Chasing superstars has officially boxed the Miami Heat into a corner—if not a coffin. No matter what else they do, they will always be judged off one question: Did they acquire Superstar Player X?
Until the answer is “yes,” the Heat’s present and future will be deemed underwhelming.
Look no further than The Athletic’s offseason rankings, in which David Aldridge builds a pecking order featuring every team, based on how they fared relative to their goals and available options. The Heat sit in...23rd place.
If this feels low, that’s because it is low. Miami falls behind the Chicago Bulls for crying out loud. They finished in 18th place, even though their biggest accomplishment is not yet overpaying Josh Giddey.
You know why the Heat’s offseason isn’t viewed favorably
To Aldridge’s credit, he did praise the Heat’s acquisition of Norman Powell, because quite frankly, they stole him from the Los Angeles Clippers. He also applauds scooping up Kasparas Jakucionis at No. 20, and thinks that Simone Fontecchio will be a useful addition.
The primary qualm seems to be the same as everyone else’s primary qualm: Kevin Durant, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Devin Booker, Jaylen Brown, LeBron James, et al. don’t currently reside in Miami. Aldridge writes that the Heat don’t “have many more assets left to try and take the kind of huge offseason swings we’ve associated with Pat Riley’s stewardship.”
This is to some extent accurate. Durant was Miami’s latest superstar pursuit, and it came up short. Even if the front office could have gotten a deal done by including Kel’el Ware, it doesn’t say a lot about the Heat’s asset stores that they couldn’t get an agreement over the hump without him.
That’s not too problematic in this specific instance. It may even be a blessing in disguise. Durant turns 37 in September, and could sign a two-year extension worth north of $100 million. Miami would have been playing a risky game by forking over draft picks to get him, and then paying top dollar to keep him.
The assets issue will be a different story in future negotiations. We know the Heat continue to lust after Giannis Antetokounmpo. It’s debatable whether their best packages will stand up to the field’s top offers if and when the two-time MVP becomes available.
Still, the Heat’s offseason is being underrated
Dinging the Heat for failing to make a blockbuster splash rings incredibly hollow. Franchise directions are not as binary as “Did they acquire a superstar or not?” That’s truer than ever this summer.
Durant is the only superstar to change teams. The big-name market is otherwise dry. Are we penalizing the Heat for not going all-in on…Desmond Bane? Or because they failed to acquire a player who isn’t available?
There are real nits to pick with Miami’s offseason. The Haywood Highsmith trade remains completely, utterly, inexplicably bizarre. We also can (and should) have a discussion about the Heat’s future plans, and whether their assets will stack up versus other teams’ when the right star hits the block.
This summer specifically, though, the Heat have done mostly quality work. They may not be certified contenders, but they deepened the rotation and beefed up the offense without bankrupting their future on the wrong star—or, worse, non-star. That’s not a bottom-seven offseason.
Of course, the fact that it can be viewed as such is partly on the Heat. Their superstar pursuits are well-documented, even over-covered. That’s clearly prompted people to treat those chases as Miami’s entire identity.