Q: Ira, let’s move past this Kevin Durant nonsense. This is not 2016 when he left OKC and won with the Warriors. This is nine years later, and nine years older. If he wants to be here in Miami, then tell him to go all Jimmy Butler, say no thanks to the other teams, and make it happen. Otherwise, I’ve seen this movie before. – Jonas.
A: Such is the downside of the NBA non-stop rumor machine, it feeds upon itself to where Kevin Durant practically is overshadowing the NBA Finals. Of course, the NBA also is not a league to turn down attention. But I agree. With so much backchanneling going on, it is imperative the Heat assess the cost, see where a Durant commitment would stand, and then set a deadline. This can’t be like the Summer of Lillard, or even all those Winters of Durant. If Kevin Durant wants to make it happen with Miami – and only with Miami – it would seem the apparatus is there. And if not, you move on.
Related Articles
Submit your “Ask Ira” question here!
Q: Indiana has shown enough that a scoring team can learn to defend when it needs to. I would like Erik Spoelstra and Pat Riley to see that it needs to start on the other end. – Sandy.
A: There have been ample times when Erik Spoelstra has spoken of playing with pace; then the season starts. And even Pat Riley seemingly has accepted the need for more offense as the game evolves, or returns to its roots, certainly such a proponent during his Showtime era with the Lakers. And, yet, there is little to indicate that anything other than defense will remain the franchise touchstone. It is who they are. And it’s hard to change,
Q: Why all the knocks against Andrew Wiggins? His 19 points per game average was higher than his average with the Warriors last season. It was also higher than Jimmy Butler’s and Bam Adebayo’s averages with a much lower salary than they have. – Oscar, Pembroke Pines.
A: Not knocks, just a sense of a limited Heat future. Amid all the postseason comments from Erik Spoelstra and Pat Riley, there hardly was much regarding Andrew Wiggins, if any at all. The sense simply remains of a rental, and not necessarily for anything Andrew has or hasn’t done. In a salary-cap league, he mostly has felt like a salary.
