It hasn't been a great last 12 months for the Miami Heat franchise. If that hasn't been clear enough, recent front office power rankings by CBS Sports echoed that in a big way. Falling from fourth to 13th in a matter of six months isn't great, and paints a picture that fans are quickly beginning to realize - the front office is quickly falling behind the rest of the league.
Punctuated by the Jimmy Butler drama, the Heat's front office has taken a huge public relations hit over the last few years. It started with the entire Damian Lillard situation and ended with missing out on Kevin Durant, twice, in the matter of a few months.
Even for as loyal as the Heat's fan base has been to Pat Riley and this front office, it's becoming more and more clear that overall support is waning.
The fact that this narrative is beyond just social media users (or trolls) is quite telling. The idea of the "objective" media being critical of the Heat's front office isn't great, especially considering what they've accomplished over the last two decades.
But in a "what have you done for me lately" society, it's true that the Heat's front office could be falling behind the rest of the league.
How the Heat can flip the narrative again
Not all is lost, though, and the Heat will have a great opportunity to change the narrative again next summer. And the front office seems to be building toward that. At the very least, they should be in a great position to have the flexibility to make a big move.
But the fact that the Heat's front office is now being compared to other middling teams is not great, or ideal - no matter how true it may be.
The fact is, over the last few years, that's exactly what the Heat have been. Average. The Heat are coming off back-to-back first-round playoff losses and were one miracle run to the NBA Finals as an 8th seed away from being in a much more demoralizing position as a franchise.
Is that all the front office's fault? Probably not. At the same time, they've also made some questionable decisions over the last few years that have not put the team in a great position.
For the first time in a long time, public perception is on a downward trend for the Heat's front office. And it's officially not just coming from spoiled fans. This is a movement that is now spreading across the league, and it's certainly a tough pill for Heat fans to swallow.