Ira Winderman: In a season of NBA lottery lust, Heat with unique perspective
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Google the terms “Miami Heat” and “tank” and you are as likely to get results about Hassan Whiteside’s fish tank with the spinning Heat logo as the Pat Riley-led franchise trying to play the lottery game.
So, no, this is not about this uneven start by Erik Spoelstra’s team.
But it is about the unusual focus this season, with France’s Victor Wembanyama seemingly standing as a LeBron James, Shaquille O’Neal, David Robinson and Tim Duncan level of No. 1-pick prize.
Commissioner Adam Silver has gone on record about concerns, going as far as to offer off-the-cuff comments about soccer-style relegation, as if the NBA ever would/could promote the Sioux Falls Skyforce, Fort Wayne Mad Ants or Lakeland Magic. (Can you imagine Los Angeles Lakers vs. Delaware Blue Coats at the arena formerly known as Staples Center?)
But the tanking prospect is real, with concern already in San Antonio, Utah and Charlotte about squandering early-season wins (yes, you read that correctly).
In a sport where only five play, one can make all the difference — as was the championship case with LeBron and Shaq, and, in San Antonio, was the case squared with Robinson and Duncan.
Which brings us back to the Heat, a team that insists during the Riley regime it would never drop to the depths of a tank, but already has done so at least twice.
The first time was in 2008, when the thought was that Derrick Rose or Michael Beasley could be such ultimate lottery-level prizes. The Heat by the end of that season were playing the likes of Stephane Lasme, Blake Ahearn and Kasib Powell, falling to No. 2 in the lottery and settling for Beasley (with a less-than-super-cool outcome).
Then came the 2015 season finale that the Heat thought they had to lose to retain better odds for the rights to a top-10 pick. That one was a doozy, with Beasley, Henry Walker, James Ennis and Tyler Johnson playing all 48 minutes that night against the Philadelphia 76ers, and with Zoran Dragic limited to 41 only by foul trouble (Udonis Haslem played the other seven minutes, as the Heat’s lone substitute).
As it was, even with a victory over the even more loss-desperate 18-64 76ers, the Heat still were able to maintain their lottery position.
As Silver pointed out in an ESPN interview, with the league since 2019 flattening the lottery odds, with the three worst records each receiving a 14% chance for the first pick, tanking no longer has to be taken to the 15-67 extreme of those 2007-08 Heat. Last season, 23 wins still shared among the top odds.
“It’s one of these things where there’s no perfect solution,” Silver said, “but we still think a draft is the right way to rebuild your league over time.”
But as the start of this season has shown, players still play to win, be it former Heat guard Josh Richardson in San Antonio or former Heat center Kelly Olynyk in Utah, both of whom have had their early-season moments.
To a degree, with 20 of the 30 teams at least being given some type of playoff opportunity when counting the play-in round, it makes it easier for teams at the start of the season to play it both ways.
But as Haslem said during the Heat’s three-game western swing, there still is empathy for players on teams playing more for French fare than a diet of victory.
Because, yes, he was on both those 2007-08 and ‘14-15 must-lose Heat rosters.
“It got to suck, that’s got to suck, I couldn’t imagine. I wouldn’t want to be a part of a team like that,” he said of this season’s lottery chasers. “Unfortunately, sometimes the business side of things takes precedence over the athletic part or the competitive part. Sometimes the business comes first.”
Instead, Haslem has been part of plenty one-and-done Heat rosters when it has come to playoff rounds.
“I would hate to be in a situation like that,” he said of rosters expected to lose, and lose a lot. “I love the fact that we’re competitive every year. I love the fact that we do our homework and do our due diligence and we find guys outside of the lottery that can come in and contribute, and we compete every year.
“If it wasn’t for that, there wouldn’t be opportunities for undrafted guys like myself.”
The slog to the finish line in 2008 was one he would not wish for any of this season’s tankers.
“I wanted to be part of that season,” he said, insisting he could have ruined the Heat’s lottery odds. “When I had [foot] surgery, I cried, because I wanted to go out with those guys.”
Still, there will be games like this coming Friday in Indiana, where it is clear the Pacers are playing for the future and the lottery and, hopefully, international intrigue.
“I understand, once again, the business side takes precedence over competition,” Haslem said. “I look around and see what Utah is doing. I see the pattern. But it sucks to be the guys there right now, in that position.”
Over the summer, Haslem attended Olynyk’s wedding. With Olynyk on the rebuilding Detroit Pistons at the time, Haslem mentioned trying to get his friend back to the Heat, Instead, Olynyk became part of Danny Ainge’s teardown in Utah.
“In those situations, I would tell those guys to play as hard as they can,” Haslem said. “Because at the end of the day, you’re still auditioning for another team in another situation.”
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