In what will end up being one of the most disappointing seasons in recent history, the Miami Heat are heading into the offseason as a team in no man's land. Theoretically speaking, if Miami wants to reemerge as a championship contender next season, they're going to have to make a significant upgrade to their roster. For all intents and purposes, that probably means trading for a star player.
However, there's one big problem with that. If the Heat were to trade for a star now, it would only result in even more problems. Because the Heat doesn't have a ton of assets at their disposal, trading for a star player is going to gut their roster even further, which will make it practically impossible to build around said star player.
In that case, the Heat would be in the very same position they found themselves with Jimmy Butler over the last few seasons - with the need to upgrade the roster around him, but also in no position to pull it off.
The Miami Heat may need to soft reset the roster
Whether it's targeting Kevin Durant, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Trae Young, or even Ja Morant, if Miami wanted to land either of those players, it would likely cost a bulk of their tradable draft capital and a few key rotation players. Even in the state in which the Eastern Conference finds itself, it's hard to imagine that there's a "fix-all" button for the Heat heading into this offseason.
That's why, instead of looking for the right star player to trade for, Miami should be looking at how to soft reset the roster, perhaps even the way the Indiana Pacers were able to do so a few years ago. It's what helped catapult their team to this most recent NBA Finals run.
Of course, there's only one issue with that blueprint. It's the fact that it would require the Heat to take a bit of a step back before they take one forward. Knowing the way this front office likes to operate, it's hard to imagine that happening. Pat Riley likes to pride himself on the idea that he's never entered a full rebuild during his time with the Heat.
But there's a first time for everything for a reason. With the way team building in the NBA has completely changed over the last few years, this may finally be the time when the Heat must resort to a rebuilding of their roster. For the first time in a while, a simple addition of a star player won't solve anything for the team. They might need to scrap the foundation and start from scratch.