3 veteran free agents for the Miami Heat to target this offseason

3 veteran free agents for the Miami Heat to target this offseason: 1. TJ Warren

2021-22 salary: $11,750,000

Considering the Heat currently have a reclamation player and former Indiana Pacer on their roster in Victor Oladipo, why not make it a second? Like Oladaipo this past season, acquiring the services of a player the caliber of TJ Warren would naturally require the player in question to take a sizeable pay reduction from what they’ve been accustomed to the past few seasons.

In the case of Warren, recurring foot stress fractures have put a complete halt on his progress as a player, with the now 28-year-old playing just four games in the 2020-21 season, and none in this past season.

The timing of these extended absences could not have been worse for Warren, whose career-best season of 2019-20 was punctuated in The Bubble with some absolutely outstanding performances. In a five-game stretch to complete that regular season, Warren averaged 34.8 points on an incredible 60.5 percent return from the field.

But just as noteworthy through his career-best stretch was his incredible increase in both volume and proficiency from three-point range. While always an accomplished scorer, Warren averaged just 1.3 attempts per game while hitting at a meager 28.3 percent clip through his first four seasons in the league. In the ensuing two seasons, this jumped to 3.7 attempts while returning an excellent 41.4 percent mark from long distance.

Notably, Warren’s only career playoff appearance came against the Heat in the 2020 Playoffs. Despite the Pacers being swept 4-0, Warren managed to average 20.0 points and 6.3 rebounds per contest. But as alluded to above, he has in appeared a grand total of four games since this series.

That brings us to this summer, and a recent report from Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN detailing that Warren has fully recovered from his duel stress fractures, and would be exploring his options as an unrestricted free agent.

At 28 and seemingly entering his prime years, Warren presents as a risk for any prospective team. As a result, it’s more likely than not that a short-term, possibly one-year deal will be the one he earns, given his recent injury history.

Given his offensive capabilities, accomodating a suitable deal when considering their current cap position may prove too much for the Heat front office. But if player and team feel this is the best course of action moving forward, a Miami Heat and TJ Warren partnership is certainly a tantalizing proposition.