Over the last week, the Miami Heat may have been able to make lemonade out of lemons after missing out on Kevin Durant and then drafting a Kasparas Jakucionis, a lottery talent that seemingly fell into their laps. However, it's their anticipated next move that will determine this team's true offseason intentions.
What Miami does next truly tells us whether they're genuinely pivoting toward a youth movement or if they're still keeping the door open to expediting their process back to championship contention. Whether they've truly had a change of approach, or whether they're just buying time until their next short-sighted move that has little chance of succeeding.
And heading into the start of free agency, anything and everything could still be on the table for the Heat.
The Heat may have made the "right" move in selecting a young talent with a promisingly high ceiling with the No. 20 overall pick in the NBA Draft, a decision that was nearly universally praised, but there's still a chance they could still turn around in the next few days a make a trade for DeMar DeRozan or another veteran player that would contradict the signals the front office sent on draft night.
At the same time, they could also work a sign-and-trade for Jonathan Kuminga on July 1. They could also make a seller-type move and trade Andrew Wiggins and/or Duncan Robinson for future draft capital that would give them even more flexibility heading into the future.
All eyes are on the Heat
In other words, even after what the Heat did on draft night, no one really knows what lies ahead for the franchise. That can be both exciting and scary for the fan base. One commonality that everyone can agree on, though, is the fact that all eyes are on Miami heading into this upcoming week.
Their true future intentions will be revealed, whether they opt for a veteran trade, continue to tear down their roster, or even give a big extension to Tyler Herro. It could be considered hyperbole, but, in many ways, the argument can be made that what Miami elects to do over the next few weeks or so will greatly determine the future and ultimate direction of this franchise.
As an organization, the Heat has reached a fork in the road. It's time for change, but not just any type of change. The right version of it. No more quick fixes; no more band-aids when surgery is necessary. What the Heat needs to do this summer is clear. They need to either completely embrace their youth movement or tear down their roster even further to capitalize on maximum flexibility heading into next summer.
Will they do it? Can it be accomplished? These are questions that will likely be answered very early on in the offseason. And their next move could be the ultimate indicator of whether or not that will end up being the case.