(Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)
The Miami Heat suffered a severe blow to their postseason hopes when Jimmy Butler, their best player, was diagnosed with an MCL injury that is expected to keep him out of action for several weeks.
As it stood already, they faced long odds to make it back to the NBA Finals, mostly because of their lack of offensive firepower relative to the heavyweights in the Eastern Conference.
Heat team president Pat Riley is always looking for that next big piece, and ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said the Heat could be in position to trade for a legitimate star this summer.
“I think there’s going to be a lot more player movement this summer.” @wojespn on the Miami Heat and what the upcoming NBA off-season could look like pic.twitter.com/vbwEFzgWpO
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) April 19, 2024
The biggest thing the Heat have going for them is their championship-caliber culture, and it is something Wojnarowski references when he says plenty of players would like to play for them.
Last summer, everyone thought Damian Lillard was going to end up in Miami, especially when he made it clear they were the one team he wanted the Portland Trail Blazers to send him to.
But he was eventually traded to the Milwaukee Bucks, and when the Bucks sent away Jrue Holiday to get Lillard, the Heat also missed out on Holiday, who was subsequently shipped to the Boston Celtics.
The Heat did acquire Terry Rozier, a capable scoring guard, at midseason, and although he picked things up late in the schedule, he has been a relative disappointment, at least so far.
Butler is 34 years of age, but most of their other key players are young, and landing another legitimate star this offseason could not only make them legitimate title contenders but give them a window of several years during which they can compete for rings.
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