The Miami Heat are running it back this season.
Well, not exactly.
Terry Rozier has an entire offseason in South Beach and can get fully acclimated to his role. Jimmy Butler is in a contract year: if there's ever a season we get playoff Jimmy in the regular season, it will be this one. Nikola Jovic and Jamie Jaquez Jr. are primed to take leaps in their game. Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo have been pillars of the organization, and you essentially know what you'll get from them every game.
Looking at it from a glass-half-full POV, Miami enters the season believing it can compete with any team in the East at full strength. If worst comes to worst and they lose in the first round and Jimmy Butler walks, here are three stars they should target next summer.
1. De'Aaron Fox
2024 stats: 26.6 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 5.6 APG, 56.7 TS%
If Butler walks next offseason, the Heat would have $11-13 million in cap space. That's not enough to sign a max player outright, but they would be below the second apron and could facilitate a sign-and-trade.
That said, De'Aaron Fox may be looking for an exit route from Sacramento. Fox reportedly turned down an extension from the Kings, hoping to see how the roster would be constructed around him.
The Kings were the surprise story of the league two years ago when they finished third in the West. Last year wasn't so pleasant, as teams marked them on their schedule as a challenging game. If the Kings can't return to their winning ways, Fox may get antsy and ask out. The Heat have enough attractive assets to strike a deal.
Fox would be an instant fit with Bam Adebayo, as they were teammates at Kentucky during the 2017 campaign. Although Fox is a streaky 3-point shooter, he may be the fastest player in the league and a maestro in the pick-and-roll. He possesses that second gear Miami needs out of their go-to scorer. There aren't many guards who get downhill like Fox.
There's no doubt Fox would thrive defensively under Erik Spoelstra. Fox was brilliant on the ball in 2023. He absorbed bumps from offensive weapons and cut off driving angles easily with a solid upper frame. He could get back to those winning ways with Miami being paired with Bam- he could smother ball handlers without worrying about whether the backline help could bail him out if all fails.