Miami Heat’s Luka Doncic Dream SHATTERED | What’s Next?

Miami Heat’s Luka Doncic Dream SHATTERED | What’s Next?

Luca Don signed an extension with the Lakers. So, how does this impact Miami’s future? Plus, Bam Abio talked about the team’s offseason moves. We’ll tell you what he had to say on today’s episode of Locked on Heat. [Music] You are Locked on Heat, your daily Miami Heat podcast, part of the Locked On podcast network. Your team every day. All right, welcome to Locked on Heat, your daily podcast on the Miami Heat. Whether you’re tuning in on YouTube or on your favorite podcast app, thanks for making Locked on Heat your first listen every day. I’m Wes Goldberg here with David Mill. Both of us are credentialed Heat Media members who cover this team every day. For daily content on the Heat, join more than 17,000 Heat fans and make sure you click that subscribe button on YouTube. This episode is brought to you by Monarch Money. Take control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use the code lockdown NBA at monarchmoney.com for 50% off your first year. Have a jam-packed show for you on a Monday. One Heat player shares his thoughts on the Heats offseason in a second. But let’s start with the big news in the NBA from over the weekend. Luca Donuch signs a three-year $165 million extension. The new contract includes a player option for that final year, which keeps Luca in LA until at least 2028, meaning he will not be a free agent in 2026 when the Heat were expected to have cap space. For some reason, David, for some reason, some Heat fans were actually disappointed that Luca signed the extension. And I don’t understand the disappointment because I don’t know why you’d ever expect Luca a to not sign with the Lakers, to not resign this extension with the Lakers, and B to even be an option for Miami in 2026. And I say that for a few different reasons. Like this was never going to happen, Luca to Miami, at least not in 2026 via free agency. The Heat didn’t have enough cap space in 2026 regardless. They don’t have max cap space in 2026. something that I want to talk about a little bit more in a second, but I’ve said this before with Luca. People are, “Oh, well, he got traded from Dallas. He didn’t pick the Lakers. The Lakers picked him. Maybe he wants on that extension, everything.” And I get having an eye on it. But like I’ve said, I will believe a star player leaves the Lakers when a star player leaves the Lakers. Like, it just doesn’t really happen. And I never got any sort of indication. By the way, in league circles, everybody basically expected this to happen, too. Basically since the start of the summer, Luca and the Lakers were working in lock step. He helped recruit DeAndre Aton. He helped recruit Marcus Smart. Everything was pointing towards uh uh the the Luca era with the Lakers beginning. So, it doesn’t surprise me at all that there was an extension here. And then you go online and you see people uh Heat fans saying, “Oh, what a failure by the Heat. Another swing and a miss. They try they did all this stuff for 2026 to try to get Luca and then Luca signs the extension. It’s another failure for this front office.” I’m like, “No, it wasn’t.” I don’t think this front office ever expected to sign Luca as a free agent in 2026 cuz everybody expected him to sign that extension. They didn’t have the cap space anyway. And if you want to look at it as a failure on the Heat’s part, fine. But I just don’t think the plan was ever to sign Luca as a free agent 2026. Now, they do want the flexibility, right? That’s the push back is, well, they kept talking about flexibility in 2026, not wanting to take long-term contracts. Okay, yeah, they do. that doesn’t necessarily mean that they were expecting to sign a max player with that flexibility with that cast. There’s a lot of things that you could do with flexibility. So, I think the plan is still maintain flexibility in 2026 for something in order to do things, but they might not necessarily know what those things are just yet. I think it’s just the idea that this team is kind of directionless right now. I think that’s where the frustration lies. You know, I I’ve talked about this before, but ever since Pat Riley joined the Miami Heat. There had been two eras of really defined by a superstar player. Either the Alonzo Morning era that continued until 2003 and then continued again when he resigned with the team a couple years later and then the Dwayne Wade era that began from 2005 and ended effectively in 2019. After that point, it was a Jimmy Butler era. And now you’ve got a team that’s kind of rudderless and no top 10, no top 20 player on the roster. As much as we appreciate what Bameio does, obviously a large swath of Heat fans doesn’t necessarily agree with the idea that he is a star level player and moreover he doesn’t seem like the kind of player who can lead this team offensively to that next era and towards pursuit of a title. And that’s what this the champion I’m sorry that’s what this fan base has come to expect is being in