NBA Free Agency 2017: 5 offseason needs for the Miami Heat

The Miami Heat are headed into the offseason with a plethora of questions. Here are the ones they need to find answers to first.

The Miami Heat had a very interesting season. They were supposed to be tanking with a roster led by Goran Dragic, Hassan Whiteside and a bunch of young questions marks. It was supposed to be a year focused on player development and the NBA Draft Lottery. Well Erik Spoelstra and company took the challenge and nearly made the playoffs anyway.

Even though the Heat went on one of the most impressive runs of the season — 13 straight wins and a 29-11 record after Jan. 17 — they still have glaring holes on their team. While it’s fun to watch an underrated team overperform, that doesn’t mean that they will be set for the future. Quite a few players on the roster were on one-year deals, player option/team option contracts, and non-guaranteed contracts.

Let’s jump into what they need to work on this summer.

5. A new power forward

The Heat have four power forwards on the roster (excluding Chris Bosh), and none of the four have the potential to be a starting power forward in the league — with the exception of James Johnson.

Luke Babbitt started a majority of the games at power forward for the Heat and he was okay. Babbitt provides shooting but his other limitations mean he’s probably best suited to a bench role. Granted, he didn’t play starter minutes (averaged 15.7 minutes per game), but the fact that he started is simply shocking. He had to start, though, because James Johnson was best suited to come off of the bench. Johnson was paired with his long-lost brother, Tyler Johnson, and they wreaked havoc on opposing teams benches the whole season.

Okaro White was the replacement for Derrick Williams about halfway through the season. White was on the Heat’s D-League team, the Sioux Falls Skyforce, as well as their summer league team; and the Heat loved what they saw from him. Derrick Williams was underperforming for the Heat, so they waived Williams and signed White for the rest of the season. White is a good bench player; nothing more and nothing less. He is a little rough around the edges, but he should develop into a good piece for the future.

Josh McRoberts was brought in by Pat Riley after having a good season with the Charlotte Hornets a few years ago. Riley, being the opportunist that he is, could not pass up trying to improve upon McRoberts’ previous season. So, he signed him to a lucrative four-year, $22.6 million dollar contract. At the time, it seemed like a good idea; but it quickly turned out to be a huge mistake. McRoberts was plagued with injuries and when he is on the court, he is less than average. He has a player option for this summer and he will likely opt-in because he won’t receive as much money elsewhere.

James Johnson is the final power forward on the roster and he is the keeper. Not only did he established himself as a superior “glue-guy” for the Heat, but he was a key contributor off of the bench. The Heat should strongly consider bringing Johnson back based off of what he did this season. There are questions about Johnson after this season, though. For example, Johnson is 31 right now and an aging veteran on a big contract can cause issues. Johnson is likely to command big money in free agency, so that is something the Heat have to keep in mind. He was great but may not be a player worth breaking the bank for.