The Miami Heat came up short of winning a title in 2020 after making the NBA Finals and once again, they found themselves just a couple of wins shy of a title on Monday night. Losing in five games to the Denver Nuggets, another offseason filled with championship disappointment begins for the Heat.
Making the NBA Finals was a huge accomplishment for the Heat given where they were entering postseason play, but Pat Riley always expects his team to win a title when they have a chance to. This is why Miami could be super aggressive in their pursuit of talent entering the offseason.
Numerous stars have been linked to Miami in recent years and after losing to Denver in the Finals this year, Riley may be ready to pull the trigger on a blockbuster offseason trade. When talking about where Miami goes from here following their loss on The Hoop Collective Podcast, ESPN's Brian Windhorst claimed that the Heat are “keeping an eye” on several star players who could become available this summer.
“They have draft picks at their disposal, and they potentially have tradeable contracts, and I think they're going to go hunting for a star,” Windhorst stated. “I don't know if they'll get one, I don't know if it'll all break their way. There's other teams out there interested in it, and I'm not going to sit here and tell you who it is because I'll get aggregated, but there are players they're keeping an eye on and they have the ability to do it, especially of a player says, ‘Hey, send me to Miami.' … They have the 18th pick in this draft, not that that's super interesting. I don't think they can beat all comers on a star trade but if a player says, ‘Send me to Miami' in the next two weeks, they are not in the worst position of all time to make it.”
Obviously the first name that comes to mind in connection to the Heat possibly going “big game hunting” this offseason is Portland Trail Blazers superstar Damian Lillard. Portland's situation is very unknown right now and they could possibly look to take a step backwards and rebuild given that they own the third overall pick in this year's draft.
Lillard has made his intentions to play in Portland this upcoming season known, but he has also gone on the record and said that he would be open to joining the Heat in a potential trade. Should he request a trade from the Trail Blazers, Miami will be at the front of the line to pursue the seven-time All-Star.
Kyrie Irving will be an unrestricted free agent this summer and he is another player the Heat have interest in. Miami reportedly pursued Irving ahead of the trade deadline this past season and even made an offer to the Brooklyn Nets for the All-Star guard before he was dealt to the Dallas Mavericks.
The Washington Wizards are also being questioned around the NBA given that they have a brand new front office taking over. The idea of restarting there and going through a rebuild has been discussed, which is why Bradley Beal is another star who could eventually hit the trade market. Beal owns a true no-trade clause though, so any potential deal would have to be to his liking.
Regardless who does and who does not become available this NBA offseason, the Heat will be searching for ways to improve their championship outlook. Adding a third All-Star talent alongside Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler is a must in Miami and that has become clear after they came up short in the NBA Finals once again.