Miami Heat suspend Dion Waiters before zero tolerance season

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“I let the culture slip.”

With those words — spoken after last season by Miami Heat president Pat Riley — you knew the next season would be different. Riley felt burned after he gave much-criticized lucrative long-term contracts to non-stars in 2016 and 2017 and then those players returned the reward by slacking on their conditioning.

And before it even begins, this season is different.

First, Riley banished James Johnson from training camp not for failing the conditioning test — he passed — but for failing to meet Riley’s special weight requirement.

Now, Dion Waiters, who had weight issues last season but got himself in better shape this offseason, has been told he isn’t “in Heat shape” by Erik Spoelstra (we posted that video), and has been steered toward a bench role as Duncan Robinson and Tyler Herro have gotten preseason starts.

And he’s been openly unhappy about it.

So now he’s been suspended for one game.

Notice the language.

“Number of unacceptable incidents.”

Remember Waiters telling Ira Winderman that he wasn’t cool with coming off the bench, even after he flourished in that role against Charlotte in the third preseason game?

Remember this from Spoelstra about what he wants from Waiters, which Waiters then somewhat contradicted right after?

Here was Waiters:

There was some speculation that Waiters was away from the team for three days this week after Charlotte game because of a disciplinary action, though my sources did confirm an actual personal issue unrelated to his unhappiness.

Even so, it doesn’t seem to be stopping.

Here are some tweets that tell the story:

 

Instagram always remembers, and this doesn’t appear that it is going away anytime soon. Unless Waiters ends up elsewhere:

We know how this goes.

Just ask Hassan Whiteside. In Portland.

Herro and the Miami Heat Heels

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Tyler Herro’s meteoric rise has captivated the Heat fans and the national media. His elite shotmaking ability, a valuable skillset put on display throughout summer league and NBA preseason has the rest of the league taking notice.

However, on October 17th vs the Orlando Magic it was his toughness and his WWE heel-like trash talk that went viral on social media platforms.

 

 

It’s a toughness his teammates love and embrace.

Jimmy Butler once again expressed how much he “loves that kid” and Justise Winslow was the first teammate to console Herro, who didn’t need much consoling, after the scuffle. Winslow did it with huge grin on his face, akin to an older brother watching his little brother win his first fight. And Winslow he wasn’t the only one. There was a a noticeable slight grins on the faces of nearly all of Herro’s teammates and coaches.

This shouldn’t be a shock to anyone who’s familiar with the Miami Heat culture. They like tough and serious players. It’s why after drafting the silly Michael Beasley in 2008 they’ve drafted players who are nothing like Beasley such as Winslow, Josh Richardson, Bam Adebayo and now Herro and KZ Okpala.

Butler is known for his tough love, and verbally challenging his teammates. The difference with Herro and why they’ve bonded so much in a short time is because Herro “talks back.”

Herro’s trash talking is nothing new, this is the same Tyler Herro who was walking into high school gyms getting booed by opposing fans, silencing them with his play on the court, all the while smirking at opponents. Often, they tried to rattle him first, but he didn’t back down.

And it’s not just Herro. Butler in an interview with Heat broadcaster Eric Reid said “Justise Winslow doesn’t back down from anyone.” If you recall, Winslow who’s usually stoic was the opposite of that in the playoff series against the Philadelphia 76ers. A technical foul for stepping on Joel Embiid’s mask, getting into scuffles, and screaming expletives at Ben Simmons thought the series.

There probably hasn’t been a team with this number of players who exhibit the Miami Heat DNA since the fights between the Heat and New York Knicks in the late 1990s. Udonis Halem has never been bashful, Dion Waiters can talk up a storm, Olynyk has been in skirmishes, and James Johnson almost used everything he learned from his MMA background on Serge Ibaka last year before cooler heads prevailed.

The “Big Three” of LeBron James, Chris Bosh, and Dwyane Wade were hated but they wanted to be loved. The heel role didn’t suit them or their personalities. To the contrary, this heat team is tailor maid to be villains. Jimmy Butler said he wants this Heat team to be “hated”, with their physicality and their bluntness trash-talking, they’re well on their way.

NBA GMs love Spoelstra, like Miami Heat a little

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The NBA’s general managers have spoken.

The annual polling of teams’ primary decision-makers was released today on NBA.com and, as usual, there are some surprises. What comes across most is how balanced the league is this season, compared to recent seasons.

We’ll get to thoughts on other teams and players in a minute but, first, how do they see the Heat.

Well, first, no one sees them winning the title this season. Neither, naturally, do we. We do — or at least I do — see them contending for the third spot in the conference behind Milwaukee and Philadelphia. No GM does, however. The Heat received no third place votes, while 18 percent of the GMs have them finishing fourth. The consensus? Seventh, also behind Boston, Brooklyn, Toronto and Indiana.

So what about players?

