Podcast: Why Precious Achiuwa makes so much sense for the Heat. And a free agency preview
In retrospect, maybe it should’ve been obvious. Precious Achiuwa checks all the boxes the Miami Heat was looking for in the 2020 NBA Draft.
Post player? Check. High-motor athlete? Check. High-level defender? Check.
It was obvious the Heat wanted another big man to play with — and behind — Bam Adebayo and Miami was able to find one with the No. 20 overall pick in the first round by taking Achiuwa.
The Heat Check podcast didn’t talk much about Achiuwa in the lead-up to the NBA Draft, but now David Wilson and Anthony Chiang, the Miami Herald’s Heat beat writer, are smacking their foreheads talking about the high-upside prospect from the Memphis Tigers.
The Heat’s top priority entering Wednesday was to find some help for All-Star post player Adebayo down low. Fellow post players Kelly Olynyk and Meyers Leonard both had nice seasons last year, but Miami really needed a big man who can emulate Adebayo’s skill set. Achiuwa, who was instructed to watch lots of Adebayo film in his lone season at Memphis, might be the closest comparison in the first round.
Our draft chat is only a small part of this episode, though, because free agency is right around the corner. Teams and players can start reaching deals as early as Friday, and we expect a few Heat players to resign pretty much as soon as possible. Miami is going to do everything it can to keep guard Goran Dragic and forward Jae Crowder.
The bigger questions swirl around Leonard, Solomon Hill and Derrick Jones Jr. The Heat doesn’t want to agree to too many long-term deals, which could mean the end of those forwards’ time in South Florida. Miami’s core is almost certainly changing.
We wrap things up by talking about the big moves still lingering. What does the Milwaukee Bucks’ trade for star guard Jrue Holiday mean for potentially keeping Giannis Antetokounmpo? How would James Harden joining the Brooklyn Nets shake up the Eastern Conference? What does the Washington Wizards’ interest in Russell Westbrook tell us about the availability of star shooting guard Bradley Beal?
It’s the busiest time of the year in the NBA, and we cover it all on this episode.
