The Miami Heat were reportedly going to look to shake up their roster after going through the NBA Play-In Tournament once again and being manhandled by the Boston Celtics in the first round of the 2024 NBA playoffs. That hasn’t happened, though. There is still time, as training camps don’t open for another two months, and there is a belief the Heat may make a move or two.
Miami was 46-36 last season, marking the Heat’s fifth straight winning season. However, the Heat were besieged by injuries, with Jimmy Butler being limited to 60 games, Tyler Herro to 42, and Terry Rozier to 31 contests after being acquired. The Heat used 21 different players, with each appearing in at least seven contests. Butler and Rozier missed the entire playoff series against the Celtics, and the Heat averaged just 92 points a game, the second lowest in the playoffs.
Offense has been an issue for the Heat over the last two seasons. In the past two years, Miami has finished in the bottom five in scoring and bottom 10 in shooting, leading coach Erik Spoelstra to state that fixing the Heat’s offensive woes was a top priority.
“That’s what I will get to work on, the coaching staff will get together quite a bit to try to put together a more productive offensive plan.We had basically three primary offensive philosophies this season and a lot last season based on who was available. So, all things considered, I thought we were making strides in any one of those areas. But the consistency became a challenge to overcome. And the styles of play were different based on who was available. So I don’t want to make excuses for who was available and who was not, but we also have to look at what’s real and what’s not real.”
When The Miami Heat Could Trade Jimmy Butler And Interest In Veteran Free Agent Forward?
The Heat’s biggest offseason move was to extend Bam Adebayo. Although Adebayo has been a consistent offensive producer over the last five seasons, he is still known more for his defense and rebounding. The Heat re-signed Kevin Love, but he will be 36 before the season and is now a full-time backup.
Thomas Bryant and Haywood Highsmith are also far more defensive-oriented than offensive. First-round draft pick Ke’el Ware was impressive on both ends during the summer league, so there is hope he can provide interior scoring, though the 20-year-old may not see a lot of time with the frontcourt being the Heat’s strength.
Second-round pick Pelle Larsson had a good summer, but he will likely spend most of the season traveling between Sioux Falls and Miami. Alec Burks is arguably their biggest offensive addition this offseason. But the 33-year-old struggled after the New York Knicks acquired him from Detroit at the trade deadline.
So why haven’t the Heat done much this offseason?
“The focus was going to be a little bit more on the draft opportunities and then maybe some other smaller opportunities,” Heat’s general manager Andy Elisburg said. “Either A, retaining our own free agents, or B, the minimums or some small exception transactions. So that’s how I think we went into the summer with we’re more focused on these types of transactions, maybe not as much on these others, because we’re less likely to be able to do those kinds of transactions.”
Roster and Salary Situation
Miami entered the offseason over the first apron. While the Heat increased their payroll, they are still below the second apron ($1.2 million), with one open roster spot. But the Heat are projected to have a $26 million tax bill as a repeat offender.
So, the question is, will the Heat want to pay that much tax and potentially be in the Play-In Tournament again? The Heat have over $191 million committed to 11 players for 2025-26.
There have been rumors that Herro, Butler, and Duncan Robinson could be on the move this summer. Robinson re-established himself as a key rotational player last season, though he has $39 million left on his contract over the subsequent two campaigns. He is the player that the Heat would like to use most as a trade chip. However, Herro is the more valuable piece, and the Heat don’t appear to be opposed to dealing him to improve the roster.
What To Do With Jimmy Butler?
Turning to Butler, Butler, who became extension-eligible starting on July 6, reportedly wanted a max extension from the Heat. However, Shams Charania of The Athletic reported that before free agency, Butler would bypass the extension and become a free agent next year. He has a $52.4 million player option next season.
The Heat risk losing Butler for nothing this offseason. Would they be willing to deal with him ahead of the trade deadline? Heat president of basketball Pat Riley has indicated that he doesn’t want to deal with Butler.
“As Pat said at his press conference, it doesn’t have to be something you do now,” Elisburg said in an interview with Sirius XM. “You have an opportunity to do this all year long, so there’s an opportunity to do it at some point in time. And there’s an opportunity if he becomes a free agent next year to sit down and do a contract at that point in time. So there’s always an opportunity to do it.”
But would the Heat have a change of heart and dump Butler, who is making $48.7 million, if they get off to a slow start, or No. 9 or 10 before the trade deadline?
Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel provides his thoughts when asked why Miami doesn’t trade Butler before the season starts to get that needed facilitator, some draft capital, and perhaps some salary-cap relief.
There are certainly target dates on the NBA calendar that signal go-time, be it the February trading deadline, during the draft process, or at the start of free agency. August is not one of those times, when players signed during the offseason cannot be dealt until Dec. 15 at the earliest, and when cap space has all but dried up around the league. So if there is a determination on how to move forward (or not move forward) with Jimmy Butler, then midseason would be the next window. All of that said, do not lose sight of where Jimmy has lifted the Heat over these past five seasons.
Heat Interested In Marcus Morris?
As stated above, the Heat have one open roster spot. However, given their salary situation, it doesn’t appear that the Heat will add anyone, including Marcus Morris. Morris has reportedly drawn attention from many teams and is expected to sign with either Cleveland or Philadelphia.
“They effectively are, unless there is a dramatic change in their position against the luxury tax,” Winderman said when asked whether the Heat would add Morris or anyone else. “Often, the mention of a team’s interest is because of prior interest or the attempt to create a market for a player. That said, if quality remains on the free-agent list at the veteran minimum for a player considered a possible rotation player. then I think the Heat would at least consider the math and how other dollars can be shifted. But, again, at this stage it seemingly would have to be for a player considered a definitive rotation contributor.”
