Inside The Heat

Reunion cut short for Miami Heat former first-round pick

Ethan J. Skolnick|
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Miami Heat

The statistic was fun while it lasted.

After signing Precious Achiuwa to a non-guaranteed contract, the Miami Heat briefly had all of their last seven first-round picks on their roster. The thought was for Achiuwa to prove worthy of a guaranteed contract, and the Heat staying above the luxury tax line, at least for now.

Apparently he didn't.

Achiuwa didn't play in the final preseason game Friday against Memphis, and then was released, slicing the roster back down to 14 players prior to the start of the season. The Heat, in their current financial situation, can add another player in December and stay under the luxury tax line.

Meanwhile, Achiuwa may be headed overseas, according to some reports.

While the Heat have brought some players back more than two times -- Michael Beasley comes to mind -- that doesn't figure to be the case for Achiuwa, who hasn't shown the skills to overcome his lack of height to be a regular center or power forward in the NBA. Miami needs another bench big, with only two-way contract project Vlad Goldin behind Bam Adebayo, Nikola Jovic and Kel'el Ware, and conceivably could add someone to the mix in a few weeks, or sooner if one of those three is sidelined.

Precious Achiuwa
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The Heat could also look at a shooter: Alec Burks and Garrison Mathews are among those available.

But as far as the first round picks go, Heat fans will need to settle for six, and of course the eternal question of why the Heat took Achiuwa over the likes of Tyrese Maxey and Desmond Bane in the 2020 NBA draft.

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Ethan J. Skolnick
ETHAN J. SKOLNICK

Ethan has covered all major sports -- in South Florida and beyond -- since 1996 and is one of the longest-tenured fully credentialed members of the Miami Heat. He has covered, in total, more than 30 NBA Finals, Super Bowls, World Series and Stanley Cup Finals. After working full-time for the Miami Herald, South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Palm Beach Post, Bleacher Report and several other outlets, he founded the Five Reasons Sports Network in 2019 and began hosting the Five on the Floor podcast as part of that network. The podcast is regularly among the most downloaded one-team focused NBA podcasts in the nation, and the network is the largest independent sports outlet in South Florida, by views, listens and social media reach. He has a B.A. from The Johns Hopkins University and an M.S. from Columbia University. TWITTER: @EthanJSkolnick and @5ReasonsSports EMAIL: fllscribe@gmail.com

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