contention. And in order to be in contention you need a superstar player. And I think there was some optimism however realistic or not that Donic might have that connection with Goran Dragage. Again if you read the teles Goran’s, you know, joining the front office to a certain capacity. Uh maybe he can lure Luca here. he’s going to be the next player to help guide the team towards contention. I could see why there was the idea that there might be some sort of connection. You know, he’s a young player. He’s got his young family. You can build that family here in South Florida. I get it. You know, California maybe a little bit more expensive if you’re care about those kinds of things, but maybe for a multi-millionaire like Luca, that doesn’t really matter as much. I don’t know how it works out. Either way, I think they just expected to be able to lure a star player. You know, we are somewhat responsible for not necessarily inflating hopes, but at least talking about the possibility of luring a superstar here. And I think fans have just become a little bit spoiled. Fans of this team want a star on this team, and they’ve come to expect it because there have been so many different star level players. Again, Zo, Wade, LeBron. I’m going to push back on that. I don’t think we are responsible for getting people’s hopes up. We’ve never been on this show being like, “Luca, 2026, mark your calendar.” We’ve never done that. Every single time. We talk about the possibilities. We talk about Giannis. We talk about LeBron as trades as trades. I’m not I’m still here saying that the Heat are in pursuit of a superstar. I’m not telling you that the superstar will never happen. I’m talking about this one in particular. I don’t think it will do it in 2026. and and the reaction to when he signed the extension was, “Well, here’s the Heat Front Office. We gotta go back to the drawing board.” That wasn’t on the board. This was like when a a celebrity gets engaged on Instagram or Twitter and they look at the comments and they’re like, “Oh, bad news for me. My weekend’s my weekend’s ruined.” I was like, “Dude, you were never going to marry this person. What are you talking about?” When Lucas signs extension, He fans like, “Well, there goes the possibility.” I was like, “I’m sorry. This was a supermodel that you didn’t have the means to speak with, attract, acquire, like nothing. Like there was never gonna have you exist, bro. Sign off. Exactly. So keep your hopes up for Superstar Heat fans. I’m not telling you not to. But signing Luca as a free agent in 2026 was never part of the plan. No. No. It’s time to focus on that cute barista or something. I mean, stay local happening. Yeah, don’t try to punch above your weight class. That’s uh that’s where the heat are right now. And I think that’s a little disappointing. So I mean, look, I I there was hope there. I mean, Luca again to be traded from the Mavericks kind of at least opened up the possibility because then he’s kind of a player in flux there, and you wonder how he would coexist with LeBron. Uh it seems more likely that they’ll trade LeBron at this point, and that makes a lot of sense for the Lakers. I I absolutely understand why they would be more than willing to move on from LeBron. some of the signage that they had. Oh, Luca being prominently. Yeah. Yeah. The beginning and just Luca photos everywhere. Like the beginning. LeBron’s still here. Like the beginning of If you’re LeBron, you’re looking around like the beginning of what, dude? Yeah. Still a top 10ish player. This it’s the end for me. It’s the beginning for him. Like, you know, and I think the LeBron thing is something that is possible. I wouldn’t tell Heat fans to get their hopes up for it. I do think it’s worth discussing as a real possibility, but if I’m LeBron, I’m looking at that. I’m like, okay. Like, if I haven’t gotten the sign yet, now I’m getting it. Could you imagine if the early as Washington Wizards had started marketing Jerry Stackhouse instead of Michael Jordan? Even that version of Michael Jordan on the roster. Like, we’ve got Stack now and that other guy who happens to be a pretty good player. That’s basically Look, I mean, it’s not quite the same because obviously Luca is still a superstar. Way better than Stack House. Yeah. Yeah. But still, the idea that they’re already ushering in this this transition. So, yeah, the the point I guess overall is that Miami fans still believe that there was a possibility, however unrealistic or not. And and so I think I can understand that level of disappointment. Um, but I also think it was not even to call it a pipe dream is over, you know, over inflating the actual chances of that happening. So, it was not realistic and um it was misguided. And I and I do apologize if there was something we said on this show to guide you. No, no, no. We’ve never talked about the possibility. We’ve never talked about that possibility. I not realistically like it’s like, oh, is he part of the plan? Yeah, maybe. You know, you could you could talk yourself into it, but it