By Michael Syracusa
The Miami Heat find themselves off the heels of a season that some would like to classify as a soap opera. From Jimmy Butler starting the year as the focal point to this team to being traded midway through to Golden State.
Despite all the adversity the Heat went through, they made the Play-In Tournament. With Duncan Robinson departing and Davion Mitchell re signing, there is one avenue Miami could explore:
Jonathan Kuminga. Here are 5 reasons why Kuminga fits Heat Culture.
1: Taking the pressure off of Bam:
Bam is a clear cut starter as the 4 but who’s to say you can’t have both big men on the court at once? Both men can score in the interior and can cause havoc for opposing defenses.
2: Off the bench:
Kuminga averages 22 minutes a game in his career. Having him come off the bench would sound like a no brainer. If he’s not in the same lineup as Bam then he is the clear favorite as the runner up.
3: Heat Culture as a whole
Miami is notorious for finding players out of nowhere and turning them into fierce competitors. Star talent like Kuminga would only make the process that much better.
4: No foul issue
In the 47 regular season games he played last year he only averaged 1.9 fouls a game. In the year prior he only averaged 2.3 through 74 games played.
5: Hopeful free throw percentage
Kuminga’s free throw percentage continues to improve as he plays in the league. As a big man he’s averaging 69%. Sure that’s below the league average of 75%, but at 22 years old there is plenty of room to improve and grow.