Erik Spoelstra on state of the Heat, roster continuity, new additions and COVID-19 safety

The last time coach Erik Spoelstra spoke to the media was a few minutes after the Miami Heat’s season-ending NBA Finals loss on Oct. 11.

“It took me a few minutes just to gather myself to be able to even figure out what to say to the team,” Spoelstra said that night, beginning that postgame session with 30 seconds of silence to wipe away tears and collect himself. “None of us had anticipated this. Our guys are pretty down, as you can imagine. But what a wonderful group to be around. Really just amazing people.”

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Well, most of those people are back for this upcoming season.

With Goran Dragic, Udonis Haslem and Meyers Leonard agreeing to return to the Heat as free agents this offseason, Miami currently has 12 of the 15 players from its 2019-20 roster returning for this upcoming season. The three who will not return are Jae Crowder (signed with the Phoenix Suns), Solomon Hill (signed with the Atlanta Hawks) and Derrick Jones Jr. (signed with the Portland Trail Blazers).

“Look, this still is a business, but we really felt good about our group from last year and how the group grew together,” Spoelstra said during a Zoom call with reporters on Thursday in his first media session since the end of last season. “It is not easy in this league to try to do what we’re trying to accomplish. Competition is fierce. That’s the way it should be. But we’re very grateful that we’re able to bring the majority of our group back.”

The Heat’s hope and belief is its roster continuity will be an advantage over most teams after an abbreviated offseason that has the 2020-21 season starting on Dec. 22 — just two months after Miami’s season ended in the Finals — amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This is a quicker turnaround than it typically would be. Continuity, in theory, should help,” Spoelstra said. “But, more importantly is the guys feel connected, with a common purpose and have some corporate knowledge, and also feel continuity and camaraderie that’s already been built over several months, and through the fire of the playoffs. That stuff tends to matter. We’re just grateful that we’re able to bring most of the guys back.”

But the Heat also brought in outside help, responding to the departures of Crowder and Jones by adding veteran guard Avery Bradley and veteran forward Moe Harkless in free agency. Miami also used its first-round pick in this year’s draft to add an athletic big man to its roster, selecting Precious Achiuwa at No. 20.

As a result, the Heat replaced Crowder, Jones and Hill with Achiuwa, Bradley, Harkless this offseason.

Here are Spoelstra’s thoughts on those three additions to the roster:

▪ On Achiuwa: “His athleticism, his quickness, his fluidity, his ability to play multiple positions jumped off the screen. We had good conversations with their coaching staff. I had already had texted with Mike [Miller], obviously. And there are a lot of things that they felt translated about his game to this level. And I think he was coached in a pro system. He grew as the season went on. His role was different with [James] Wiseman out. And then if you looked at him from the beginning of the season to the very end, you’re looking at a markedly different and improved basketball player. And that’s our language. We like guys that are committed to the process, who have a work ethic, that have competitiveness and get better from a daily grind.”

▪ On Bradley and Harkless: “I think they’ve been in enough good systems and good programs, playoff tested programs, that they are plug-and-play guys, really. I think they have enough experience to be able to fit in. The way they play, they can fit in really in anybody’s system. They can play off the ball, they really impact the game defensively. The versatility and speed and quickness, I think that they both bring to the table, will just add to the versatility and some of the things that we were doing in the bubble that you saw. ... We’ve been fans of both of them for a while.”

Just like last season, Spoelstra and his coaching staff will have tough rotation decisions to make because of the Heat’s impressive depth.

Bam Adebayo, Jimmy Butler, Dragic, Tyler Herro, Andre Iguodala, Leonard, Kendrick Nunn, Kelly Olynyk, Duncan Robinson are nine returning players who were consistent members of the Heat’s rotation last season. And Bradley, Harkless and Achiuwa are also expected to contend for rotation spots this season.

“You want to be open to all the possibilities and possibilities that you can’t see right now, and you really have to roll up your sleeves and work as a staff to have that preparation,” Spoelstra said. “So when something does present itself, they’ve kind of created that environment where you’re able to acknowledge it and see it and then be able to act on it. Look I’m really grateful that we have these guys back because I have that same feeling that this is a veteran group, and I know to win and try to accomplish what we’re accomplishing, you typically need a veteran group or group that really has been tested together. We feel like we’ve had that.

“We’re going to go through the entire process to see how many different levels we can get to. We know we’re gonna have to be better. The competition in the East is as fierce as it should be and I think that’s what brings out the most out of competitors.”

Through it all, the Heat and the rest of the league will work to mitigate spread of COVID-19. NBA payers who test positive will have to miss almost two weeks, sometimes more, in certain circumstances before returning to the court.

“You just have to constantly be vigilant, continue to educate yourself on what’s going on out there,” Spoelstra said. “I think our guys see what’s happening in other sports and other leagues. You have to respect the virus, respect and adhere to the protocols that give you best chance of staying healthy knowing that that virus can still get out there. Things can happen, but you want to check all the boxes that you possibly can. A lot of that just comes down to discipline, to vigilance, to commitment and a responsibility for everybody doing their part and not letting down your guard. It won’t guarantee everything 100 percent, but it starts with those things.”

The Heat has a lot to accomplish over the next few weeks.

The Heat and teams across the NBA began holding individual workouts at their facilities on Tuesday, but those have been capped at four players and four coaches/player development personnel for COVID-19 safety purposes.

Spoelstra said the Heat’s first team practice is scheduled for Sunday, the first day group sessions are allowed by the league, in preparation for its preseason opener on Dec. 14 against the New Orleans Pelicans at AmericanAirlines Arena. Miami is tentatively scheduled to open the 2020-21 regular season on Dec. 23 against the Magic in Orlando, with the complete schedule for the first half of the regular season (Dec. 22, 2020 – March 4, 2021) to be announced on Friday.

“You have to live in reality. Many things can be true,” Spoelstra said when asked if the Heat’s seven-week offseason was too short from his perspective. “We can be grateful for the opportunity that we had. We can be grateful for our time off. We can be grateful that this thing is getting started again. And also feel that, ‘Hey, I want to be around my family.’ Two young kids and my wife, I want to be able to spend some time.

“But I cherish the time that I’m having with my family right now. I think even as the season shapes up, there will be significantly less travel. We’ll still be on the road, but I think it will be managed a little bit better. I think that’s one of the improvements that’s coming out of all of this and there’s just a natural excitement of starting a new challenge with a new team and having the excitement of training camp around the corner.”