was never really something that it was uh maybe you trade for him down the line. I mean, look look, he’ll be a free agent in 2028. Who knows? Like every team is projected to have cap space in 2028 because, you know, they don’t have a ton of salaries that go that long. It it’s I in terms of the 2026 part of it, it this is this is why I think Heat fans could get so frustrated with and look the lack of the direction thing. That’s a great point, David. Like I if you’re not bought into this direction, if you don’t think that Bam and Tyler are good enough to build a championship team around, okay, I understand that level of frustration. I get that part of it. But it it it’s like what what’s next? You’re going to get upset when they don’t when they don’t trade for Nicola Joic. Yeah. You know what I mean? Like there’s certain things that are actually feasible, possible, worth discussing, and there’s some things that aren’t. And just because Luca got traded to the Lakers, doesn’t mean that he was just going to be like, “Yeah, you know what? Actually, I’m just going to become a free agent and do my like, it’s still the Lakers, okay? It’s not like he got traded to Detroit.” Like, it’s still the freaking Lakers. And I said from the beginning, I will believe Luca Donuch leaves the Lakers. A star player in his prime leaves the Lakers when I see it. It just it does not happen. It doesn’t happen. European, black, white, does not matter. It’s still the Los Angeles Lakers, man. It’s the premier franchise in the league. Players don’t leave that place. Shaqula Neil, was that the last time a superstar level player left that franchise? You say he was in his prime in 2004. Yes. One, he had like two years left of his prime. Maybe that was maybe the last one and Kobe kind of forced him out. You had no doubt. They made a choice. They made a choice on that one. Um, all right. Coming up, the Heat’s offseason moves got the stamp of approval from one of their most important players. We’ll tell you who it is and what they said after this. Thanks for making Lockdown Heat your first listen every day. uh speaking with reporters at his youth basketball uh clinic over the weekend, Bam Adabio said that he’s happy with the moves the Heat have made this off seasonason. Quote, “It’s a very good shakeup for our team and now there’s a different dynamic to it.” End quote. He was also asked about the specific addition of Norm Pal and he said, quote, “I feel like Norman is one of those guys that floats under the radar, but as you saw last year, he’s really shown that he could be an all-star caliber player. You’ve seen what he’s done and you’ve seen him grow in this league and obviously he wants to take that next challenge. Obviously, the next challenge is being with the Miami Heat. So, I’m happy to have him.” End quote. Um, he also talked about DaVon Mitchell, uh, welcoming him back. And then this part is what, uh, stuck out to me from, uh, from that part of it. He said, uh, having him come in and be that guy and understand his role. I’m looking forward to him being here for a full year and all of us being together and getting to know one another and turning in turning this into more of a brotherhood. we were kind of disconnected a little bit trying to figure out everybody’s role and trying to figure out everybody’s style of play, but now we’re going to have a good training camp and then we go from there. End quote. So, a bunch of stuff there that we can uh get into, David. But Bam, it’s worth remembering, predicted that a lot of changes were coming during his exit interviews with reporters, right? Uh there the the exact quote he said, remember the the man with the silver hair. This is the quote. There are going to be a lot of changes this summer just from my point of view understanding how the guy with the silver hair works. So just be prepared for that. End quote. So that was the quote he gave during exit interviews with reporters that a lot of changes is what he says. And look, I wasn’t at this event, so I can’t speak to what he sounded like or or sort of his cadence or anything, but just based on the the words on the page when he’s it feels like he stopped short of saying that the offseason was some kind of overhaul, which clearly it was not. He talks about a different dynamic, right? It’s a good shakeup for the team. There’s a different dynamic to it. And then he kind of goes into now we’re getting time to work together during training camp. And I do think that that stuff’s going to help, but I think we all agree that there weren’t any major changes the way that BAM had predicted. It was a tepid response. I really think that he was um maybe not overtly disappointed. Um but to say satisfied doesn’t really scream enthusiasm. And I that’s where I’m coming from on this. I I I think that he looks at the changes and he goes, “We did something. We made some changes. A good shakeup, not we turned his team around. We’re back on track. This is who we are all we’ve been all along, etc.” Like this is um somebody who’s kind of in my opinion