The Heat did not get votes for MVP, player to start a franchise with, or player who forces the most adjustments. Nor did the Heat get consideration for any particular position, in terms of being the best in the league (small forward, where Jimmy Butler, is kind of loaded).

Bam Adebayo did receive votes in the “breakout season” category (Sacramento’s DeAaron Fox was first). And while Tyler Herro did not register in the Rookie of the Year thinking (tough season to do that), he did receive 7% of the vote for “biggest steal” at his draft position, which was 13th. And Derrick Jones Jr. got 7% of the vote for most athletic player.

Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and Anthony Davis switched teams this offseason, so all beat out Butler in the biggest offseason acquisition category. Butler did receive a vote for best perimeter defender (Leonard and George outpaced the field). The Heat were not among the eight teams receiving votes for “most improved team.”

But this is where it gets interesting.

Remember when ESPN blowhard Dan Dakich said Erik Spoelstra was just another coach? While sitting in the same booth as our buddy Jorge Sedano?

Well….

Jorge has final say on this:

Should the Dolphins Trade RB Kenyan Drake?

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Heading into the 2019 season, it seemed as though Dolphins’ RB Kenyan Drake was in-line for a bigger workload in Chad O’Shea’s offense.

Unfortunately, that did not happen.

And despite playing second-fiddle to Kalen Ballage throughout much of the offseason, he still remained the most explosive player on Miami’s offense. Truth is, he was not only the team’s best RB between the tackles, he had the most value as a pass-catcher and in a NE-style offense, this was just as important.

However, once Chris Grier began to purge the roster, Drake’s name immediately became involved in trade talks.

Prior to Miami’s 43-0 loss to New England, Fox Sport’s Jay Glazer reporter Drake asked for a trade, which angered the 25-year old RB.

Reports from Drake and ‘sources’ around the team suggest he never asked for a trade, and wasn’t overly concerned with what the future entailed. But all of that has changed in recent weeks. And with the emergence of Mark Walton as the heir apparent and current RB1, trade rumors have once again started to circulate.

What can Miami expect in to get in a trade?

Which begs the question, what would it take for the Dolphins to part ways with the RB most known for his improbable run that will forever be remembered as the ‘Miami Miracle’?

Ideally, a player of his skill set and youth would fetch a third-round pick. Unfortunately, the Dolphins are unlikely to see a team part with a day two pick. After all, if reports are true, Miami already tried to lock Drake up long-term. And if he is indeed on the trade block, the price tag may be too rich for any team long-term.

So what is fair compensation?.

Personally, I think if a team offers the Dolphins a fourth-round pick, Chris Grier would be ecstatic. This should also appeal to the handful of teams that need a RB. A RB that has the skills as both a runner and pass-catcher.

In the end, no one knows if Drake will be traded before the October 29th deadline. But what we do know is his future in Miami is bleak. And for a front office looking for every and any, opportunity to land draft capital, it would be in both sides interest to strike a deal.

Time will tell, but for now it appears Kenyan Drake’s days in Miami are numbered.

Josh Houtz (@houtz) is a die-hard fan of the Miami Dolphins, and will miss Kenyan Drake if traded.

Josh Rosen out, Ryan Fitzpatrick in for Dolphins

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Brian Flores clearly wants to win, even if the Miami Dolphins organization does not.

And in that context, he’s gone back to Ryan Fitzpatrick as the starter at quarterback, as the Dolphins travel to Buffalo.

That means Josh Rosen, after three starts and an overall 52.0 passer rating for the entire season, is back on the bench. And it means there will be much debate about whether it was worth trading a second-round pick to Arizona for him, and whether he has any future with this franchise.

Rosen was repeatedly hurried and hit in Sunday’s loss to Washington, but his performance also paled in comparison to that of Fitzpatrick, who rallied the Dolphins to within 17-16 before a two-point conversion failed.

And Rosen hasn’t been that good when given time either, as our Chris Kouffman of Three Yards Per Carry noted:

And Joe Schad of the Palm Beach Post has a sentiment that is similar to ours.

Rosen may have been put in a terrible spot. Awful offensive line. So-so skill players. A coaching staff that, at times, has seemed clueless or worse.

But he hasn’t shown much either. Some escapability and improvisation. Some toughness. But not much special in terms of arm strength or anticipation. And it’s clear that Flores hasn’t been satisfied with his command of the offense.

We thought that, at worst, Rosen would compete with the next quarterback — likely drafted this April — to be the starter at the start of next season. Now that appears unlikely.

Fitzpatrick? Well, he is what he is.

Buffalo is one of his former teams, and Fitzpatrick knows that stadium and the conditions well. The Bills are good, really good, but it shouldn’t stun anyone if there’s some FitzMagic on Sunday. Flores clearly wants that. Do you? Does Steve Ross?

