The Miami Heat currently has one of the deeper teams in the NBA, with depth being the driving catalyst behind the team’s 22-14 overall record. As the third best team in the Eastern Conference, the Heat have been able to combat some of the best teams in the league with healthy veteran talent, on top of emerging young talent through the draft and D-League selections.
With that being said, one of the Heat’s top paid players has barely managed to scratch the surface of the team’s overall rotation, largely due to lingering injuries that haven’t healed. Josh McRoberts is the Heat’s biggest disappointment at the midway point of the 2015-16 season, and it isn’t even close.
Signed to a 4-year, $23 million contract last season, McRoberts has only played in 37 games over the last two seasons for the Heat. To make it worse, his production over those 30-plus games has been meek at best, averaging 3.8 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 1.8 assists over 16.0 minutes a game. Considered by and large a stretch forward, McRoberts’ shooting stroke has even taken a hit while playing for the Heat, connecting on fewer than 25 percent of his shots from beyond the arc.
McRoberts was signed by the Heat to give the offense a multi-tiered attack, but his true skillset has yet to be utilized due to his chronic knee injuries. Based on the size of his contract, McRoberts is a player the Heat organization should seriously consider either releasing or trading before the playoffs start.
Even if McRoberts can get healthy soon, the Heat players in the 9-10 man rotation have already developed chemistry with each other. Putting McRoberts back into the mix at this point in the season could throw off the balance of this roster.
