This just opened a very interesting door for the Miami Heat...

This just opened a very interesting door for the Miami Heat at this stage in the offseason as they have been recently connected to Filipino star basketball player Kai Soto. I'm here to break down how this happened, what it actually means, and if there's a good chance he's engaged by this Miami Heat organization, and if you don't know who he is, we'll break down who he is exactly all on this episode of Heat Digest, so let's not waste any time and get right to it. Breaking it down, who is Kai Soto and how did this all take place? How is he connected to this Miami Heat organization? Well, he plays for the 36ers, for the Australian Basketball League, the Australian NBL, and he plays for them. Now, he has been playing for the Philippines national team in the FIBA Cup, and that's where we see these stats, but following that one of these games, his most recent game, which we'll break down in just a second, we got this from Tim Cohen, who I believe is the head coach of the Philippines team, and they were discussing things and how great it could be if they continued playing alongside one another with one at the helm, coaching with obviously Soto dominating out on the floor, and you'll understand why there's optimism there surrounding that idea in just a second when we highlight his game, but Cohen would go on to say in the press conference, and the volume is so low, I don't even think the microphone sitting in front of them were on. I don't think the press conference had officially started yet. This was just conversation between the two of them. The cameras were running, but again, it felt like the actual press conference had not actually started yet, and Cohen goes on to say, I still think you need to get in the league. Find a way. I'll talk to Miami. See what I can do. Would you be willing? And Kai nods his head, yes, kind of gives a smirk there, and FIBA did post this account on their social media. So who is he? Would he be a good fit for this heat team? Well, he is a seven foot one center, and the dude can clean the glass without a shadow of a doubt. He's a monstrous human being in the sense of his size, and he uses it effectively. His last two games playing for FIBA, he had 36 minutes on the 28th, just three days ago, he had 18 points on eight of 21 shooting, only attempted one three. He's not a 7-1 stretch center, so it's kind of refreshing to see in a certain extent, but he also only hit two of his six free throws, but he did add 14 rebounds in three assists with a steal and a block and only one turnover. Overall, the hands were really good in that game. He wasn't bringing the ball down below his waist where little guards and smaller players could rip it away from him where he's not his absolute strongest, and then on the 30th, which was yesterday, he goes 13 points on four of nine shooting, all of them two-point attempts while making five of his seven free throws, and he added 16 rebounds, three assists, two personal fouls, three turnovers, and he didn't have any blocks or steals in that game. Overall, more turnovers, just lose hands, not being able to catch the ball and hold onto it. There were certain moments down around the rim where he just wasn't able to keep the ball in his hands entirely. Little guards were able, or smaller players I should say, I don't want to call them little guards, were able to poke the ball free, get it away from him before he brought it up above his head where we all know it's going to be basically impossible to take it from someone who's seven feet one inches tall. Now, this is not the only resume we have for him. If you go back to the 21 and 22 seasons, 22 and 23, and then the 23 season specifically with the Philippines FIBA team, the numbers aren't fantastic, and they're not really going to jump off the page at you. Playing for the NBL, the 36ers, seven and a half points, four and a half rebounds, not a block per game. Seven points per game, four and a half rebounds, again, not a block per game. This is in 15 and then 13 minutes per game, and this is back in from 21 to 23. Overall, not the greatest resume, but it was years ago, so he's developed. He's grown a little bit. He's highlighted his ability at this stage of his life and career, so yes, he has progressed in that final year in 2023 for FIBA, three points, three rebounds, and not even a block per game. The overall numbers are not great, but the FIBA numbers we witnessed from just a few days ago, pretty good. Definitely respectable to say the absolute least, but the question is, would he fit in with this Miami Heat team, and that's where this conversation really goes off the rails. Based off how this Heat team is currently constructed, the biggest question mark and the biggest lack of depth for this Heat team is the guard position, and specifically