Miami Heat Check

PELLE LARSSON IS HERE TO STAY 🔥🔥🔥

The Miami Heat have locked in one of their most exciting young pieces, with Pelle Larsson agreeing to a new 4-year, $60 million extension. Miami clearly believes in his future, and now it’s official.

This is huge for a player who kept earning more trust with his energy, toughness, defense, and winning plays. Pelle does all the little things Heat fans love, and now he gets rewarded for it in a big way.

4 years. $60 million. Mutual option in 2030-31.
The Heat are betting on Pelle taking another leap, and honestly, this deal could end up looking like a bargain real soon!

Pelle is here to stay.

Mario Chalmers says one of the biggest strengths of the Big Three Heat was that nobody was above being held accountable, not even LeBron James 👀

“We really weren’t scared to hold each other accountable. Me being who I am, being able to say something to LeBron, who’s considered a GOAT, and he still understands what I’m saying, doesn’t take it personal, and doesn’t make it a clash between us when it could have been.”

Chalmers says that level of trust allowed teammates to challenge each other without egos getting in the way, because everyone understood the goal was making the team better.

“That was the best part of it all: being able to communicate and say whatever to a teammate who’s your brother, and he won’t take offense... I don’t know if there’s still that level of care in the NBA right now, during the regular season, let me say that.”

Imagine being Mario Chalmers and checking LeBron mid-game, and LeBron actually listening 😭

Former NBA player Olden Polynice says the Miami Heat had the most overrated offseason in the NBA.

“Gave up too many assets for Giannis. Just too many. He and Bam are going to bump. That was a lot of assets and your future.”

Polynice also questioned Giannis already talking about potentially finishing his career back in Milwaukee someday, despite not having played a single game for Miami yet.

“This man already talking about, ‘I’m going to finish my career in Milwaukee.’ You haven’t even played 1 game in Miami yet!”

Miami went all-in to pair Giannis with Bam and chase a championship, but Polynice clearly thinks the Heat sacrificed too much of their future to make it happen. Do you agree, or is any price worth paying for Giannis?

That’s what Miami is about 🏝️☀️

The Heat reportedly weren’t opposed to extending Tyler Herro, but they weren’t willing to pay him the max 👀

According to Ethan Skolnick, Miami would’ve preferred to wait and eventually offer Herro a deal below the maximum salary range.

The problem? Herro reportedly was “not comfortable” accepting anything under the max.

That difference in valuation may explain a lot about why the two sides never found long-term common ground. Miami clearly liked Herro, just not at the price he believed he was worth.

D-Wade just talked about the 2008-09 season, which was the best scoring season of his career. Wade led the entire league in scoring with 30.2 points per game.

"I had to continue to reinvent myself throughout the season," he said. "What was working in the beginning of the year ain't working in mid-season. What's working in mid-season ain't working at the end of the year."

Wade also said that his bag was full, which was necessary to lead the NBA in scoring.

"I had to add different elements to my bag ... To be able to average 30, you have to be as consistent, for one season, as you've ever been."

They really said we got no shooters 😭

Meanwhile, Miami has TWO of the top 20 three-point shooters in NBA history:

🔥 Klay Thompson is 4th all time
🔥 Tim Hardaway Jr. is 19th all time

And now you’re putting that shooting around Giannis and Bam?
Yeah… keep telling us the Heat have no spacing 💀

Last season, Klay Thompson ranked 22nd in the entire league in 3-pointers, despite playing under 22 minutes per game and appearing in 69 games.

This guy can shoot!

“At the end of the day, they need shooting with Bam and Giannis.”
P.J. Tucker likes the Klay Thompson move for Miami.

The former Heat guard thinks Klay is exactly the kind of player Miami needed around Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo. Teams are going to load up the paint to slow Giannis down, and having an elite movement shooter like Klay makes that much harder.

“He’s a shooter and you got to load up on Giannis. That’s a good starting 5.”

With Klay stretching the floor and Bam/Giannis putting constant pressure on the rim, Miami’s starting lineup is going to be a nightmare to game-plan against.

The Miami Heat reportedly passed on Ben Simmons because they don’t have time for another reclamation project.

According to Ira Winderman, Miami’s current win-now approach means the Heat need players who can contribute immediately, not players who come with major questions about health, availability or whether they can still perform at a high level.

“A team in win-now mode has to draw a valuation line between players who can be developed/reclaimed and those needed to be able to contribute in the moment.”

With Giannis, Bam, Klay and a veteran-heavy roster, Miami clearly views this season as one where every roster spot matters. Winderman believes Sacramento makes much more sense for Simmons, where there would be less pressure for him to produce right away.

Basically, the Heat aren’t looking for projects anymore. They’re looking for players who can help them win now.