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Q: Ira, its funny, but I saw one graphic that showed if LeBron James signs with the Heat, it would have Andrew Wiggins starting at shooting guard.
So from too small, would we be too big? Nelson.
A: The only issue with being oversized would be on the defensive end.
With Davion Mitchell likely the fifth starter in the lineup you reference, it would give the Heat someone with the quickness to stay with opposing point guards.
Where it gets interesting from there is whether it would be Andrew Wiggins or Bam Adebayo defending the opposing shooting guard.
One thing about LeBron James is at this stage of his career he is best defending frontcourt opponents, with the bulk and strength even to defend opposing centers.
And that could be a workaround, allowing him to defend opposing centers who arent necessarily scorers.
So it seems as if such a Mitchell, Wiggins, James, Adebayo and Giannis Antetokounmpo lineup would work defensively.
The question would be spacing on the offensive end.
But as Erik Spoelstra would say, those all would be good problems to have.
Related Articles Submit your Ask Ira question here! Q: Why are the Heat so high on Ryan Conwell? He put up some impressive stats in summer league, but why did he fall to us in the second round? Does it have anything to do with him playing at four different universities? Would love to hear more context.
Joseph.
A: Foremost, the Heat truly believe (not just hype) that Ryan Conwell has first-round talent.
So theres that.
There also is the NBA salary-cap carveout allowing teams to pay second-round picks even less than the minimum-salary scale.
So that has Ryan at $1.3 million against the cap this season, more than $1 million less than a veteran signed to the league minimum.
So theres also that.
As for why he fell? Thats the concern of others.
Pelle Larsson fell even deeper in the 2024 second round and look at how well that worked out.
Q: Ira, who needs 3-point shooters? If Simone Fontecchio can shoot the three like he did the first half of last season, we should be fine.
Rich, Plantation.
A: Which, candidly, has gone overlooked, with Pat Riley not even mentioning Simone Fontecchio when it comes to the Heat shooters already in place (he, somewhat oddly, did mention Pelle Larsson).
If Simones looks were wide open last season, theyll be even wider open with Giannis Antetokounmpo in place this coming season.