Simulation 5
A week into the season, the Atlanta Hawks offer Evan Turner and Damian Jones for Olynyk and Leonard.
A couple weeks later, the Oklahoma City Thunder offer Nerlens Noel and Eric Moreland for Herro.
Shortly after that, the Sacramento Kings offer Buddy Hield and Cory Joseph for Adebayo and Waiters.
Jimmy Butler bruises his knee in the middle of November. He’ll be out 1-2 weeks.
Butler returns to a 4-8 Heat team, which compared to some injury returns is not that bad.
In mid-January, Dragic ruptures his Achilles. He’ll miss the rest of the season. The next game, Leonard breaks his right ankle. He’ll be out 2-4 months. At this point the Miami Heat are 16-25.
In late January, the New York Knicks offer Julius Randle and Wayne Ellington for Butler and Haslem.
In late January, the Cleveland Cavaliers offer Kevin Love and John Henson for Butler.
In early Februray, the Chicago Bulls offer Thad Young and Kris Dunn for Adebayo and Johnson.
At the trade deadline, the Phoenix Suns swing for the fences and offer Devin Booker and Dario Saric for Butler and Adebayo.
As March turns into April, the Miami Heat go on a six-game winning streak and win eight out of the final 10 games to pull back into the playoff race.
Record: 37-45
The Heat record the 10th-worst net rating at -3.8.
Playoffs:
The Miami Heat are the seven seed facing the second-seeded Brooklyn Nets. The Nets romp in a four-game sweep, outscoring the Heat by an average of 17.3 points per game.
Awards:
James Harden wins MVP, Ja Morant wins ROTY, Kawhi Leonard wins DPOY, and the Heat are shut out of all awards.
In a bizarre twist, the eight-seeded Washington Wizards, who also had a 37-45 record, battle their way to the NBA Finals where the Houston Rockets beat them to a pulp in a four-game sweep. Russell Westbrook wins Finals MVP.
Notable Heat performances:
Jimmy Butler: 77 games, 19.7 points, 6.0 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 2.2 steals per game on shooting splits of .493/.344/.832.
Goran Dragic: 40 games, 17.4 points, 5.1 assists per game on shooting splits of .454/.330/.787.
Dion Waiters: 79 games, 16.9 points, 3.0 assists per game on shooting splits of .432/.361/.508.
Justise Winslow: 82 games, 46 starts, 12.1 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game on shooting splits of .463/.394/.642.
Tyler Herro: 57 games, 11.2 points per game on shooting splits of .404/.355/.950.