The Miami Heat’s season came to an end on Sunday with their Game 7 loss to the Toronto Raptors, and now the organization faces a great deal of uncertainty heading into the offseason. Not only will they have to address a particularly delicate situation involving Chris Bosh and his ongoing health issues; they’ll have to figure out what to do about a crop of free agents that includes Dwyane Wade, Hassan Whiteside and Joe Johnson.
Relatively low on the priority list is Amar’e Stoudemire, who played sparingly for the Heat this postseason even after Whiteside went down with a knee injury. In fact, he didn’t play at all in Games 6 and 7 of the Toronto series as the Heat switched to a small-ball lineup that featured Justise Winslow at center.
Stoudemire didn’t seem particularly pleased with his role when asked about it in his exit interview on Monday, but he also left the door open for a possible return.
Amar'e Stoudemire not happy about his playing time this season. Wasn't that part of the deal coming in? "That was not a part of the deal.”
— Jason Lieser (@JasonLieser) May 15, 2016
Amare Stoudemire: "Great chemistry. I enjoyed the guys and I had the best time of my life with my teammates this season.”
— Jason Lieser (@JasonLieser) May 15, 2016
To reiterate, bringing back Stoudemire will be far down on the to-do list, if they want to bring him back at all. And it seems unlikely it would be in the type of capacity he’s looking for. At his age and with his injury history, it’s unclear where he might find the playing time he craves. With that in mind, he was probably wise to at least leave the door cracked with Miami.