Miami Heat: Why they should not trade for Kemba Walker
By Zamir Bueno
The Miami Heat are seen as a potential landing spot for guard Kemba Walker this offseason. David Aldridge of The Athletic, told the Celtics Beat podcast on June 11th, that he believes Walker would make sense for the Miami Heat because they need a long-term starting point guard as Goran Dragić is in the back end of his career.
Walker has already been dealt as of Friday morning, moving to the OKC Thunder in a deal centered on he and Al Horford, who now goes back to the Celtics.
The Celtics are trading Kemba Walker, the No. 16 overall pick in the 2021 draft and a 2025 second-round draft pick to Oklahoma City for Al Horford, Moses Brown and a 2023 second-round pick, sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 18, 2021
Speculatively speaking, the Thunder will probably listen to offers on Walker this offseason as he does not fit with their timeline.
But does Kemba Walker make sense for the Miami Heat? Not necessarily, as the Miami Heat will likely use him as a floor spacer. The Heat ran an offensive system this past season centered around dribble handoffs and pick and rolls.
Let’s take a look at why a Kemba Walker trade would be too expensive for the hypothetical role he would play on the Miami Heat next season.
The team finished second in the league during the regular season in dribble handoffs, averaging 8.3 possessions per game. Head coach Erik Spoelstra gave 42.2 percent of those possessions to starters Duncan Robinson and Jimmy Butler, as they combined to average 3.5 per game. The next closest starter was Kendrick Nunn, who averaged 1.4 dribble handoffs per game.
On the other hand, the Heat ranked 22nd during the regular season in pick and roll possessions, averaging 17.9 per game. Jimmy Butler accounted for 36.9 percent of their possessions, averaging 6.6 pick and rolls per game.
The Heat’s offensive system put the other starters in a position where they had to spend most of the minutes as floor spacers. For instance, Kendrick Nunn and Victor Oladipo took at least 36.9 percent of their shots from behind the arc, averaging 5.7 and 4.3 per game, respectively.
At least 73 percent of those threes were via catch and shoots as they attempted 4.2 and 4 per game, respectively. Walker would thrive in this role as he has converted 38.9 percent of his catch and shoots on 2.7 attempts per game. Catch and shoots were responsible for 39.1 percent of his attempts as he shot 36.7 percent from behind the arc on 6.9 attempts.