Gary Payton knows a thing or two about what a championship team in Miami looks like. He was there in 2006. So when speculation started swirling about who the Heat should add to play alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo after that blockbuster trade with the Bucks, people asked. And Payton had opinions.
Specifically, he weighed in on two names that keep popping up in free agency chatter: Russell Westbrook and DeMar DeRozan. Both veteran guards. Both with very different skill sets. But only one, in Payton’s view, fits what Miami actually needs.
“I think they need a really, really true point guard,” Payton said, via R.org’s DJ Siddiq. “I think they need somebody who’s going to get the ball to Giannis, who’s going to do that, and I don’t think Westbrook is one of them point guards where he’ll sit around and wait over to the side and get hit, they throw it to him, and he can hit a jump shot consistently. I don’t think that’s what Miami needs.”
That’s a pretty clear no on Westbrook as the primary facilitator. Payton doubled down, saying the Heat need someone who can create a play but also spot up and knock down a jumper when Giannis has the ball at the top and Bam Adebayo is down low. A pass-first point guard who can actually shoot. That’s the gap.
But here’s where it gets interesting. Payton didn’t completely shut the door on Westbrook. He just doesn’t see him as the answer to Miami’s biggest problem.
Westbrook as a wild card, not the solution
Payton acknowledged that Westbrook still brings something to the table. He’s aggressive. He gets to the rim. He plays with that edge that Miami fans love.
“In today’s NBA, point guards are basically two guards, so if you go and get a good one that can go and get it, Westbrook, if he goes down there, he still will make a presence known for Miami,” Payton said. “Because he’s still going to penetrate, he’s still going to get to the basket, and he’s gutsy, and he’s still in shape, and he’s a basketball player that just got a lot of dog in him that he’s not going to let nothing bother him. I think that still would be a good fit for him. I would pick him up, just be happy on my team to just make something happen.”
So Payton would take Westbrook as a roster piece. Just not as the guy running the offense next to Giannis. That distinction matters.
DeRozan gets a softer sell, but the Heat still look like contenders
On DeMar DeRozan, Payton didn’t go deep into fit. But reports have linked the Heat to the veteran scorer, and Payton likes the idea in general. Mostly though, he thinks Miami is already a top-three team in the East regardless of who they sign.
“I think they’re top three,” Payton said. “I think it’s Philly, Boston, and them right now, and then the East, I don’t know about New York, I don’t know how they’re going to come back, but they’re going to be in the top.”
So the Heat have a window. They have Giannis. They have Bam. They just need that one guard who can tie everything together. Whether that’s DeRozan, some other veteran, or someone nobody is talking about yet, we’ll find out before the offseason ends.
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