HEAT shuffle prospects with eyes on Sioux Falls Skyforce

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Today the Heat began the process of finalizing the prospects it intends to funnel to their G League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce.

Within hours of each other, the Heat announced that they have waived guards Jeremiah Martin and Mychal Mulder and signed guards Skyler Flatten and Bubu Palo.

Martin’s tenure in Miami started in July, while Mulder was signed a month ago. Neither prospect flashed enough to warrant consideration for two-way contracts.

Bubu Palo is a longstanding member of the Skyforce, playing the last five seasons in Sious Falls.

Flatten had a productive career at South Dakota State, starting every game of his senior season last year.

The shuffling of prospects throughout preseason to get looks at different players is not foreign operating procedure for the Heat in recent seasons.

The organization is widely regarded as one of the teams who has utilized the G League in many of the most forward thinking, innovative ways since 2006.

 

 

The Dolphins' free agent signings fit into coach Brian Flores' scheme. (Tony Capobianco for Five Reasons Sports)

Dolphins’ HC Brian Flores is safe, for now

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Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald is reporting the Dolphins HC Brian Flores is safe through 2020.

It is no secret that the 2019 Miami Dolphins are in the middle of one of the worst teams in the history of the NFL. And after the roster was stripped of an elite left-tackle and a disgruntled defensive back, it was obvious that there wasn’t much success on the horizon. Truth is, whether you believe in #Tankovailoa or you want to see Miami win a game or two, there’s not going to be many wins in 2019. The same might be true in 2020, but it’s all part of the process.

Nevertheless, there’s still a crowd of people that believe Brian Flores is at fault. And no matter how depleted the cards are he’s been dealt some think he’s the one to blame and should be re-evaluated at season’s end.

That’s not going to happen.

According to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald, the Dolphins have no intentions of moving on from head coach Brian Flores at the end of the 2019 season. In fact, his source goes on to say that he will not lose his job ‘under any circumstances’

 

This is good news for a franchise that in recent years, has cast aside one head coach after another, like a piece of recycled paper.  Flores and the Dolphins never really stood a chance in 2019 and given the current circumstances, can’t do much to right the ship this season.
But if it takes one historically bad year to land the franchise quarterback they have long hoped for since Dan Marino’s retirement, than so be it.  It won’t be in 2019, but things are going to finally look up for the Dolphins.  And head coach Brian Flores will be a part of that.

Do the Miami Heat have a Dion Waiters issue?

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Dion Waiters had a great game on October 9th, scoring 19 in a preseason rout of the Charlotte Hornets.

The problem came after it.

It was reported by the South Florida Sun-Sentinel that Waiters is not happy with anything short of a starting role this season. To be clear, Waiters made no public demands. Waiters, like Hassan Whiteside (traded to the Portland Trailblazers in the offseason) aren’t by any accounts bad guys. But both, perhaps Whiteside more than Waiters, have reputations for putting individual success first. And that maybe they aren’t your prototypical Heat guys.

Waiters can help the Heat if he’s in shape, which he appears to be. His ballhandling, shooting and swagger are useful attributes. But only if he buys in. So will he start? And how will he react if he doesn’t?

The Heat don’t typically throw rookies in the fire right away, but there Tyler Herro was, opening Monday’s win against Atlanta as Waiters was inactive, and scoring the Heat’s first 14 points. Herro is making a compelling a case, with hsi shotmaking and playmaking, to start alongside Justise Winslow and Jimmy Butler in the backcourt.

It should be noted that Waiters did what he was supposed to do this summer: he got in better condition. Is he in “Miami Heat shape”? Spoelstra said at training camp Waiters wasn’t quite yet, an assessment Waiters didn’t seem to appreciate. But, as every knows by now, Miami Heat shape requires more effort to tone and condition your body than is necessary for the average NBA team. And even that doesn’t guarantee anything. You still need to fit with your teammates on the floor. The Heat have made a point of Herro’s gym rat nature. Is Waiters meeting the same standard? It’s not enough for a veteran of several seasons to just shave off a few extra pounds.

A starting spot should be determined by your level of play, chemistry with your teammates and how all of that correlates to overall team success on the court. Waiters does have chemistry with Goran Dragic; we saw that in the 2016-17 run. So it might be prudent to keep 7-11 duo intact. Waiters improved his three point shooting last year, especially in catch and shoot situations last year with Winslow and Josh Richardson handling most of the ball handling situations. However, now it’s a different team and it’s also Jimmy Butler’s team, so he’ll need to continue to build off of what he did last year and what he did Wednesday night vs the Hornets.

Yes, Waiters worked more this offseason.

But even with that, and the improvements he’s made, Spoelstra is famous for these five words: It doesn’t guarantee you anything.

Tankathon’s Latest 3-Round Mock Draft

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Let’s take a look at Tankathon’s latest 3-round Mock draft and where they have the Dolphins drafting in the 2020 NFL Draft.

