Miami Heat: Josh McRoberts Proves Patience Pays In NBA

Sep 28, 2015; Miami, FL, USA; Miami Heat forward Josh McRoberts (4) takes a selfie during photo day at American Airlines Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

If last season proved anything, it’s the increasing value of health in today’s NBA. Contenders were sent plummeting in the standings, potential stardom would remain unrealized and countless players like Josh McRoberts were reduced to mere spectators.

But now healthy, McRoberts is expected to play a major role for the Miami Heat, a team that has legitimate hopes of challenging for a title.

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It’s a far cry from where McRoberts and the Heat stood just months ago. The team fell apart as the 2014-15 season progressed. Chris Bosh‘s life — more important than his future in basketball — hung in the balance. Over half their starting lineup (Dwyane Wade, Goran Dragic and Luol Deng) were free agents that could have taken their talents elsewhere, leaving team president Pat Riley with the unpromising task of having to rebuild a team.

And McRoberts, a multifaceted forward who played in just 17 games during his first season in Miami, was reportedly being dangled as trade bait, less than a year after being signed as a free agent that was considered a major building block of the team’s future.

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The possibility of trading McRoberts made sense in many ways. Beyond Bosh and the now-departed Shabazz Napier, the 6’10” big man was the only player signed to a long-term contract. With Riley looking to shake up the team substantially in free agency, McRoberts was expendable.

Instead, Riley stood firm. He’s built a fully-deserved reputation of assembling and tearing down teams over the years, but those decisions, however rash they may appear to outsiders, have been perfectly calculated. Riley had faith in McRoberts’ versatility and his patience appears to be paying off this preseason.

Through two weeks of training camp, McRoberts has been the team’s most pleasant surprise. The versatility that made him such a strong rotation player for the Charlotte Bobcats has been on full display, including some sharp passing that the Heat simply haven’t had since the departure of LeBron James:

https://instagram.com/p/8TaaLaO8FL/?taken-by=mickyarison

Bosh, a former James teammate, knows a little something about versatility, and he recently explained the benefit of having McRoberts on the roster to reporters (via the Sun Sentinel’s Ira Winderman):

"“Coach (Erik Spoelstra) always talks about versatility and position-less basketball, (McRoberts is)…one of those unique guys who’s a true definition of that. He’s a pass-first point guard stuck in a four-man’s body. Just his ability to handle the ball and get guys going on offense, kind of creating mismatches…I think it’s something we can definitely utilize. It’s a huge advantage to have big guys who can handle the ball and play on the perimeter as well.”"

It’s no secret that most players like to score as often as possible and McRoberts’ passing puts his teammates in the best position to do so.

The brief McRoberts era in Miami has been a tumultuous one, ranging from hopeful to almost over before it truly began. He acknowledged the difficulty of last season in training camp:

"“It was bad. It was a rough year. It made me really appreciate being healthy, being able to play and being around my teammates.”"

That appreciation is, as Bosh explained, certainly one that’s reciprocated, and McRoberts will have a chance to prove doubters that his signing was not merely justified, but perhaps one of the best values in the NBA.

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