MIAMI — There will be no “Heat Reunion 2022″ T-shirts. No name tags. Heck, not even an open bar (or cash bar).
Yet when the Los Angeles Lakers arrive for Sunday’s game at FTX Arena, the embraces will be abundant, perhaps with some assistance pointing out how to get to the visitor’s locker room.
This is not the case of a single former player or coach coming out early to reminisce.
The Lakers arrive with the ability to put together a complete ex-Heat lineup guided by a former Heat coach, one with LeBron James at center (he’s playing that these days), Trevor Ariza at power forward (where he played for the Heat in last season’s playoffs), Wayne Ellington at small forward (he of the Heat 3-point records broken by Duncan Robinson), Kendrick Nunn at shooting guard (a Heat starter in 44 games last season) and Avery Bradley (another member of last season’s Heat), with former Heat lead assistant coach David Fizdale now the lead assistant for Lakers coach Frank Vogel.
For now, the current Heat find themselves in a better place than Los Angeles-relocated Heat, not that some of the Heat’s former exes aren’t having their moments.
LeBron James
— Heat departure: Left the Heat in 2014 NBA free agency, preferring watching World Cup soccer to taking a meeting with Pat Riley, taking his “smiling faces with hidden agendas” (Riley’s words) back to the Cleveland Cavaliers before moving on to the Lakers.
— Lakers’ reality: James won the 2020 NBA title with the Lakers, defeating the Heat in the “bubble” NBA Finals at Disney. So in many ways his Lakers mandate already has been met.
This season, at 37, James has again reinvented himself, moving to center amid the ongoing injury issues with Anthony Davis. He again is headed to the All-Star Game and again should be a factor in voting for Most Valuable Player.
For all his issues in leaving the Heat and then the Cavaliers, this arguably might be the most mismatched, ill-conceived supporting cast since his initial Cleveland tenure.
Kendrick Nunn
— Heat departure: Amid the Heat offseason maneuvering that included adding Kyle Lowry and P.J. Tucker, the Heat in August rescinded their $4.7 qualifying offer to Nunn in restricted free agency. Free to then sign anywhere without the Heat ability to match, Nunn agreed to a two-year, $10.25 million deal with the Lakers.
— Lakers reality: There hasn’t been one, Nunn yet to play this season due to a bone bruise in his right knee. Projected to potentially play as a starter, and therefore with the opportunity to rebuild his eventual free-agent value, Nunn recently had another setback, according to Vogel.
Now the question is whether Nunn ever plays for the Lakers, potentially to serve as a salary in a deal at the Feb. 10 NBA trading deadline.
Trevor Ariza
— Heat departure: After being outmuscled in their power rotation in being swept out of the first round of last season’s playoffs by the Milwaukee Bucks, the Heat essentially swapped out Ariza for former Lakers forward Markieff Morris, with both taking one-year contracts at the veteran minimum.
— Lakers reality: Slowed by an ankle issue at the start of his Lakers tenure, Ariza did not make his season debut until Dec. 19 and then promptly found himself in protocols. There have been five starts this season, two scoreless, hardly proving impactful.
At 38, Ariza is at a stage where he is not strong enough to defend many power forwards, not quick enough to stay with small forwards, all part of the Lakers’ ongoing defensive challenges that have them 20th in the league in net defensive rating.
Wayne Ellington
— Heat departure: Ellington was dealt to the Phoenix Suns in the Tyler Johnson salary dump at the Feb. 2019 NBA trading deadline, going on to then play for the Detroit Pistons, New York Knicks and Pistons again.
— Lakers reality: Ellington signed a one-year, veteran’s minimum contract with the Lakers in August. As with many of his previous stops, at 34, he remains a break-open-in-case-of-emergency 3-point shooter whose defense often has him as a net negative. He enters Sunday’s game having been benched in eight of the past 12 games.
David Fizdale
— Heat departure: Fizdale left as Erik Spoelstra’s lead assistant to become coach of the Memphis Grizzlies in May 2016. After just over one season with the Grizzlies, he served just over a season as Knicks coach.
— Lakers reality: Fizdale took over as Vogel’s lead assistant in September, after Vogel assistant Jason Kidd left to coach the Mavericks.
The Lakers went 1-5 recently with Fizdale filling as coach when Vogel went into NBA health-and-safety protocols. Despite the record, he stands as a leading candidate to take over on an interim basis if Vogel, as has been speculated, is dismissed.
