If there’s one thing the Miami Heat showed during Friday night’s blowout win over the Chicago Bulls in the NBA Play-In Tournament finale, it’s that Erik Spoelstra is still one of the best coaches in the NBA. Whether Jimmy Butler is in the lineup or not, the Heat showed they could still put forth a dominant effort on both ends of the floor, but it wasn’t quite against top competition.
Still, with Butler and Bam Adebayo, the Heat have an All-Star duo, and Spoelstra’s inclusion essentially already makes this a Big 3, even if he doesn’t physically score any points. There’s no denying that Miami is an organization top athletes are attracted to, but we haven’t seen them land that highly coveted third star to pair with their existing talent.
However, while Miami has struck out in their past attempts to recruit the likes of Bradley Beal and Damian Lillard, don’t expect Heat president to quit trying. In fact, he may only amplify his efforts to add a third star later this offseason.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Heat are in a perfect situation to finally add another star to their already impressive core.
“Miami is always in a great position. Especially if it’s players with not a lot left on their contract, one year or two years, and they tell their team ‘I want a trade to the Heat, and if you don’t send me to the Heat, I’m going to become a free agent and go somewhere else…’ Now, teams can still decide to send you where they want to send you. But it’s always an advantage for Miami. Players want to be a part of that organization.”
“So I think Miami will be in a position again, use the assets they have, to go out and get another All-Star level player that maybe connects more on the timeline of Bam Adebayo and his age.”
ESPN NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski on Miami Heat’s offseason plans
"I think there's going to be a lot more player movement this summer." 👀 @wojespn on the Miami Heat and what the upcoming NBA off-season could look like ✍️ pic.twitter.com/vbwEFzgWpO
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) April 19, 2024
While the Heat are already annual contenders, they still seem to be a notch behind the top picks to reach the NBA Finals in the Eastern Conference. However, they do have several valuable assets other teams may covet, such as Tyler Herro, Nikola Jovic, and several tradeable first-round selections.
The biggest questions are whether an All-Star caliber player will become available and whether the Heat will be willing to pay the necessary price to make a blockbuster trade. Like we’ve seen in past offseasons, the Heat will be aggressive in search of a third star, but they have to know Butler’s time is running out, meaning they need to be bolder than ever in pursuit of an upgrade this summer.
Related: NBA Play-In Tournament Finale: 10 winners and losers from Friday, including Tyler Herro
