell a shot.
“With roster and cap flexibility, (it’s) hard to see why D’Angelo Russell wouldn’t be worth a shot by the Heat,” Winderman wrote on X. “With the Nick Richards and Myron Gardner contracts, there still would be the ability down the road to add a buyout veteran.”
The Heat has one more roster spot available and is said to be interested in adding a veteran guard to shore up the backcourt. Perhaps no player out there fits that description better than Russell.
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