The Miami Heat may have struck out on landing a star this offseason, but if they play their cards right, a great opportunity for a reunion with LeBron James could arise at the NBA Trade Deadline.
With the way the Heat has operated this offseason, they're sitting in a perfect position to pounce on a potential trade of LeBron. They have the expiring contracts, the strong support system, and the minimal draft capital it would take to pull off a deal.
If both LeBron and the Heat were open to it, a reunion is not that outlandish an idea. In fact, Bill Simmons recently talked up the Heat as a potential landing spot for LeBron if he and the Lakers were to eventually part ways at some point this season.
In his words, he has a "weird gut feeling" that if LeBron does pursue a trade away from the Lakers that it's the Heat that would probably make the most sense. Of course, this is more of a LeBron decision than anything.
The Lakers would have to be a disaster for LeBron to jump ship
And thinking out loud, if LeBron did get to a point where he wanted a trade, you'd have to imagine that the Lakers' ship would have to be sinking. Unless there's some sort of movement on this front before the start of the season, I can't imagine LeBron decides to hit the eject button unless it's simply a disaster of a year for Los Angeles.
Do you know how silly it would be for LeBron to "demand" a trade away from a contender mid-season? That's certainly not happening, especially not this late in his career.
That's why if this hypothetical even has a chance to play out, it would almost certainly revolve around the Lakers suffering a huge injury that alters their expectations for the year, or the idea of the team having an extremely bad start to the season.
It's only at that point that it could make sense for LeBron to explore his other options, especially considering that his contract does officially expire after this season.
Even though the Heat is certainly operating as a team that is eyeing a big move in 2026, I'm not sure if they would be able to push away the temptation of a reunion with LeBron. If LeBron comes to Pat Riley and says he wants to return to Miami and is ready to win another championship, would the Heat's front office say no?
It's certainly an interesting hypothetical. For now, that's all it is. However, it's certainly worth keeping tabs on as we inch closer and closer to the start of the season.