These past three years really should have been the time for Miami Heat to have one their long-awaited fourth NBA title. With the same core ready to go for a fourth consecutive season, the Heat will again be considered favorites to emerge from the East. The only problem is that this time there will be many others favored too.
Miami came so close to winning it all in 2020. They finished 5th in the Eastern Conference that year but went on a tear in the playoffs. Easily bypassing the Pacers and Milwaukee Bucks in four and five game series, respectively, they then battled out a victory over the Celtics in the Conference championship round to make their first Finals appearance since the 2013/14 season.
Then they ran into the Los Angeles Lakers.
With the spirt of the late, great Kobe Bryant (who tragically died during that horrific year) surrounding and emboldening the Lakers that season, LeBron and AD’s greatness led LA past Miami in a 4-1 Finals victory.
Yet, that was not Miami’s only chance for a title. They had the perfect opportunity to win in the 2020/21 season and really should have been the East’s representative for the NBA Finals last season too.
In the 2020/21 postseason, Miami was utterly dominated by the Giannis-led Milwaukee Bucks (who were the soon-to-be NBA champions that year). So, maybe they didn’t have the best chance for playoff glory that season.
Still, if they could have somehow or another beaten Milwaukee, then who knows how their series versus the Nets would have gone?
Maybe they could have beaten the KD-Kyrie combo and advanced to play the Hawks? I’m sure they could have beaten the Hawks that year. They would have faced off against Phoenix in the Finals, where they would have another tough matchup. But maybe they could have somehow coped.
Anyway, the point is that 2019/20 defending Eastern Conference Champions to be swept in the First Round was a massive let down for all Heat fans.
And the bigger let down was last season’s debacle against the Celtics in the Conference championship round. More specifically, the Game 7 loss.
How did Miami mess up that badly to go from winning Game 6 IN BOSTON to tie the series at 3-3 and carrying all the moment, to then have one of their worst performances of the series in a “winner take all” Game 7 in Miami? Miami was the better, more experienced team than the Celtics last season. And they should have shown it.
Nearly all of Miami’s 2020 Finals roster was still on the team. Plus, Miami had a much deeper bench than the C’s.
For a team that boasts of having Victor Oladipo, Max Stauss, Dewayne Dedmon, and Caleb Martin on their bench to lose to the Celtics’ bench of Grant Williams, Payton Pritchard, Aaron Nesmith, and Derek White is unacceptable.
But that is the past, and you can’t change it. Miami has to look forward to this season. But with the moves around the NBA this offseason, the East has become a much more intimidating prospect to look at.
In order to really compete for the NBA championship, the one major hole on this roster that needs to be filled is the forward position. Only Jimmy Butler should be considered the “out-in-out” starting forward on this team.
With most of the starting free agents already signed, the only notable other forward still available is, you guessed it, Kevin Durant.
He would suit this team perfectly. Him and Jimmy Butler leading Miami’s offense would be one of the deadliest combinations in the NBA. However, Miami would have to upend a large portion of its roster to acquire KD.
At least 4 1st-round picks, probably Tyler Herro, Bam Adebayo, and another depth player would have to be sent to Brooklyn. It is definitely doable with some cap gymnastics. But does Miami really want to blow up a large portion of this team on one player, even if that player is Kevin Durant.
Oh, and another issue is that Ben Simmons would have to be a part of this deal too. Why? Because both he and Bam Adebayo are on rookie extension deals, which would prevent Brooklyn from taking Bam on as no team in the NBA can have more than one rookie extended player on their roster.
Thus, Miami would have to be involved in a three-team trade deal or take on Ben Simmons.
Regardless, Miami will still be one of the contenders of the Eastern Conference next season, but they will find it much harder to dominate as they have done these past three years. I’d predict that if they add nobody else to their team, then they should finish in the Top-4. If they can add KD, then 1st place in the East (if not the league) is all but theirs.
We’ll have to see if Pat Riley can bring KD and another championship to Miami before his time with the team is over.
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