As a Miami Heat fan, Its depressing to me that we lost out on so many key free agents this NBA off-season. Sure, waiting for LeBron’s decision slowed Miami down in trying to acquire other top talent, but they still did not fix the biggest problem with the team. What is the problem you ask? Rebounding. Guess who is the worst rebounding team in the league so far this season stat wise? The Miami Heat.

There was a number of free agents I wished the Heat signed last Summer. But the biggest one without a doubt is Pau Gasol. Gasol nearly averages a double double for his career with 18.3 points per game with 9.2 rebounds. It was music to my ears when I heard Pau Gasol was meeting with my Heat. To bad we couldn’t strike a deal as the Chicago Bulls signed him for 3 years at 22 million and he is currently averaging a double double with 20.0 points per game and 11.2 rebounds.

Could it have been LeBron’s departure from the Heat that pushed Gasol away from Miami. I am torn between which side I belive but I am leaning towards LeBron leaving the reason why. So let me get into why I think this is the Heat’s biggest mistake this NBA off-season.

1: His rebounding

As I have stated, Gasol is a great rebounder and would certainly help out the Heat who continue to struggle on the glass. Bosh and Gasol would be grabbing crazy amounts of rebounds right now and the Heat would be 3-5 games over .500 instead of at .500 right now.

2: His offensive game

Gasol has a good post game which he could take on many power forwards in the league. He is a strong finisher and is able to step outside sometimes and sink down a long jumper. The Heat would have a top ten front court with Deng, Bosh, and Gasol and could be scary factor to teams. But, unfortunately the Heat couldn’t get it done.

3: Huge upgrade over recent Heat power forwards

The Heat’s current PF depth has 3 players in it by the names of Josh McRoberts, Shawne Williams, and Undonis Haslem. It seemed like the power forward position was a weak spot for the Heat in the big 3 era and still is now. With Bosh playing center for Miami, Gasol could have slid into the PF role perfectly without the Heat having to worry game in and game out about the consistency we get from the power forwards.

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