The angry Heat fan, accustomed to championship parades and long playoff runs, is now wielding a pitchfork, loudly lamenting this 30-plus month stretch of pent-up play-in frustration.
The outcry on social media has never been more vitriolic, and the noise only grew louder Monday night, when the Heat suffered the indignity of a 115-111 home loss to a Utah team that benched three frontcourt starters (Jaren Jackson Jr., Lauri Markkanen and Jusuf Nurkic) in the fourth quarter in a transparent attempt to tank because the Jazz’s first-round pick in June goes to the Thunder if it’s not in the top eight.
That debacle left the Heat at 28-27, eighth in the Heat entering Wednesday’s pre-All-Star finale at New Orleans (8 p.m., FanDuel Sports Sun).
Though Miami has made the playoffs every year this decade, and gone to two Finals in the past six years, fan exasperation stems from a team (with historically high standards and achievement) remaining in play-in purgatory for what’s headed toward a fourth consecutive season.
Mo Dakhil, a former video coordinator for the Spurs and Clippers, summarized that discontent in an appearance on Zach Lowe’s podcast this week.
“We kill the Bulls for being on the treadmill of mediocrity; how long are we going to allow Miami to get away with this as well?” Dakhil groused. “I’m tired of this thing like ‘we’re whale hunters!’ Then they never do….
“Don’t come out and say we’re whale hunters because it just doesn’t happen anymore. Not even smart moves around the edges; maybe make a few moves to get assets back.... I’m out; I’m tired of it.”
(In the Heat’s defense, Miami in the past year landed Davion Mitchell for P.J. Tucker and Norman Powell for Kyle Anderson and Kevin Love.) Nevertheless, the Heat hears the angry fan and understands.
That’s why it desperately tried to acquire Giannis Antetokounmpo before last week’s trade deadline, secretly crafting a way to create a third first-round pick to try to convince the Bucks to make the deal. It’s why another attempt to acquire Antetokounmpo will be made this summer, according to a source.
Reasonable people can disagree on all aspects of sports, but the Heat privately pushes back at several perceptions, including the notion that it’s not proactive enough in reloading its asset cupboard.
The Heat views the way it operates as a byproduct not of stubbornness, but of its preference to try to remain competitive while waiting for the opportunity to snag a star.
The Heat views its approach not as an unwillingness to adapt to the NBA’s new world free-agency-is-no-longer-a-thing ecosystem, but a preference to rely on uncovering gems in the draft process than relying on the randomness of the draft lottery.
The Heat views its philosophy not as any reluctance to make trades, but an opposition to what it views as lateral moves while paying close attention to the warts that made some of these players available in the first place.
To better understand the Heat’s thinking into hot button issues — including its Giannis-or-nothing approach at the recent trade deadline — here are answers to 14 questions raised by fans, based on information from interviews with involved sources:
▪ OK, we get that the Heat doesn’t want to tank. But why not trade veteran players for draft picks to collect enough assets to dangle for the next whale that becomes available?
According to a source, the Heat wasn’t offered a first-round pick for any of its top veteran wing players — not Andrew Wiggins, Powell or Tyler Herro.
Times have changed in the NBA from a year ago, when Orlando sent Memphis four first-round picks for guard Desmond Bane. Since then, teams have been cautious about holding onto first-round picks, knowing they need cheap young talent to balance out rosters.
At the recent trade deadline, future first-round picks were netted only for former multitime All-Stars (Anthony Davis and Jaren Jackson Jr.) and a skilled recent first-rounder on a cheap rookie contract (Jared McCain).
Nobody offered a first-round pick to Atlanta for former All-Star guard Trae Young before he was dealt to the Wizards, and nobody is offering first-rounders for Wiggins and Powell types.
▪ So what could the Heat have gotten for Wiggins?
Potentially two second-round picks, per a source. But the Heat didn’t deem that enough because of the benefit of having Wiggins the rest of the season, and also potentially having his contract to keep or trade if he opts into $30 million next season.
If he opts out, the Heat has a good chance of landing a similar asset in a sign-and-trade, as it did in acquiring a second-round pick for Max Strus in a sign-and-trade with Cleveland in 2023.
▪ Why not trade Bam Adebayo and just start over?
Because stripping down the roster entirely is fraught with risk and comes with no guarantees. Even if Miami could acquire four first-rounders for Adebayo, two of those picks likely wouldn’t come until the next decade, prolonging what could then turn into years of sustained losing.
