The Miami Heat's biggest problem may all of a sudden be painfully obvious if their long-term plan centers around a foundational core of Tyler Herro, Bam Adebayo, and Norman Powell. If so, the front office may be more lost in how to rebuild the Heat back to championship contention than most realize.
With the way the Heat have operated this offseason, the overwhelming belief is that they are eyeing a big move in the future. That may not come in 2026, but there's a narrative surrounding the idea of the Heat making a big splash via trade or free agency within the next few seasons.
Are the Heat about to make a huge mistake?
But, what if they're not? And, perhaps most depressing, what if that's not the plan?
What if the Heat acquired Norman Powell this summer with the intention of making him a cornerstone of this team's future? What if Miami has a plan to extend Herro and Powell in an attempt to build around this "big three," while still making another move or two around them?
At least on the surface, I'd argue that would end up being one of the team's biggest mistakes in quite some time.
In a vacuum, Powell and Herro are good players. I don't think anyone would argue with that. However, I'm not sure they're good enough to be considered cornerstones of any championship-contending team.
And that's the biggest problem the Heat is facing heading into this season. They have good players, but not great ones.
We can have a healthy debate about Bam and where he falls in all this, but, for as good as he is, he hasn't proven to be a strong enough No. 1 option to rely on. And that's perfectly fine. But if the Heat are going to invest significantly in Bam with the max contract he's already on, they can't do anything relatively close to that with Herro and Powell.
To be quite honest, there's at least a small chance that's the Heat's plan heading into next season, and beyond.
The Heat's front office is on the clock
Again, I'm not sure if this is the Heat's long-term plan. To be fully transparent, I'd be shocked if it were. However, if for some reason it is, there's an even bigger problem that this ownership group will have to deal with.
It's the fact that this front office may be even more clueless than even the most critical of Heat fans believe. I don't think they're at that point yet. I still have faith in this front office to get something significant done within the next few years. Something that doesn't revolve around the core that's already in place.
At the same time, I can't say that there isn't a small part of me that believes this could end up being another blueprint misstep that the front office could be lining up. I can totally envision Pat Riley a year from now getting to the podium to say: "We tried to make a big move, but nothing came up. We didn't want to lose the assets and decided to keep our guys."
If that's the messaging from the front office at some point next summer, I don't think anyone would be the least surprised.
For Heat fans, that should be a real fear.