resigned to, you know, oh, they did something and that’s better than nothing and it was a good improvement. I I I think he does like the acquisition of Enorm Pow. Um, is it the top tier move that he would have preferred for this team? No. And and in that sense, look, for any fans that might have been frustrated with this offseason, understand that Bameio probably shares in that frustration. He wanted changes as well. Not just because he said Pat Riley would make those changes, but because he wants to win. He wants to be on a team that is competing for a title. And I don’t know that he honestly believes that the moves this off season put this team in contention status. So, I I think there’s that concern. Having said that, as the emotional leader of this locker room, and I think that’s his role and has been for some time now, I think he the idea of him welcoming guys back or even welcoming Powell and understanding that now is an opportunity for them to bond, to continue to grow, find their roles and excel as a unit. I love that he spoke to that and I love that he put that out there. That’s to me an understanding of the dynamics of this team and where they were last year and why it was such a challenge. And I and look, we’ve talked about it before and I know everybody, oh, just let it go. You’re beating a dead horse. The reality is that locker room was maybe not toxic, but as uncomfortable as Oh, I would go so far as to say toxic. It was pretty bad. And even even once he was traded away, it’s like, okay, at least we have some clarity. But man, you’re you’re like hung over. You’re emotionally hung over from having to deal with months of tension when your your star player and your friend to a certain degree, your your you know, a co-orker that you’ve been to great battles with and been there and and buted head with and when he says brotherhood. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That’s not that does not mean anything. That’s a that’s a specific term in there. Turning this into more of a brotherhood. And there was a disconnect with that team. And you know, not for nothing, but they just they they were sort of built into this post Jimmy Butler thing. They’re they were building this post Jimmy Butler plane in the middle of the air. Yeah. And the fact that they got through the plane tournament, all this stuff was pretty remarkable considering where that team had been. Um, and you’re right, like this team had gone through something traumatic like in in in terms of sports trauma that was traumatic and this team needed sports therapy and and and maybe all it needed was an offseason to just get away from it. And I do think like Bam went to Greece and and Spo was on the beach and DaVon Mitchell’s like doing karate in Spain or I don’t know what he’s doing, but it’s it this is what they needed. And now they’re going to come back in training camp and start to turn this into something that’s functional and coherent. And for that reason, I do think that the Heat will be better next year. Oh, to your point about the BAM quote here, it it wasn’t a ringing endorsement, right? It wasn’t. And I do kind of wonder like what would it have been like if they had traded for Kevin Durant, somebody that Bam has won a gold medal with, right? Or or something like that. But at the same time, it it strikes of optimism, which Bam is Bam is the eternal optimist like and and he he actually is. This is not just a uh a thing he does in front of microphones and cameras like he is an he is a perpetually optimistic person like an at as at his authentic self he is an optimist. Yes. Yes. So um it doesn’t surprise me that he’s optimistic here. But as the leader of the team I also think he has to be and and I think this was probably the right way to go about it while also not not letting the front office off the hook either. Right. He wasn’t going to be like, “Yeah, front office knocked it out of the park.” If he doesn’t believe that it was a home run, he be like, “Hey, we got a couple men on base. We’re going to try to we’re going to try to score some runs here, but you know, I think that there might have been something better that we could do.” You know, obviously we’re we’re putting words in his mouth right now, but to your point, it wasn’t like this fullthroated endorsement of what had happened, but he’s optimistic. Yeah. Um, and look, I I get it. I think, you know, you brought up the idea of what he would have said with KD. I think we would have seen like him be ecstatic, you know, because again that’s that’s a connection that he has with a superstar level player. Still a top Where would we rank KD? I had him in my top 15. I was just doing my top 100 for the Lockdown Network. I was surprised by how high I had KD. I think I had him at 12 or 13. And and deservedly so. Like we talked about it, you know, he was deserving of an AllNBA selection had he played the minimum number of games. So, I I think he’s certainly um still one of the best players in the league and and and that’s the kind of move and the way star