The Miami Heat are staring at a free-agent market that doesn’t offer many clean answers, which is why a Ben Simmons flier is at least worth real discussion.
That idea may sound offbeat, but the logic is simple: if Miami is going to use one of its last roster spots, it may be better off chasing a player with some upside than settling for a veteran whose best-case scenario is already baked in. Simmons is not a safe bet.
He might not even make it back into the league in any meaningful way. But the point is that there is still a path where he becomes useful, and that alone gives him a different kind of value.
The Heat are trying to find advantages wherever they can at this stage of the summer. They do not have the money to land a major free agent, and they do not have the assets to swing a significant trade right now.
That leaves the margins, the back end of the roster, the kind of move that can quietly change the ceiling of a team. In that space, Simmons stands out more than a player like Nick Richards or Gabe Vincent, not because those names lack value, but because Simmons carries a much bigger swing factor for the 13th or 14th man spot.
Of course, the risk is obvious. Miami could bring him in on a training camp invite or a veteran minimum deal and find out he simply does not have it anymore.
That outcome might even be the likeliest one. Still, the possibility that Simmons can contribute at all is what makes the conversation worth having.
As Miami moves into the first year of the Giannis Antetokounmpo era, every usable piece matters. Simmons would bring his versatility on both ends of the floor, and if he could get back to even 40 or even50 percent of what he once was, he could still help a team like the Heat. Whether the front office is willing to take that shot is another matter.
But in a summer like this, with so few obvious options left, the gamble may be the point.
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The wrinkle is how his next move gets decided, because Dallas would prefer to move him in a trade while a buyout would open a different path entirely. If Thompson reaches the open market, Miami is expected to be among the logical landing spots, which keeps this one worth watching even if the outcome is still very much unsettled. [Read more 🡒]