Fresh off a surprise appearance in the NBA Finals, the Miami Heat were in on Bradley Beal before he was ultimately sent out west to the Phoenix Suns.
In fact, Miami was seen as one of two finalists for the three-time All-Star. It was the clearest indication yet that president Pat Riley and Co. plan on going big-game hunting this summer. Until now.
The nine-time NBA champion spoke to the media on Tuesday to review Miami’s 2022-23 season and preview its summer plans. He had a rather interesting quote about a potential blockbuster in the process.
“Subtle moves will be enough if they’re the right moves, during this offseason. Hitting the home run, like I said, it’s addition by subtraction. We’ve done this. We’ve played this game for 27 years. I plan on hitting big again,” Riley told reporters.
It’s the latter part of that quote which stands out. The Heat have been linked to several big-name players after losing to the Denver Nuggets in the NBA Finals. These rumors didn’t just come out of left field.
Related: Big-name players the Miami Heat might target this summer
Miami has been one of two Eastern Conference teams linked to Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard. Depending on what Portland does with the No. 3 pick in Thursday’s NBA Draft, the future Hall of Famer could become available. He’s a fit from both a splash standpoint (seven-time All-Star) and a need standpoint (Miami is targeting a point guard).
This doesn’t mean that the Heat are putting all of their chips in on Damian Lillard. That would be foolish. The likes of Dallas Mavericks point guard Kyrie Irving and embattled New Orleans Pelicans star forward Zion Williamson could also make sense.
The Miami Heat do have assets to pull off a trade of this ilk with former NBA Sixth Man of the Year Tyler Herro as well as multiple future first-round picks potentially available in trade talks. It does look like Jimmy Butler will be getting a running partner this summer.