players I’m not like do you think Bam would have been right or wrong cuz like I do think their front office was right not to give up everything for Kevin Durant but if you’re Bam you’re like look just get me the star player get me the co-star me Kevin Durant and Tyler and then you know the role player is a role player like I don’t like those guys are interchangeable that tends to be how star players think about things absolutely absolely Absolutely. I I I think that’s exactly right. It’s like, you know what, you give me and a couple other star level players and you can surround us with, and I hate to use a term because it seems dismissive, but you know, a couple scrubs, you know, I don’t care. We’ll we’ll get it done. As much as I think there’s a recognition, we’ll get it done. Absolutely. Rightly or wrongly, there’s a recognition around the league that Yes. Exactly. Depth now is more important than ever because we see teams with great depth be able to go to that next level. And I think you’re more reliant on role players because they have their opportunities to shine. We’ve talked about that in terms of what the heat is, but you still need your superstar talent and everything else will kind of find itself. You know, water will rise to its level. And I think they’ll they understand that as long as you have superstars, you’re always in position to win. And so I I think he is somewhat disappointed, but yes, also cautiously optimistic. Um, what do you think of his comments regarding DaVon and just the connection and everything else like I know we’ve already spoken about it, but I I do want to I want to I have one more point on the Davon thing and I have one more point on the norm thing that that we overlooked there. There’s there’s a specific part of that quote that I do think speaks volume. So, let’s talk about that uh on the other side here on Locked on Heat. Today’s episode is brought to you by 5Hour Energy. Time to fuel up and turn it up with five energy transfusion. and brings the bold grape, ginger, and lime flavor of your favorite golf drink, minus the alcohol, into a quick energizing shot. Whether you’re sinking birdies or just making memories with friends, this one’s a hole in one for your energy gain. Let’s be honest, some days on the course or off of it, you just need that extra boost to stay sharp and energized. And uh this will help you tremendously. If you’re looking to improve your game and maybe stay a little bit more alert throughout the process, well, this has got you going. Golf is about as good times and good people and good flavors, of course. And the grape and ginger lime flavor gives you the best parts of your clubhouse to go without chasing down the Bev Cart. If you go to 5houry.com today, that is the number five hourgy.com, you can use my promo code locked ongolf to receive 20% off your order. This offer is only valid until September 30th on one order and cannot be used with other promotions. The code is not good on subscription orders. We’ll be right back. [Music] So, a couple more things from this BAM stuff, but you had mentioned a piece about the DaVon Mitchell thing. What what specifically stood out to you? No, the the idea of um having him for a whole season, I think, is important one because I think he thrived in the opportunity, but we when we had Dave on the show, he spoke about what an incredible defender Bam was and the idea of them working in tandem together. Well, we don’t project Dave to be a starter. He’ll still get plenty of minutes. And that being the case, I think he’ll be able to still find a way to connect with Bam and be, you know, very good defensively. You want to be able to have that perimeter defense and then of course the versatility that Adabio brings and the idea of having these two, and I don’t think this is overstating it, two all defense level players, you know, two of the top defenders at their respective positions. I mean I Bam to me regardless of position the best if not one of the best in the NBA and Davon for what he does and intensity he brings on the perimeter certainly as good a point of attack defender as you’re going to find and and so to have them both working in tandem working uh connectively like that I think is a great thing and I’m I’m looking forward to it and that the fact that he spoke about it specifically that he looked at one of the offseason’s moves and said you know what to bring him back and looking forward to working with him for a full here. I think that speaks highly about how um how Bam sees DaVon and that connection continuing to grow. There’s a lot of respect between DaVon Mitchell and Bam and between, you know, that goes both ways and for Bam to say, you know, DaVon being back, we’ve been missing somebody that can really play on ball defense. I love that as an acknowledgement from Bam in terms of what the roster is. That’s a leadership type of statement. That’s a leader quote. that’s somebody that’s working, you know, basically with the front office to look at this roster and evaluate its strengths and