The Miami Heat are still waiting to acquire a whale. The summer of 2025 should be the offseason they strike.
The Miami Heat are running it back this season.
Well, not exactly.
Terry Rozier has an entire offseason in South Beach and can get fully acclimated to his role. Jimmy Butler is in a contract year: if there’s ever a season we get playoff Jimmy in the regular season, it will be this one. Nikola Jovic and Jamie Jaquez Jr. are primed to take leaps in their game. Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo have been pillars of the organization, and you essentially know what you’ll get from them every game.
Looking at it from a glass-half-full POV, Miami enters the season believing it can compete with any team in the East at full strength. If worst comes to worst and they lose in the first round and Jimmy Butler walks, here are three stars they should target next summer.
- De’Aaron Fox
2024 stats: 26.6 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 5.6 APG, 56.7 TS%
If Butler walks next offseason, the Heat would have $11-13 million in cap space. That’s not enough to sign a max player outright, but they would be below the second apron and could facilitate a sign-and-trade.
That said, De’Aaron Fox may be looking for an exit route from Sacramento. Fox reportedly turned down an extension from the Kings, hoping to see how the roster would be constructed around him.
The Kings were the surprise story of the league two years ago when they finished third in the West. Last year wasn’t so pleasant, as teams marked them on their schedule as a challenging game. If the Kings can’t return to their winning ways, Fox may get antsy and ask out. The Heat have enough attractive assets to strike a deal.
Fox would be an instant fit with Bam Adebayo, as they were teammates at Kentucky during the 2017 campaign. Although Fox is a streaky 3-point shooter, he may be the fastest player in the league and a maestro in the pick-and-roll. He possesses that second gear Miami needs out of their go-to scorer. There aren’t many guards who get downhill like Fox.
There’s no doubt Fox would thrive defensively under Erik Spoelstra. Fox was brilliant on the ball in 2023. He absorbed bumps from offensive weapons and cut off driving angles easily with a solid upper frame. He could get back to those winning ways with Miami being paired with Bam- he could smother ball handlers without worrying about whether the backline help could bail him out if all fails.
- Devin Booker
2024 stats: 27.1 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 6.9 APG, 61 TS%
If Devin Booker were to sport a Miami Heat jersey, he’d be in the conversation for best Heat scorer ever. In terms of production, you’d take LeBron James and Dwyane Wade over him. Their sheer will to get to the rim made them undeniable. LeBron was a more than capable 3-point shooter in Miami, and Wade made a living in the midrange game.
Booker would undoubtedly be the most versatile scorer to call Kaseya Center home. He is a three-level scorer that makes tough shots seem effortless. You’ll watch Book come down the court, make three shimmy fadeaways in a row, and be in awe. Those are some difficult, difficult shots that Suns fans have been accustomed to over the years.
If Phoenix concludes its big three experiment isn’t working, they might look to trade Book. He presumably has more value than Kevin Durant on the open market mainly due to age (and trading Bradley Beal might not be an option since he still holds a no-trade clause). If Phoenix decides to break it up, Miami should be first in line hoping to land a shooting guard that would change the trajectory of this squad.
The buckets are fun and can reach highs of 70 points, but Book provides more than that on the floor. He’s improved a ton at making plays for others. Book learned to manage his gravity to take advantage of cheating defenders. Book has been passable on defense since he led the Suns to the Finals in 2021 (you could argue earlier). He’s teaming up with Bam for the second time with a chance to snatch the gold medal in Paris. Undoubtedly, both players will enter the 2024-25 with different tricks up their sleeves after being around greatness during this Olympic run.
- Jamal Murray
2024 stats: 21.2 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 6.5 APG, 59 TS%
Are you starting to notice the trend here? All three of these supernova offensive engines are former Kentucky Wildcats. Bam is one of the most personable guys in the league. I’m banking on his relationships resulting in the Heat obtaining a franchise-changing star.
Like Booker and Fox, Murray is another guard who can dribble, pass, and shoot. He can make plays for himself and others. Denver isn’t looking to move the sugar to Jokic’s Kool-Aid. Why would they? Their front office hasn’t made the best decisions lately, with hopes of staying under the second apron. Losing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope will surely hurt them, and there’s a chance they won’t retain one of Aaron Gordon or Michael Porter Jr. next season. Porter is locked in but is making a lot of money for a player his stature.
If the Nuggets compound their mistakes and don’t offer Murray the maximum, the Heat could swoop in and add the playmaker they’ve needed since Goran Dragic’s final years.
Murray is as explosive as it gets when he’s hot, as Lakers and Jazz fans know all too well. Albeit in the bubble, in Murray’s peak playoff series, he averaged 32 points, shooting 55% from three on eight attempts. He reached Hercules’ level against the Jazz in this one. Murray is a champion and would add that experience to Miami’s championship foundation.
If the Heat were miraculously able to land Murray, we shouldn’t expect numbers like this, but just having a scorer capable of going for 30 any night lessens the burden on Spo, Bam, and the role players who often have to punch above their weight.
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