The Miami Heat will try to add another player or two for roster depth ahead of the upcoming season. A bold offseason trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo saw the Heat giving up four rotation players and a handful of draft picks. Miami clearly needs to round out the roster with the NBA veterans left on the free agent market hoping to find a team before training camp starts soon.
Bleacher Report’s Eric Pincus shared that he believes John Konchar makes the most sense:
“The 6’5″, 30-year-old veteran guard was recently dealt to the Timberwolves for Josh Green, but Minnesota waived and stretched Konchar’s salary to open flexibility to sign Jonathan Kuminga. Konchar is a tough, reserve combo guard. He’s not a tremendous shooter, but he’s a capable role player and strong locker-room presence. Konchar could fill a spot with the Miami Heat, who need another guard. Otherwise, he may need to wait a bit for another NBA opportunity.”
The Minnesota Timberwolves didn’t want to keep Konchar when adding him on the roster. Konchar is now a free agent who will be available at a cheap price. Most veterans hope to join a team with championship goals. Miami won’t have to work too hard to convince Konchar to join them as a logical fit for the season.
How John Konchar Helps The Miami Heat
Konchar has been in the NBA for eight seasons and spent seven of them with the Memphis Grizzlies. Despite not being an impressive scorer, Konchar remained with the team for a long tenure of seven consecutive seasons for his character.
Both a positive locker room presence and an unselfish nature on the court led to Konchar playing double digit minutes every season but his rookie year. The Utah Jazz had Konchar on the roster for half a season, but they opted to move on from him.
Miami will get someone who has played rotation minutes for the past seven years and could fit into the rotation. An injury to Andrew Wiggins or Klay Thompson could see Konchar getting more minutes in the shooting guard or small forward roles.
Heat Must Get Creative To Upgrade
Pat Riley took a major risk this summer by losing most of the Heat’s tradeable assets in favor of landing a true superstar. The bench sees Bobby Portis, Tim Hardaway, and Nikola Jovic as the top names to get playing time for the second unit.
However, more help is clearly needed since Giannis and Bam Adebayo can’t carry the team to a title in the more competitive Eastern Conference. Miami must take risks on adding potential bench pieces who will need to play if others struggle or get hurt.
The free agent market is thin, with names like Bruce Brown and Konchar being the most noteworthy names left. Heat management must find talents who can play in an offense led by Giannis’ playing style. The stars will lead the team to success, but the role players must step up during tough times when facing adversity and needing unexpected heroes to step up.
Miami Heat Linked To Respected Veteran On Free Agent Market