3. Grooming of the Guards
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The talent and depth at shooting guard may be one of Miami’s strongest suits. Reports indicate that Dion Waiters is the “frontrunner” for the starting job, but close behind him are two very talented guards in Tyler Johnson and Josh Richardson. All three guards are still young, but the Heat organization is one of the best in the business when it comes to grooming young talent.
Waiters holds the highest career scoring average of the bunch with 12.8 points per game. Though the Heat really like Richardson and Johnson (and Wayne Ellington, for that matter), Waiters is a guy who can take the Heat to the next level.
Granted, there’s no perfect replacement for a guy like Wade, but the former Oklahoma City Thunder guard certainly seems like he’s up for the task:
“Just know I’m a man on a mission,” Waiters recently told reporters at Heat media day.
Johnson and Richardson have each shown flashes of brilliance during their time with the Heat. Richardson was a breakout rookie in 2015-16 and earned valuable minutes as a 3-point specialist in the latter half of the season. Meanwhile, Johnson is a fan favorite and an overall “force of nature” on the court. The Heat will undoubtedly try to get him as much playing time as possible considering they just signed him to a massive, four-year deal in the offseason worth $50 million.
Next: Salary Cap Space
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