"I mean, it should be the easiest job in sports to run the Miami Heat" - NBA Analyst describes Heat's offseason as "horrid"
However disappointing, the Miami Heat's 2021-22 season was far from a failure.
The Heat finished atop the Eastern Conference. They defeated the Atlanta Hawks in five games in the first round of the playoffs and the Philadelphia 76ers in six games in the semifinals. They then gave the Boston Celtics a run for their money.
Miami's season ended, basically, because of one missed jumpshot. Leading up to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals, the Heat had given the Celtics a tough time despite lacking a fully healthy Jimmy Butler.
With the Kevin Durant sweepstakes now put to rest, the Heat's offseason looks a lot less productive. Justin Termine, on "The Bill Simmons Podcast," said:
"Pat Riley gets the benefit of the lifestyle. Like, you have no income tax (in Florida). I mean, it should be the easiest job in sports to run the Miami Heat, and (team president) Pat Riley is competent and (general manager Andy) Elisburg and they do a good job down there, but they've had a horrid offseason."
With no significant changes, the Miami Heat are likely to run it back
Jimmy Butler's missed 3-pointer snowballed into a precarious feeling of having come so close yet being so far from the NBA title.
An otherwise successful regular season was spent dealing with a few injuries. Bam Adebayo (56 games) missed a significant amount of time. Butler went out for several games, while Victor Oladipo played only eight games in the regular season. Lowry looked like a shell of himself, logging 13.4 points per game, his lowest in nine seasons.
The bright spots were Sixth Man of the Year Tyler Herro, Butler and Adebayo. Butler exploded in the playoffs, leading the league in steals while scoring 27.1 points per game and shooting 50.6%.
Herro's playoff struggles put a caveat around his extension, and so has his demand for a starting spot. This led to Herro becoming one of their key trade pieces in the race for Kevin Durant.
With Brooklyn announcing Durant's stay, the Heat still have a hole at power forward and are simultaneously vying for Donovan Mitchell. Miami doesn't have the draft capital that Utah Jazz CEO of basketball operations Danny Ainge would look for. That signals a possible three- or four-team trade if one takes place at all.
The Miami Heat could now shift their focus to Donovan Mitchell, per the Sun Sentinel’s Ira Winderman
“if there was any hesitancy about including an asset for Mitchell, that now could change.” https://t.co/jHpiwjTL5s
With a few months to go until the 2022-23 season, the Heat have only given out a few notable extensions, namely to Victor Oldaipo, Dewayne Dedmon and Caleb Martin. They also signed Udonis Haslem to a one-year deal.
With no significant roster turnover, it looks like the Heat will run it back.