The top-seeded Heat saw their season end in heartbreaking fashion with a loss in Game 7 of the Conference Finals against the Boston Celtics. Although Miami’s season ended rather recently, their offseason is already underway and there’s a belief that the Heat will look to improve their current roster by adding star talent, per ESPN’s Brian Windhorst.
“I think they will be hunters. I do not think they will be satisfied with running it back. We’ll see what opportunities may open themselves in the next couple of months,” Windhorst said on the Rich Eisen podcast.
Three Options For Heat to Consider
Whether it’s this offseason or prior to next year’s trade deadline, there’s no doubt that Pat Riley is going to look for more ways than one to improve the roster and keep the Heat atop the Eastern Conference. Let’s take a look at three situations to keep an eye on…
- Bradley Beal – G – Wizards: Beal sits atop this list as he is arguably the best free agent this offseason, and Miami is viewed as a legitimate suitor for star guard if he chooses to leave the Wizards, per The Athletic’s Shams Charania. Although Washington has failed to surround Beal with talent that leads to wins, he is “leaning toward” signing a five-year max contract extension worth around $250M. Money may be a key factor in staying but if any team is enticing enough in luring Beal away from D.C. it’s Pat Riley and the Miami Heat.
- Zach LaVine – G – Bulls: LaVine looks like he could be on the move this offseason, and joining Miami would instantly make them better and take them from title contenders to title favorites. Pulling off some kind of sign-and-trade would need to happen in order to land LaVine and perhaps using Duncan Robinson or even Bam Adebayo as key pieces in facilitating a move is something I envision happening. Moving on from someone like Adebayo would be tough but it’s for the greater good of landing a star-like LaVine, adding some serious firepower on offense. Miami may have depth issues if they trade some big names to acquire LaVine but it’s tough to envision that Pat Riley isn’t aggressive when it comes to the top free agents in this class…
- John Wall – G – Rockets: Wall seems like an honorable mention on this list, but he seems like a name to continue monitoring as there was buzz earlier this past season that the Clippers and Heat were among teams interested in signing Wall if he was bought out by the Rockets. Clearly, that didn’t happen this past season as Wall is now expected to opt into his lucrative $47.4 million player option (because who wouldn’t?) but his situation with the Rockets still seems to be at crossroads. The team may be open to trading him but few teams are going to have room for Wall at that hefty price tag, though it still feels like he’s someone to keep an eye on for Miami this offseason.
