Free agency is underway, and while it isn't shocking, the Miami Heat didn't do anything on day one. The rumors of pursuing Jonathan Kuminga have fizzled for now, and while there are some other far-fetched ideas circulating, the vibe from Miami is that they seem content to roll into 2025-26 with the roughly same players who ended 2024-25.
The Miami front office would claim that they have a process and they are sticking to it. Just remember that the hamster on the wheel has a process too.
Miami Heat fans brace for another mediocre season
Miami pulled off a sign-and-trade for Duncan Robinson, but only received Simone Fontecchio in return to show for it. As you'd expect, this isn't going to leapfrog Miami into instant contenders in the Eastern Conference.
And thus it leaves the Heat in NBA purgatory heading into the 2025-26 season, where, in a best-case scenario, they go 41-41, win their play-in round game, and avoid being swept in the first round of the playoffs.
The issue with that scenario is that it keeps them in the same draft position they have found themselves in year after year, where they keep collecting "nice" players but are never in a position to land the elite ones.
It's not to say that tanking automatically leads to a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, but Utah, for example, was able to leverage its draft capital to pivot from missing on Cooper Flagg to still land Ace Bailey and Walter Clayton Jr.
Miami drafted Kasparas Jakucionis, and we like Jakucionis. In fact, since 2017, Precious Achiuwa is the only player the Heat have drafted in the first round who is not still with the team.
But even with Tyler Herro making the All-Star Game for the first time this past season, and Bam Adebayo being potentially freed up with the development of Kel'el Ware, the Heat don't feel like a roster that one guy can lead them over the top.
So prepare for the hamster wheel to keep spinning as Miami tries to figure out when to make its move and push its chips to the middle of the table.