The Miami Heat made a ton of offseason moves this summer. A large part of the team’s focus went into acquiring talented players at each position that would fit well alongside Heat stars Goran Dragic and Hassan Whiteside.
They also made moves to help fill the void left by Dwyane Wade and other significant departures. Many of these new additions have shown the type of potential in the past that will help them make the team’s final roster before it gets trimmed to 15 players at the end of October.
To help keep track of all the fresh-faced talent on Miami’s roster, here is a breakdown of the 10 new players that will be sporting Heat uniforms for the first time in 2016-17.
Luke Babbitt (Forward)
6-foot-9, 225 lbs
2016-17 salary: $1,227,286
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Luke Babbitt is a former first-round draft pick who played his first three seasons with the Portland Trail Blazers and the following three seasons with the New Orleans Pelicans. He is essentially a stretch four who can play both the three and four position. The Heat likely brought in Babbitt to help space the floor, considering he’s the size of your average power forward but knocks down the long ball like a shooting guard.
He is a career 40.3 percent 3-point shooter which bodes well for a Heat team that has struggled mightily with its 3-point shooting over the last several years. It’s unclear how significant Babbitt’s role will be in the upcoming season, though he was a starter in Tuesday night’s preseason game.
Next: Keith Benson
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