▪ And remind me again why won’t the Heat tank?
We explained it at length in a Monday piece. The three primary reasons: It historically hasn’t led many teams to championships; it’s unpleasant for the team and the fan base; and relies mostly on luck and randomness of the draft lottery.
▪ Did Milwaukee ever make a counteroffer to the Heat for Antetokounmpo?
No. Miami said “no” to nothing that the Bucks requested.
But ultimately, a source said Milwaukee never told the Heat what would be enough to make them say “yes.” (At least one other suitor indicated the same.)
The Bucks considered Miami’s offer, but the belief is that Milwaukee said no because Antetokounmpo never strongly demanded a trade and the Bucks believe they can convince him to stay this summer.
▪ Did the fact the Heat had only two tradeable first-round picks hurt them?
No, because the Heat found a way to acquire a third first-round pick and would have pulled the trigger if that would have been enough to satisfy Milwaukee, according to an involved source.
▪ Why didn’t the Heat pivot to land somebody else after the Bucks told them late Wednesday night that they were likely keeping Antetokounmpo past last Thursday’s trade deadline?
There was no other player available that the Heat viewed as a difference-maker or a player that would be an upgrade over what it has.
There was one exception: Ja Morant. But there was reluctance to take on two years (and $84 million) for a player who has not played more than 67 games in any of his six seasons because of injuries and suspensions. (He’s now sidelined again.) His slender body type (which runs counter to Miami’s preference for point guards) and diminished production couldn’t be ignored, nor could the risk of an extended NBA suspension with another misstep.
▪ Why not take advantage of Terry Rozier’s expiring contract and trade him?
It would have been used as cap ballast in an Antetokounmpo trade. Otherwise, teams weren’t coveting that contract, and the Heat wasn’t offered any difference-maker with multiple years left on a contract.
▪ Why has the Heat missed on whales since Pat Riley’s great run of whale-hunting from 1995 through 2019?
The Heat pushes back at criticism that it has missed on landing a lot of elite players in recent years, keeping in mind that
1). Riley has landed arguably more stars than anyone over his 30-plus seasons here, and
2). Miami made no effort to trade for Bradley Beal, a move that Phoenix made and later regretted and
3). The inability to land Damian Lillard might have proved to be auspicious, because he ultimately sustained a long-term Achilles injury late in his second season with the Bucks and
4). Miami ultimately drew a line on Kevin Durant, a decision that could prove to be the right one if Kel’el Ware (who was coveted by Phoenix in Durant talks) can be used for a younger star such as Antetokounmpo.
▪ But what about the Heat being the only Eastern Conference team not to make a trade last week?
From the Heat’s perspective, the majority of the trades were salary dump transactions for teams to get under tax lines or trades that won’t move the needle. Miami opposes lateral moves and change simply for change’s sake — a position that can certainly be debated.
▪ What about Riley’s old saying that there’s “winning and misery?” Doesn’t that mean that any season that doesn’t end in a title is a failure?
No. That has been incorrectly interpreted from how it was intended, apparently. If every team used that measurement, then 29 teams would view their seasons as a failure. The Heat doesn’t view its two recent Finals appearances (2020 and 2023) as failures.
▪ Does the Heat believe its roster is good enough?
The brain trust knows it could use another premier scorer. But the Heat believes it can be very competitive in the playoffs if healthy. That remains to be seen.
▪ Why did the Heat include a first-rounder (with Kyle Lowry) for Terry Rozier in January 2024?
At the time, he was averaging 23 points and Miami felt his offense could be the missing piece for a team that had been to the Finals just seven months earlier. Rozier’s play fell off the proverbial cliff the following season, a regression extremely rare for a player in his prime.
It’s safe to say that the Heat, moving forward, is going to be very careful about trading first-round picks for players who aren’t clear-cut All Stars.
▪ Why hasn’t Spoelstra automatically given major minutes to Ware and Kasparas Jakucionis before the past two games?
Because he believes there should be no gifting of minutes to young players if he believes it comes at the sacrifice of winning.
“You’re accountable to things that lead to winning,” Spoelstra said. “So that when you are in a seven-game series, it can’t just be turned on then. You better have a season of a bunch of ups and downs and adversity and times where you’ve had to earn minutes as young players to understand, ‘OK, this is what impacts winning. This is what doesn’t impact winning, and there’s going to be a consequence.’...
“As developing young players, I just think they develop faster when they understand there’s accountability to whether it’s leading to winning or not.”