The Miami Heat have their work cut out for them this offseason. It’s not, exactly, as it sounds though.
Typically, one can take from that a very literal message. That’s one where the team is so far away from a title or contention, that they have a ton to do to even get there.
However, when you look at a team like the Miami Heat, they have their work cut out for them for a different reason.
Being so close to a team worthy of winning it all, going to the NBA Finals in Jimmy Butler‘s first year, and being within a Jimmy late-game heave of it this season, the Miami Heat have the ingredients for a title-winning meal.
They just have to make sure that they have the right side dishes and appetizers to go along with the main course. Jimmy Butler is the top sirloin in Miami, but he needs the baked potatoes and shrimp skewers to get it done.
Plainly put, Jimmy Butler is enough to lead you there, he just needs his team to be themselves in the biggest games or to get someone in there that will show up in the biggest moments.
Miami Heat Rumors: Zach LaVine Pipe Dream Beginning To Dissipate
Well, there may have been a guy out there to help him. With “may” being the operative word here, it appears that the option in mind might not even be an option at all—for anyone outside of his current team.
That would be Zach LaVine of the Bulls.
Reportedly looking to find a situation to fit his “purported desire to be a team’s unquestioned offensive centerpiece, unlike the setup with DeMar DeRozan”, LaVine has the option to choose where he ends up this summer. According to this report though, that’ll, likely, be back in Chicago.
"But among the teams in play for LaVine, only San Antonio could offer a clear No. 1 playmaking opportunity, and the Spurs are considered far off from the postseason environment LaVine prefers, leading to skepticism among rival executives that LaVine ever wanted to entertain options outside of Chicago. Meanwhile, the Bulls remain invested in finding the optimal frontcourt lynchpin to pair with LaVine and DeRozan. Chicago continues to explore the trade market for two-time All-Star center Nikola Vucevic, sources said. It has registered interest in Rudy Gobert, but the Bulls do not appear willing to include Patrick Williams alongside Vucevic in a trade package for Gobert, sources told B/R."
Well, that’s quite interesting. It’s also a major letdown if you believed he was an option for your favorite team.
Miami Heat Rumors: Zach LaVine Was Never ‘Likely’, But This All But Confirms It
It wasn’t a certainty that the Miami Heat were going to pursue LaVine’s services in the first place, however, out of all of the big-name guards out there, LaVine should have been the preference. He has the ability to be just as good, offensively, as any other guy that may be out there at the position—such as Bradley Beal or Donovan Mitchell.
There are two key things that separate him from them though. The defensive potential for LaVine is much higher than either of them.
He is the most athletic of the three, while this last part is its own thing in itself, though it contributes to a guy’s defensive effectiveness too. LaVine is much bigger than either of the two guys mentioned.
While Mitchell comes in at just over six feet tall, Beal is listed at 6’4″. Though LaVine is only listed at 6’5″, he appears to tower over them both on the court.
There is also the whole Pat Riley‘s relationship with Klutch Sports of it all to consider, but that may not even be necessary. Well, because according to this report, he’ll probably never even look to leave the Windy City.