The Miami Heat weren't hopeless entering the 2025-26 NBA season, but their hopes were all tied to the future: future star pursuits, future prospect emergences, future splashes on the trade market. Multiple months into this campaign, things are pretty much still the same.
They're still scanning the trade market for difference-makers, but the ones they want aren't available, and they don't want the ones that are. Their young core, meanwhile, has shown worrisomely little growth and in some cases alarming signs of regression. Even with this team treading water, you'd hope to have seen some more splashes by now.
Miami's young core hasn't taken the necessary leap.
If the Heat are ever going to level-up to reach contender status, they'll need someone to fill their superstar void. In a perfect world, this campaign would've done more to address that need, either by spawning an elite internally or at least having the young players show enough progress for them to anchor a trade offer for an established star.
Where are those gains being made? And don't bother trying to answer that question, because you won't find the solution.
Kel'el Ware, the prized piece of this prospect collection, has struggled to gain entry into coach Erik Spoelstra's circle of trust. Nikola Jovic has combined his longstanding injury woes with new challenges with his shooting touch. First-round rookie Kasparas Jakucionis has failed both to find meaningful minutes and to produce at a high enough rate to demand them.
Even the positive progression stories aren't as rosy as they may appear. Jaime Jaquez Jr. bouncing back is great to see, but he's still a tricky roster fit as a ball-dominant wing with no three-point threat. Pelle Larsson has largely impressed, but his three-ball hasn't clicked, and he profiles much more as a support player than some rising star.
Oh, and both of these players turn 25 next month. So, it's fair to question their long-term growth potential. Maybe this is about as good as they'll get: pretty solid, but certainly not spectacular.
Where is the fortune-changer in this mix? Because this franchise clearly can't want to be in perpetual pursuit of a Play-In Tournament invite.
Miami needs a major lift, but where is the elevation coming from? Even if the Heat opt to shop Norman Powell and Andrew Wiggins ahead of the Feb. 5 trade deadline, potential suitors aren't putting blank-check offers on the table for them. Maybe folks come calling for Tyler Herro or even Bam Adebayo, but the Heat might be lucky to bring back 75 cents on the dollar for either one.
This all feels like Miami is stuck. And while that was certainly within the realm of possibilities for this season, the hope was that there'd be more evidence of how this club could eventually get unstuck.