Miami Heat Rumors: Are they set to participate in the fire sale going on in Houston?

The Miami Heat are in the middle of a free agency and trade market frenzy. Will they take advantage of the madness going on within the Houston Rockets?

The Miami Heat are in a great position right now. They have a core that was good enough to get them to the NBA Finals.

They have great talent at all levels. That means they have second-year guys that are studs, 4th-5th year studs as well, and a couple of valuable veterans to help bring it all together.

In the middle of the daunted NBA transactional season, be that trades, signings, or draft picks, they are surely thinking of ways to improve their team. Heck, we have heard a ton of them already.

From Jrue Holiday to Victor Oladipo, back around to others like Serge Ibaka, the Miami Heat have had their names mentioned quite a few times already in this young but short-running offseason.

They are on the good sides of that equation. They are a team that knows who they are and what they need moving forward.

Well, they may not have an exact scientific answer, but everything they are doing is tinkering, not rebuilding, or anything close to it.

Then you have teams that are on the other side of that ledger. That would be teams like the Houston Rockets.

Let’s look a bit closer at that.

The Miami Heat are an impact piece away from winning a title, in my humble opinion. Could that piece be Houston Rockets’ transplant?

Houston, Houston, Houston. Do we have a problem?

That appears to be the case. Let’s look at a few reports first.

According to ESPN’s Bobby Marks, there are a few specific teams to look at if Russell Westbrook does indeed want out of Houston. Those teams are Los Angeles Lakers, the New York Knicks, the LA Clippers, the Milwaukee Bucks, and you guessed it… our Miami Heat.

Shams Charania of The Athletic did indeed confirm that Russell Westbrook wants out of Houston. If Shams said it then it’s something to it.

Not only did he confirm that the instance and desire to leave was real, but he even had a report that added gravity to that report.

Of Westbrook, Charania noted that he wants to return to his “floor general role” and isn’t happy about the lack of accountability or playing style of the Rockets. Basically, he’s saying that he can’t be apart of a team that totally caters towards James Harden and his approach.

Speaking of Harden though, it was reported that he wanted out as well. Here is what Five Reasons Sports Network had on that topic.

"Sources tell me that Houston Rockets Guard James Harden has quietly communicated with people close to him that if the Rockets decide to blow it up, he already has a few teams in mind. The Miami Heat, Brooklyn Nets, & Philadelphia 76ers are among those teams."

That was all good until it wasn’t. Charania eventually returned to say that James Harden doesn’t now want out of Houston, but is “committed” to that team.

What’s it really all mean though?

The Miami Heat may have a chance to land another impact guy. Will it be someone off of the Houston Rockets’ roster?

If you aren’t great at reading situations, let us help. Before we had seen all of the auxiliary reports, we could see that this had one thing all over it.

They are tired of playing with each other. I will go a step further.

Russell Westbrook and James Harden can’t play with each other. There is only so much ball to go around.

This isn’t the first time we have seen this scenario though. Let’s hop in the way back machine for just a second.

The Oklahoma City Thunder and their management took so much heat for shipping off James Harden over what seemed like a few measly dollars, or at least we thought. Well, if you can read into things a bit, it seems that one of them that remained there in Kevin Durant or Russell Westbrook made a plea to management before James could.

I would go, Russell Westbrook, as lightning only strikes twice when it does. Confusing, but follow me.

Russell Westbrook, like now, needs the ball in his hands. It was more than likely him then, as it is now, coming to the realization that he can’t coexist with Harden.

As opposed to then, when it was clearly Westbrook’s and Durant’s team, the tables have turned. The Rockets are clearly Harden’s team, which means Russell has to go.

Well, at least Harden wanted to be sure that this was the case. That’s the mission at hand by dangling out there that you might want out.

It’s really that simple. Always has been, heck, most of us saw it and knew it as this duo first began their one season together.

I had this thing all thought and mapped out Wednesday evening, but I wanted a few more details. With the lapse, Steven A Smith had a chance to get to it first, but here and for our purposes, that serves as backup evidence.

Hear it for yourself from a guy that we all presume to be in the know.

As stated, this piece was in the works on Wednesday evening, but then the man himself stated it on Thursday morning.

What does this all mean for the Miami Heat though?

The Miami Heat are in the driver’s seat. They have a core, a superstar, and the ability to make moves, but they don’t have to overreact to anything.

The Miami Heat have all the chips in their corner right now. They don’t have to make a move on either of the two guys, regardless of who, which, or if either truly wants out of their situation.

There was the whole thing with Russ and the Miami Heat last season, but who’s to say that it’s still a thing with either side? We can only assume that Pat Riley would do his due diligence but at the same time, is the need for a guy like Westbrook as great now with what the Heat showed this past season?

I don’t believe so, especially at that price tag. What about a guy like James Harden though?

I can’t really see that happening either. Although the Miami Heat have been linked to Harden this offseason, he doesn’t fit what they like to do… at all and in the least bit.

The Miami Heat believe in ball and man movement. James Harden wants to stand still in the isolation.

The Miami Heat play a team brand of basketball, where James Harden plays a him brand of basketball. If he gets in a pinch, he kicks it out in a fluster to a teammate, hoping they can bail him out by hitting a three-point shot.

The philosophies don’t match. In fact, they are complete opposites of one another.

So, I guess it’s safe to say that I am against bringing in either. The Miami Heat don’t need them.

Outside of the obvious on-court reasons, you also look at the bloated salaries of each player. Then you think about how that impacts the team and their flexibility moving forward.

Either would leave them without any, practically. They would also probably be in the same scenario as the Rockets are and the Oklahoma City Thunder were in last season after just one season… looking to move mountains to get from up under the massive deal of either guy.

I am sure they will work things out in Houston, one way or another. Hopefully though, the Miami Heat won’t have anything to do with it… again… one way or another.