the point guard position. Small forward, power forward, center, all in pretty good hands, a good amount of depth there between Bobby Portis, Bam Adebayo, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikoli Jovic, Golden, there is a decent amount of options there. Fontecchio can play the power forward position. There's a good amount of depth there, without a shadow of a doubt, and in certain situations, we could even see Andrew Wiggins move down to the forward. Now, is it ever bad to have an extra big on your bench? Absolutely not, especially when he's 7'1". But based off the numbers we've seen, how could Miami plug him into a situation where he could actually be formidable? And I didn't even mention Nick Richards, who was one of the more recent, if not the most recent signing for this Heat team, to add depth to the center position, to the big man position. It just doesn't even feel possible. Like the idea is cool, reaching out, seeing if they could get this guy who's dominating in the FIBA scene to the league and actually get him a tryout. Maybe he signs a two-way. I don't exactly know the rules off the top of my head without looking at them, the rules for incoming national players and two-way contracts and their eligibility in the NBA. But maybe that's an option, and if he stands out there, possibly we could see him play for this Heat team on the national level, if you will. But as it's currently constructed, it just doesn't really feel possible. You have Bam Adebayo. He's going to start every single game he's available at center, if not power forward, depending on how Spoh puts it out there on the roster sheet. Outside of that, Bobby Portis, one of the newer additions, came in the Giannis deal, the blockbuster deal. And Miami did a damn good job to actually get him in that deal because it helps a ton. Not only adding another layer of depth to a team that lost a lot of it in that trade, but also adding a psychopath on and off the floor, someone that can really resemble Udonis Haslam and his tenure on those championship teams when he played for this Heat team for 20-plus seasons. Obviously, we're not going to get that duration and that longevity in Miami specifically for Bobby Portis because he's already played a decent amount in his career. But going in there and plugging in as that guy who's also going to be very formidable on the court, both offensively and defensively, as a stretch big, it's going to be phenomenal. That's a huge trade, and this guy's not going to play over him. There's no way because of the skill set, who, the energy, the character of Bobby Portis. Nick Richards, brand new signing. He's been here for 15 minutes. He's had a cup of coffee and bought an apartment in Miami. Outside of that, he just got here. He's not going anywhere. It's not going to happen. And then finally, the kid out of the University of Michigan, Golden. He has the ability to play. He's played a lot in these pickups and trainings during the summer, at this point in the offseason with De'Veon Mitchell, Trey Donaldson, Wiggins, Bam Adebayo, and various other pros, whether they be on the Heat or on other teams in the association. It just does not seem like a likely option at this stage in the offseason. Now, if he played the guard position, it'd be a different conversation. But being a 7'1 center, it just doesn't seem all that likely. But again, there's a world where Pat Riley decides he's good at the guard position because of the usage of De'Veon, Trey Donaldson, Myron Gardner, Ryan Conwell. There's a decent amount there, I won't argue that, but a lot of it has a lot more youth to its side. Trey Donaldson was just undrafted this past year. Ryan Conwell was drafted this past year. You have Larson, who's cool, Myron Gardner. He's been here for two years, now going into his third year, I believe. How much is he actually going to play on this team? De'Veon Mitchell, Drew Smith gave him a decent contract extension just over a year ago. Really want to see him play, but the injury bug has been a big problem. Maybe they see a world where they trust Drew Smith and they trust Myron Gardner and they trust Pella Larson to the extent, and even the new guys in Trey Donaldson and Ryan Conwell, that they do have the ability to go out there and get another center. So there's not so much pressure on guys like Bam Mignanis and Bobby Portis through all 82 games of the regular season and into the postseason. It just doesn't seem as likely as going out there and if you are going to use that last roster spot, that 15th spot, it would definitely be for a guard of any caliber. Let me know down below your thoughts and opinions on this entire idea and Kai Soto possibly joining this Miami Heat organization as the 15th and final roster spot, and I will see you guys on the next episode of Heat Digest. Thank you guys for watching.