As you may know by now, the Miami Dolphins hosted the winless Washington Redskins on Sunday, in what many deemed the ‘Tank for Tua’ Bowl.  And aside from being the battle between two winless franchises, the game was quite interesting to say the least. There were three questions that would be answered on Sunday.

  1. How would the Dolphins look after having two weeks to prepare?
  2. Could Washington play with a new-found passion, after firing Jay Gruden earlier in the week?
  3. Which team would want Alabama QB Tua Tagovailoa more?

Truth is, no matter what the fanbase long yearns for, the players and coaches have no interest in ‘tanking’. And as you saw on Sunday, Brian Flores and his coaching staff tried every little bit of Magic they had to defeat Washington, but unfortunately with the game on the line and a 2-point conversion to seal the deal, the Dolphins did what many had hoped. TANKED.

So, with Miami losing to Washington, surely, they would have the inside track at Tua?  Wrong.  Because just like the Dolphins, the Cincinnati Bengals also lost their respective matchup vs division rivals the Baltimore Ravens.

Which left ONE very important game to be determined.  Sunday Night’s matchup between the Los Angeles Chargers and Pittsburgh Steelers.  After all, there was no way Gerald Hodges and the Steeler’s defense could beat the one feared Los Angeles Chargers in LA, right?  Wrong again!

According to Tankathon.com, the Miami Dolphins have two picks in the top-10 and five in the top-66. This will most likely change between now and season’s end, but for now, Miami’s historically bad season would come up just short of Tagovailoa.

So, without further ado, here is Tankathon’s latest 2020 mock draft.

Tankathon Mock Draft 10/15

 

With the 2nd pick in the 2020 NFL draft, the Dolphins select elite pass-rusher Chase Young.  Miami desperately needs a pass-rusher and Young is the best player in the entire class- quite the consolation prize if the Dolphins do miss out on Alabama QB Tua Tagovailoa.

With the 8th-overall pick, Miami drafts Justin Herbert, although this pick could be Jake Fromm or Joe Burrow if Miami’s scouting department believes they are the QB to change the franchise around.  Regardless of where Miami picks, the Dolphins will use a first-round pick on a QB.

With the 25th-overall pick, the Dolphins select a defensive back to start opposite of Xavien Howard.  Last week, this was LSU’s Kristian Fulton.  This week, however, it’s Florida Gators’ CB C.J Henderson.

At pick No.33,  the Dolphins’ offense gets an explosive weapon in Clemson RB Travis Etienne.  Truth is, Etienne is one of the best RBs in all of football and in a contract year for Kenyan Drake, makes a ton of sense with their first second-round selection.

With the 60th-overall pick Miami adds much needed depth on the offensive line in Oklahoma C Creed Humphrey.  The Dolphins’ offensive line is a turnstile and Humphrey would be a day-one starter.

Lastly, Miami uses the 66th-overall pick on Texas WR Collin Johnson.  Johnson would be a welcomed addition a WR corps that has DeVante Parker and Preston Williams, and not much more after that.  He would be a nice fit schematically in Chad O’Shea’s offense.

This will change many more times between now and April 23, 2020.  With that said, how do you feel with Tankathon’s latest mock draft?

 

Josh Houtz (@houtz) is a die-hard fan of the Miami Dolphins, despite what Jerome Baker thinks.

Looks like the Miami Heat have a lineup

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We sort of called this one.

No, it wasn’t expected quite this early, but Tyler Herro joined two other newcomers — Jimmy Butler and Meyers Leonard — in Miami’s starting lineup Monday against Atlanta.

And you shouldn’t expect it to change, after Herro scored 23 in 25 minutes in another rout, this one 120-87.

The lineup gives Miami the spacing it requires around Butler and Justise Winslow. It also allows Erik Spoelstra to reunite Goran Dragic and Dion Waiters (old 7-11 from the 2016-17 run) as what would now be the best backcourt pairing in the league, provided that Waiters gets back on the floor in the right frame of mind. Waiters is back after having gone away for “personal reasons,” coincidentally after he said he didn’t want to come off the bench. (He wasn’t active Monday).

When Kelly Olynyk returns from a knee injury, he can slide in as the versatile backup big, with Derrick Jones Jr. rotating between forward spots, and James Johnson (once in condition), Kendrick Nunn (who looked great again Monday) and Duncan Robinson (who continues to struggle with his shot) getting spot duty.

Spoelstra was noncommittal about whether he would keep the lineup together, but it would be unusual for the Heat to elevate Herro so quickly, watch him play so brilliantly and then slide him back to third team.

Not happening.

Not with support like this from Butler.

So get used to it — fans, media and, of course, Dion.

Check out Greg Sylvander’s column on Tyler Herro, the big bucket of hope.

Herro ball: Tyler’s a big bucket of hope