weaknesses. So, I love that he’s just openly saying, “Yeah, like you know what, we did need a guy who was a great point of attack defender.” Basically, after Kyle Lowry’s first year, we have been missing and and you know, well, Gabe Vincent was that too. So, basically after those guys left, we hadn’t had that essentially. And he’s right. Um the Norm Powell thing too I think is really interesting in terms you know I don’t want to slight Norm Powell because that was a a home run acquisition for this team considering what they gave up right which b next to nothing to go get a guy who was nearly an all-star last year. Um and yeah Bam does you know we kind of hypothesized what it would look like what these quotes would look like had they traded for Kevin Durant. The other thing we do know about Bam is he likes guys like Norm Pal. Like he is attracted to playing to with guys like that. So the quote that really stood out to me with him is I feel like Norman is one of those guys that floats under the radar, but as you saw last year, he’s really shown that he can be an all-star caliber player. Bam loves the guys that float under the radar cuz he thinks he’s the guy that floats under the radar. The guy that never has won defensive player of the year despite being very deserving, you know, all this stuff. Um being drafted towards the end of the lottery when he thought maybe he should be drafted higher than that. Um this he he he he takes pride in playing with guys like that and to get a guy like Norman Pal who he supposedes has been flying under the radar which I don’t even know if I agree with that. I kind of think we all know who Norman Pal is but whatever. Like if Bam is obviously saying that about Norman that’s a sign of respect to be like he flies under the radar and yet you could see he’s an all-star caliber player. Yeah. No doubt. Um, it’s a I think it’s a definite positive thing. So, look, I mean, I don’t want to have made it seem like BAM was completely out on where this team is headed. Uh, maybe they didn’t reach what you said. Yeah. No, no, I know. I I just I know for for coupling, you know, fans already natural levels of disappointed because that’s just the way Heat fans I think tend to operate uh with some of the comments again that the fact that he was missing the mark in terms of a high level of enthusiasm and things of that sort. I think there is, you know, you said it best, he’s optimistic. Like you could tell from the tone of his voice or or at least the words that he used specifically and knowing BAM the way that we do, I think it’s not much of a reach to say that he was optimistic and looking forward to working with them. Just right, you know, I I think that’s his prediction was wrong. He predicted a lot of changes and that didn’t happen. And yet he’s still being optimistic very much kind of how we’re doing on this show, David. It sort of feels like this this whole thing has been a little bit of a therapy session in managing expectations here. Um, and I think we’ve done we’ve come out the other side of it relatively optimistic. That said, we’re going to end it on a bad on a negative note because I did want to bring this up. So, somewhat positive, somewhat negative, right? So, the Marlins, they sweep the Yankees over the weekend. They’ve climbed all the way back to 500 and they’re in the wildard hunt. This is baseball I’m talking about. Unbelievable. Yeah. Well, I I am I’m wearing the Marlins hat right now. Um, which isn’t necessarily new, but I’m I’m wearing the Marlins hat. I’m falling for this team in a way that I have not fallen for a Marlins team. This is this honestly reminds me of the second half of 2003. Yeah, this is what it reminds me. I’m not going to I’m not going to say that they’re going to go ahead and beat the Yankees in the World Series, but this is uh it’s very very exciting. But, you know what? Why not? Let’s go. Um, so you got the Marlins having I think the best weekend in in franchise history. I in regular season, the best regular season weekend in franchise history for the Marlins. You’ve got the Panthers coming off of two straight Stanley Cup titles. You got the Dolphins who are in the middle of training camp and as we know, football is king here in South Florida. My question to you, David, is are the Heat in trouble of becoming the most boring team in the market right now? Uh, I I think you could make that case. I I think they still have a little bit more I would say around enthusiasm than the Marlins just because it feels like the Marlins the other shoe is going to drop any second now. Wayne Heisinga somehow is going to resurrect and zombified sell half the team. I don’t know. I It’s just deadline. He’s just somehow somehow something’s going to happen and I think that’s just a feeling. Yeah. Tough series against the Astros coming up. So, we’ll see. And and yes, it was sold out all weekend, but it was sold out because there was a lot of Yankee there. So, we’ll see what happens. But there is real enthusiasm around the team despite the whatever the ticket sales are