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Despite battling numerous injuries throughout the season, the Miami Heat have been able to put together a respectable 26-22 record. Miami’s 100-96 win the New Orleans Pelicans on January 22, marked their 14th in their last 21 games. During that stretch, rotation players like Gabe Vincent have stepped up big time.
In the Heat’s January 12 win over the Milwaukee Bucks, Vincent filled in as starting point guard for the sidelined Kyle Lowry who had been battling some knee soreness. The 26-year-old shined in the increased role, scoring a career-high 28 points to lead Miami to victory.
That’s just one example of how solid the rotation guard has been for the Heat as of late. His consistent play hasn’t gone unnoticed either.
According to HoopsHype’s Frank Urbina, teams around the league could work to poach Vincent from Miami this summer.
“When Kyle Lowry, a potential trade candidate ahead of the upcoming deadline, recently missed a few games with an injury, it was Gabe Vincent who stepped up for Miami, playing some of the best basketball of his career,” Urbina wrote. “Over his last seven games, Vincent has been very solid, averaging 15.6 points and 3.0 assists while shooting 38.0 percent on 7.1 nightly three-point attempts. An upper-level backup point guard with defensive tenacity and some tough-shot-making prowess, Vincent should attract interest as an unrestricted free agent this summer, especially now that he’s shown what he’s capable of when given starter minutes. Miami is in a bit of a bind, too, with Max Strus similarly headed to unrestricted free agency this offseason. It’ll be interesting to see who the Heat are more aggressive about keeping.”
Heat ‘Not Going Too Far’ To Bring Back Max Strus
Vincent isn’t the only member of the Heat whose contract expires at the end of the season. Sharpshooting wing Max Strus is also due for a new deal when the summertime rolls around.
Back on January 20, an anonymous Eastern Conference Executive gave Heavy Sports‘ Sean Deveney some insight to Miami’s feelings about bringing back Strus.
“They want to keep him but they’re not going to go too far to re-sign him,” the executive told Deveney. “He has been disappointing this year as a shooter, which is too bad because I think he has actually gotten better as a player overall. But if his shots aren’t falling, he is not bringing a lot to the table. If they could do a deal in the range of the Caleb Martin contract (three years, $20 million), he could stay put. If someone wants to go over that, they’ll move on. He is not going to be their top priority, though.”
Heat Could Trade Max Strus For ‘High Quality Starter’: Report
If Miami decides before the February 9 NBA Trade Deadline that they don’t want to resign the 26-year-old wing, they could decide to deal him.
In a January 19 article for the Miami Herald, Barry Jackson suggested that the Heat could move on from Strus in exchange for a more important piece.
“With Max Strus playing better recently, that could incline the Heat to keep him and sign him this summer, though Strus could be put in play for a high-quality starter,” he wrote.
Strus has appeared in 46 of Miami’s 42 games this season, playing 30.5 minutes each time. He’s averaging 12.6 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 2.2 assists, on 39.5% shooting from the field 33.1% from beyond the arc.
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