"Not going to wait around for another young team" - Miami Heat insider believes Pat Riley is poised to make win-now move for Kevin Durant
After failing to make the playoffs last season, the Miami Heat haven't made any significant moves in the offseason to upgrade the roster. That said, one insider shared his thoughts on a big splash he thinks could happen.
Looking ahead, the Heat are going to have a tough time getting back to the NBA Finals as currently constructed. The Boston Celtics have maintained their core, and teams like the Philadelphia 76ers and New York Knicks have made massive upgrades. Meanwhile, Miami is on pace to run it back with almost their identical roster from last year.
While on his talk show, insider Dan Le Batard opened up on how he feels things could play out for the Miami Heat. Given his old age, he feels Pat Riley is going to try and win now and go after Kevin Durant again.
"At his age approaching 80, he's not going to wait around for another young team to furment," Le Batard said. "I have assumed that the next play is going to be an assortment of pieces that gets Jimmy Butler for one year, and then he's gonna try and get Durant again."
It's worth noting the Heat were tied to Durant the last time the former MVP was moved. When he requested a trade from the Brooklyn Nets, Miami was on his shortlist of desired destinations. That said, the Phoenix Suns haven't expressed an interest in trading the superstar forward.
Miami Heat tried to acquire six-time All-Star this offseason
While the Miami Heat haven't made any notable offseason moves yet, that doesn't mean they haven't tried. Last week, one insider detailed their pursuit of a multi-time All-Star that was on the market.
Among the big-name players to hit free agency this summer was DeMar DeRozan. After not landing a deal in the initial frenzy, the Sacramento Kings ended up acquiring him in a sign-and-trade with the Chicago Bulls.
During an appearance on "NBA Today," Bobby Marks stated that the Miami Heat would have liked to land DeRozan this summer. However, they just didn't have the valuable assets to get a deal like that done.
"They would have loved to get DeMar DeRozan," Marks said. "They tried as heck to get DeMar DeRozan. Nobody wanted Duncan Robinson, no offense. They had one first-round pick to trade."
After swinging and missing this offseason, the Heat have no choice but to run it back. All they can do now is hope that the trio of Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro is enough to try and hang with the East's top teams.