going to look like. But yeah, go ahead. But I I still think Yeah, I still think that they are kind of I think South Florida sports fans are cautiously optimistic about the Marlins and they want to buy in, etc. I I think that they’ll start to pick up some kind of um probably more attention. The Yankees I think beating the Yankees sweeping the series. Like I to me I think that’s a huge step in saying you know what maybe these guys are actually pretty damn good. And it is after the trade deadline and they they did not trade Sandy Alcantara who everybody is the star pitcher that everybody thought they were going to move and they didn’t. So there is a little bit of a oh okay they didn’t make the trade that we all thought was happening. Maybe we are kind of in on whatever this second half push is. It means nothing for what they’ll do this offseason or whatever. I still think that they’ll probably trade Sandy this off seasonason, but yeah, whatever. Like for now, we just we got some fun. We got a couple months of fun baseball, I guess. Yeah. Yeah. You know, you’re in the hunt. You’re playing, you’re winning, and I think that speaks pretty highly. Uh the Heat, conversely, again, as we said, ruerless, no superstar player. The Jimmy Butler era, as exciting as it was, fell short. So you don’t even have like the the the buzz of post championship sort of enthusiasm to keep ca keep you engaged. Um no real moves during the season and look the play in tournament and then getting historically mollywal the way they did uh just I think not great. So I I think there really is a lack of interest and enthusiasm about this team. uh you know the draft pick uh I think was fine but again a player that was I would say under the radar conversely you had 20 you know it’s like you’re not you never like this isn’t Dallas that got lucked into Cooper flag at number one that’s what it was Miami had they tanked right they would have been the team they would have been the team to get that first pick in the draft so even that or even a lottery pick where you’re getting one of these bigname guys you know maybe there’s like some you could just sort of I’m not I’m not really an Ace Bailey guy But even if they ended up with Ace Bailey, like now you’re like, “Ah, well, we could start talking ourselves into this.” You know, it’s interesting. Yeah. To Bam’s point, like Norm Powell is a guy who’s been playing on the West Coast for a couple years. It’s like, do have Heat fans even watched this guy? I don’t know. You know, a lot of East Coast. So, I’ve fun to get excited about. I’ve talked to people who are like, “Oh, you know, uh, you know, I don’t even know who that guy Powell is.” And I’m like, he’s actually really good and you probably can’t watch him because he plays for the, you know, that he played for the Clippers and he played for the Blazers. So you didn’t you haven’t watched him a few years. He was a reserve on a championship team coming off the bench in 2019. Yeah. And you don’t remember Toronto. So I mean that’s pretty much maybe the last that you’ve heard of him. So I I I mean he’s a really good player. Uh but they just don’t even know. They don’t even know he exists. And and that’s I tell them I say, “Oh, they ask me, you know, as fans typically do when they meet us on the street.” Oh, what do you think of the Osio? like, “Oh, I like POW.” Like, and the response is always, “Really?” It’s like, “Yeah, I actually watch basketball. Kind of do it for a living.” So, I I tend to watch guys like Pal a lot. And yeah, he’s pretty damn good. But they just the fact that they don’t really know about him. And what’s the other question you always get? Uh oh. Are they going to make a trade or are they going to trade Terry Rosir? Yeah, that’s the one I get all the time. Absolutely. I think if they were to just buy way if they were going to buy out Terry Rosier, which I’m not advocating for, but if they were to just do that, I actually think excitement for the team would go up just because Rosier would be off the roster. Yes. They they are they’re cuz people see Rosier on the roster still and they’re like, is he going to play? Because that was horrifying last year when he was on the court. And I’m just like, he’s going to be on the roster and I don’t think he’s got minutes right now. He’s going to have to earn every minute that he gets. But Heat fans see him on the roster and they panic. He’s he’s he’s like on a on one basis too. Kind of like Sher or a Brazilian soccer player. He’s like, “Yo, they’re gonna trade Rosier.” He’s like, “I don’t know. I don’t think so.” He’s like, “Who wants him?” He’s like, “Oh, bro, get that guy off my team, bro. I don’t mean to go Jose from Kendall here, but yeah, he’s like that is definitely the response that I get a lot of.” Yeah. Yeah. I’m glad you brought But so to your overall question, are they the most boring team in South Florida? I think I think just slightly above the Marlins for now. But if the Marlins go on a playoff run, the Heat are definitely going to be uh in fourth right now. I mean, even