With the Miami Heat’s 2022-2023 season on the brink, the rumors have already started about what big-name star Pat Riley could target this summer.
This has been a frustrating season for the Miami Heat. After reaching the Eastern Conference Finals last season, the team seemed to be right in contention for an NBA title this year. However, things did not turn out that way as they had to fight all season to stay above .500 and ended up having to compete in this year’s Play-In Tournament.
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In their first game in the tourney, things went poorly as the Atlanta Hawks walked into town and easily dispatched the Heat. Even if the team wins their second Play-In game against the Chicago Bulls on Friday, this current roster is not going to run through the playoffs and back to the conference finals.
That is why the Miami Heat is expected to be far more active in remodeling their roster this offseason than they were last summer. And one top NBA insider believes they could make a big trade for one specific future Hall-of-Famer that could become available.
Miami Heat record (’22-’23): 44-38
On a Thursday appearance on the ESPN show “First Take,” network NBA insider Brian Windhorst explained why Portland Trail Blazers great Damian Lillard could be available this summer if the team wants to maximize his value while it’s still high. But when asked where he could go, Windhorst had one specific team in mind.
“The team I’m watching is the Miami Heat. The Heat are ready to go to their next star window. This is what they do. The Heat hunts stars. His time would probably match Jimmy Butler in terms of age. They have tradeable things potentially that the Blazers could want. I’m being a little premature but that’s kind of what I see happening.”
– Brian Windhorst
After a strong start to their campaign and outstanding seasons from Damian Lillard and Anfernee Simmons, the Trail Blazers had a terrible year in 2022-2023. As the team finished with one of the 10 worst records in the NBA.
With the Trail Blazers headed toward a lottery pick, an extra first-round selection and much more from the Miami Heat could be an intriguing way to go about a major rebuild for the organization heading into next season.