By the end of January, the Miami Heat needs to have a good idea of what the future holds for the franchise. That's because they have a few big long-term decisions to make ahead of the NBA Trade Deadline.
The first 21 games of the season feel like years ago for the Heat, when they were 14-7 and had the look of a team that could make some noise in the Eastern Conference. However, since then, the entire season has been a disaster.
Tyler Herro has only played in six games, Bam Adebayo has been in and out of the lineup because of injuries, and it still doesn't feel as if this team has any real clarity about whether the Heat are any better than last year.
The Heat have big decisions to make at the NBA Trade Deadline
To make matters worse, the Heat almost certainly has to make some huge decisions about its future by the trade deadline.
Miami needs to decide what the plan moving forward is going to be for Andrew Wiggins and Norman Powell, who will both have the ability to test unrestricted free agency after this season. Losing Wiggins and Powell for nothing next summer would be catastrophic for this Heat team.
That's why making a decision on their futures by the deadline could be vital.
If the Heat knows that one or both won't be on the roster next season, it would make the most sense to try to trade them for assets at the deadline.
Additionally, the Heat also has to figure out what the plan is going to be for Tyler Herro moving forward. Herro still has another full year on his roster after this season, but he's going to be looking for a contract extension this summer, and I'm not sure Miami will want to carry him as an expiring contract next season.
That means they either need to sign him to an extension during the summer (and likely an expensive one) or try to trade him to avoid losing him for nothing. Of course, the problem with waiting to make such a decision is that with every passing day, he becomes less and less valuable on the trade market.
Kicking all of these decisions down the road will only put the Heat at a greater disadvantage than they already are. But these difficult decisions that need to be made, likely within the next month, are going to go a long way in dictating the future for the franchise.
Whether the front office wants to admit it or not, the Heat is on the clock. They have roughly one month to decide what the future is going to hold for the franchise. And it's going to be interesting to watch it all unfold because there is no clear indication of what they're going to do.