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Miami Heat: Complete 2017 offseason grades

By Jordan Treske

MIAMI, FL - JUNE 23: Miami Heat President, Pat Riley and head coach, Erik Spoelstra introduce Bam Adebayo during a press conference at American Airlines Arena on June 23, 2017 in Miami, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory copyright notice: Copyright NBAE 2017 (Photo by Issac Baldizon/NBAE via Getty Images)
MIAMI, FL - JUNE 23: Miami Heat President, Pat Riley and head coach, Erik Spoelstra introduce Bam Adebayo during a press conference at American Airlines Arena on June 23, 2017 in Miami, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory copyright notice: Copyright NBAE 2017 (Photo by Issac Baldizon/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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Photo by Fernando Medina/NBAE via Getty Images /

The addition of Mickey

A move made well past the fireworks of free agency, the Heat added former Boston Celtics big man Jordan Mickey on a fully guaranteed deal worth the minimum and with a team option for the 2018-19 season.

Spending his first two seasons with the Celtics, Mickey was seemingly slated to become a bigger part of their plans at one point in time, but he was an unfortunate casualty with their heavy maneuvering to make room for their big free agent addition Gordon Hayward on their books, a move that felt inevitable since Mickey’s contract for next season had been fully non-guaranteed.

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Miami Heat

Up until this point in his career, Mickey’s opportunities on the NBA level have been scarce as he’s only amassed 198 total minutes of play over his first two seasons. With that said, Mickey has shown plenty of promise playing as a member of the Celtics’ G League affiliate, the Maine Red Claws.

In 35 total appearances across the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons, Mickey averaged 18.6 points on 52.5 percent shooting from the field and 40.4 percent shooting from deep, along with posting 9.7 rebounds and 3.8 blocks. Mickey’s productive and efficient play helped earn him a spot in the then-D-League All-Star game in Toronto for the 15-16 season.

Now with the Heat, Mickey will face a similar set of circumstances of trying to break through the team’s fully stocked frontcourt. Between Hassan Whiteside, Kelly Olynyk and Bam Adebayo, Mickey’s window of opportunity to shine is very limited and it’s easy to envision him being the team’s fourth big on their depth chart, possibly just ahead of veteran and Heat lifer Udonis Haslem.

There’s no doubt that Mickey possesses a unique skill-set, one that’s theoretically suited to earn him NBA minutes in some capacity. However, the question will be whether what he’s shown on the G League level can translate to the NBA level and an even bigger question will be whether he’ll be afforded a big enough chance to prove exactly that while with the Heat.

Final Grade: C-

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