maybe below the University of Miami, depending on what they do this season. And so I Yeah, football, as you said, is king. The Dolphins, despite not winning and never really having much of a chance of winning, they are still somehow going to gain your interest. That’s the problem. Yeah. The games matter more. You know, it’s just you get 17 games freaking team. Yeah. It’s it they don’t have a quarterback on the roster. it seems like. And every time they get one, they they somebody else gets hurt. It it’s Kater Ku going down for the whatever. It’s it’s this whole thing where it doesn’t matter what the Dolphins do, they’re still at the top of the list. Like the interest in them is the highest all the time out of any of the teams down here. But I’ll say this, I do think that the Heat fans have a very loyal contingent. And I don’t think we necessarily give them enough credit sometimes where they are ride or die and they’re going to be all in on this stuff. It’s it’s the people who are still everydayers in August for us. Those are the people that they’re they they hear a segment like this and they’re like, “What are you even talking about? I love the Miami Heat.” But are also saying like, “Yeah, I would like I would also like to have Taylor off the roster.” But um yeah, I I I think I even overstated it in the question here. I I I just think it’s Dolphins, it’s Heat, and it’s pretty much everybody else, even with the Panthers having won two championships in terms of fan engagement. But then I’ll but regardless of the fan, you don’t want to like rest on your laurels if you’re one of these organizations in terms of like actual qualitative quality of product. It is pretty crazy to think that obviously the Panthers are at the top in the team that they’ve put together two straight championships. The Marlins over here, again, I I don’t want to make too much out of it. A lot of this is based off of expectations. They’re still five and a half games out of the wild card, but like they’re starting to get there with Miami with with the with the Heat and with the Dolphins consider like in terms of like on the court on the field product, which is, you know, not where you wanted to be if you were the Dolphins or the Heat. No, definitely not. Um, it’s just it it we’ve even seen like look again the attending games and you’re going to watch a game if it’s on TV, but I think that’s where you’re you’re most likely to lose some fans because attending a Heat game is still an event despite being mediocre. It you you go to a Heat game and especially if it’s a Friday or Saturday night, it’s a date night. You’re there with the family. There’s so much going on. Uh you’re willing to pay for the parking. you’re willing or you know maybe even if you take the Metro Rail it’s packed like with E fans um it’s still an event uh but those Monday Tuesday night games versus the Charlotte Hornets or the Washington Wizards you’re not going to get a full house you’re not going to get as much enthusiasm about and look the tickets are sold because they sell out every game in that sense but you’re not necessarily going to take the trip down and that’s that’s to me the indicator of of the fan level of excitement is that if you’re not willing to go there and you Again, a Dolphins games sell out regardless because they’re the Dolphins and you only have what, eight, nine games a season to to have to actually attend. To draw 41 games to say, is it going to come down to the wire where you have to, you know, hope for a Tyler Herald three-pointer to knock off the powerhouse Washington Wizards? That’s not going to get it done, bro. So, you know, that’s going to be a little tough to sell. Um, that’s why that’s why the star players are so valuable is because it doesn’t matter who you play, you’re there to see the star player. Absolutely. fans aren’t buying into Tyler Abam as a superstar player, which they’re not. I don’t think any of them are superstar players, and there’s so few of those guys in the NBA, but that’s what makes those guys so valuable. But, um, all right, that’ll do it for us today. Thanks for making Lockdown Heat your first listen today. For your second listen, find the Lockdown NBA podcast cuz there is no offseason. Doug, Matt, and Hayes keep you up to date on contract negotiations, rumors, and everything you need to be the most informed NBA fan. Find Locked on NBA on YouTube, wherever you listen to podcast. Part of the lockdown podcast network, your team every day.

Miami Heat fans are disappointed after Luka Doncic signed a contract extension with the Los Angeles Lakers, but did the Heat ever really have a chance? Wes Goldberg and David Ramil discuss what Luka’s extension means for the Heat’s superstar pursuit before analyzing Bam Adebayo’s recent comments about the roster and whether the Heat are in danger of becoming the most boring team in South Florida.

0:00 Intro
1:30 Luka’s extension
11:30 Bam talks roster
22:30 Bam on Norm Powell
27:00 Heat slipping behind Marlins?

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