Q: Ira, you and Pat Riley have both pointed out the dangers of building depth for the big money. But look at the Celtics. Their bench was awful in the playoffs and they're still one win away from winning. Forget about role players and get some top-tier help for Jimmy Butler before it's too late. – Andres.
A: First, I don't know if I've argued for depth over talent, but if you include me in a group that includes Pat Riley, I wouldn't be opposed to the idea. But it's remarkable how much the Celtics did with a bench that was basically just Sam Hauser, Payton Pritchard, and Xavier Tillman, at least in the Finals against the Mavericks. Of course, part of that was the absence of Kristaps Porzingis, with Al Horford in the starting lineup. But the reality is, depth doesn't matter as much in the playoffs, because there are no back-to-back games and there's a significant break between games and series. But depth is important to get through the regular season, and that was a crucial issue for the Heat last season. That being said, I have no problem trading the Heat's multiple supporting players for more substantial ones to supplement Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo. If the Heat are really committed to player development (and they are), they should be able to develop the supporting players, as the Heat have done for years. The question is whether anyone values the Heat's secondary as highly as they have in recent years.
Q: Ira, what is our direction right now? I feel like we're in a whirlpool of uncertainty. It seems like Jimmy Butler is over, Tyler Herro is gone, and our best basketball player seems to be our coach. We need players. – Gregorio.
A: It may seem like the Heat haven't played a game in nearly two months, but they haven't. That has created enough time, perhaps too much time, for questions that can't be answered right away, just like other teams have played games. Once the Finals are over and free agency and the draft are addressed more directly, it will become clearer what can and needs to be done. Still, it's unrealistic to expect Jimmy Butler, Tyler Herro and the rest of the rotation to be replaced going into the offseason. The Heat aren't coming off a bad season, just a shaky one. And aside from the breakup before the Big 3 to free up cap space, the Heat haven't opted for any significant changes in a while.
Q: The real reason for the Celtics' success is the fact that they acquired two All-Stars in Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday last offseason, while the Heat acquired minimum-salary regular backups Thomas Bryant and Josh Richardson. In other words, Brad Stevens obviously outdid Pat Riley, but I expect things to be different this offseason. — Gregory, Jacksonville
A: And they won the Executive of the Year award because they outplayed the rest of the NBA. Of course, the Celtics were a more desperate team, losing to the Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals last season. We'll see how the Heat deal with that disappointment in the playoffs.
