With the Miami Heat stuck near the bottom half of the Eastern Conference standings, there have been rumors that they may look to move on from a couple of players. That is despite them being only three games out of fourth. Even so, the Heat haven't made up ground with several players underperforming expectations.
Part of the Heat's struggles this season has been the lack of development from players such as second-year player Jaime Jacques Jr. He finished fourth in Rookie of the Year voting last season and was expected to play a larger role on the Miami Heat this season. However, he hasn't developed the way that many expected him to and has even struggled this year.
Part of his struggles has been that teams have seemingly figured out how to contain him defensively. Jacques Jr. isn't a good three-point shooter, and teams can afford to play off of them, knowing that he can't make them pay from outside. When he drives into the paint. He often pump fakes and/or pivots, hoping to get himself a good shot.
Despite that, any team that has done their homework on him knows that those moves are coming and can easily counter that. That has also led to him making some boneheaded passes with him having no place to go with the ball.
Fortunately for the Heat, Tyler Herro has picked up the slack and looks every bit like a star but the team is at a bit of a crossroad.
Should the Miami Heat hit the reset button on their season?
Rumors have the Heat considering trading both Terry Rozier and Butler, and while Butler will be a free agent after this season, they don't appear to be in a hurry to trade him. Maybe they should. After all, the Heat owe the Oklahoma City Thunder a first-round pick.
If Miami misses the playoffs, then they can keep that pick and set themselves up better for an inevitable rebuild or retooling. Even though a player such as Jacques Jr. hasn't lived up to expectations, the Heat still have enough to rebuild around, including Herro, Bam Adebayo, and intriguing prospect Kel'el Ware.
If they play their cards right, then they could potentially flip Butler for more assets. With most teams short on first-round picks and salary filler, they would probably have to trade rotation players. That might serve the Heat better with them being able to plug in several rotation players in Butler's absence and hopefully building a better roster going forward.