Now that the NBA has released the regular season schedule, it has been revealed when the Miami Heat will officially go face-to-face with the Kevin Durant trade that never happened. The Heat is slated to have its first meeting with the new-look Houston Rockets, which feature KD, on February 28 in Miami.
It will offer the franchise an unfortunate reminder of the team's biggest "what if" from the NBA offseason.
I'm sure there are still Heat fans upset that the front office elected against going all-in during their pursuit of KD, but it probably will end up working out best for the team in the long run. KD was not going to solve any of the long-term issues the Heat have at the moment, and locking themselves into the luxury tax for the next few years for a team that is not guaranteed to compete for a championship wouldn't have been smart.
And to be perfectly honest, the Rockets made a lot more sense for KD anyways.
Still, seeing KD in a Heat uniform would've been great. And it's going to go down as another big "what if" for the Heat franchise. Soon, they'll get an up-close look at what could've been had they decided KD's juice was worth the squeeze.
The Heat's new pivot will be under a microscope
But this offseason aside, no matter what you may think about missing out on KD, the Heat's new direction will certainly be under a microscope. Whether it's a genuine youth movement or a pivot toward pursuing another superstar in the near future, the Heat must sell the fan base that they know what they're doing and that they actually have a plan.
That's been of of the biggest criticisms of the Heat's front office this summer - that the team doesn't have a legitimate plan for the future in place and that they've been winging everything as they've gone.
While there could be some truth to that, there has to be more going on behind the scenes, and the hope, at least from the fans' perspective, is that it will become to get more clearer this season - especially now that somewhat of a direction has been taken.
Make no mistake, the Heat are in a position where they must win back the good graces of the fan base. Fair or not, that's just the reality that they find themselves in heading into the start of the 2025-26 NBA season.