The Miami Heat have been notoriously quiet this offseason, which is uncharacteristic due to how tireless their front office is in seeking out upgrades for their roster. They have only made moves around the margins, bringing back Kevin Love and Thomas Bryant on cheap deals while bringing in spark plug off the bench Alec Burks, but those moves don't exactly move the needle for a team that won just 46 games last season and bowed out in the first round of the playoffs.

With the Heat still in cap hell and the quality free agents of this year's class flying off the board rather quickly, it's not quite clear what their options are in improving the roster. DeMar DeRozan stands out as the best remaining free agent on the market, but with the Heat not only being over the cap but also being over the first tax apron, signing him requires Miami to move mountains.

But Heat fans better be on the lookout for a potential move soon, with Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reporting that Miami “is trying to do something in trade market” even as they find the pursuit of DeRozan to be a “difficult” one. The Heat have decided not to cross the second tax apron just yet to retain flexibility in the coming months.

It's likely that the Heat bid farewell to 2023 playoff hero Caleb Martin and underrated power forward Haywood Highsmith due to their cap situation hitherto. But the Heat front office manage to, time and time again, make some moves that have them right along with other contending teams in the Eastern Conference.

Heat's potential trade targets

To this point, the Heat's offseason has been very uninspiring. They are, for all intents and purposes, running it back. While that isn't the worst idea in the world, as better health for next season could have them sniffing the 50-win mark, there is always an expectation from fans that Miami will be among the best teams in the conference, and so far, they have been slacking, at least compared to the likes of the New York Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers.

There may not be a star available on the market that could be attainable for the Heat. Perhaps Brandon Ingram becomes available in a trade with the New Orleans Pelicans, but the Heat can only trade two first-round picks outright (2029 and 2031) due to their previous commitments. Ingram may be unattainable for that reason alone.

The same goes for the Heat in a potential pursuit of Trae Young; with Young being under contract for multiple years, getting anything short of three first-round picks will be a spectacular failure for the Atlanta Hawks. Lauri Markkanen would cost a lot more than the Heat have in assets.

The Heat could always dangle Jaime Jaquez Jr., who was one of the best rookies of his class, and Nikola Jovic, someone who made plenty of strides during the 2023-24 campaign. But the Heat need more skilled youth, not less, which is why they may not be too open to the idea of trading those two away if not for a prime target of theirs (such as Damian Lillard last year).

Could Zach LaVine be an option for Miami? Perhaps. But will the Heat be willing to take on the huge contract that is due for LaVine for the next three seasons?

Thus, the Heat, much like in their trade for Terry Rozier in last season's deadline, are most likely to trade for a quality piece that is one or two tiers below the All-Star-caliber players.

Some names the Heat could target are as follows: Bogdan Bogdanovic, Dorian Finney-Smith, Cam Johnson, Bruce Brown, Kelly Olynyk, and Malcolm Brogdon.

Finney-Smith provides some 3-and-D toughness on the wing, and he will be rejuvenated playing for a team with a culture that fits his M.O. Johnson is one of the best snipers in the association, and he's nearly two years younger than Duncan Robinson.

Bogdanovic would give the team additional oomph off the bounce, Brown is a proven winner crying out for an opportunity to help a winning team once more, Olynyk knows Heat culture inside and out, while Brogdon would give the Heat some enviable depth at the guard positions.

If the Heat were to trade for anyone, one would think that they'd prefer to get Finney-Smith or Brown. The Heat need more size and versatility on the wing, and those two would give Miami some playoff-viable weapons as they look to keep up with the best of the best in the East.