Writer Shares Hot Take About Miami Heat Plans

The Miami Heat have been very quiet during the 2024 NBA offseason. Plenty of NBA rumors swirled early in the offseason after team president Pat Riley made some headline-grabbing comments.

Alas, those comments seem to have been mostly smoke with no fire. As the Miami Heat’s Eastern Conference foes have improved, they have mostly stayed pat.

An argument could be made that the Miami Heat are actually a worse team right now than when the season ended. One key contributor, Caleb Martin, left in free agency and signed with a direct competitor in the Philadelphia 76ers.

The 76ers also signed Paul George, vaulting them back to the level of contenders in the conference. The New York Knicks also improved by acquiring Mikal Bridges from the Brooklyn Nets.

Also ahead of the Miami Heat in the 2023-24 standings were the Orlando Magic. They also improved, signing veteran sharpshooter Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to fill a massive void in their lineup.

When taking into consideration that the Cleveland Cavaliers aren’t going anywhere and the expected improvements of the Indiana Pacers, the Miami Heat are falling further down the pecking order. Not to mention, everyone is chasing the defending champion Boston Celtics.

What could the Miami Heat have up their sleeves to catch their Eastern Conference competition? Miami-based sports writer Dan Le Batard has revealed, in his opinion, what the team could do next.

“Pat Riley doesn’t have any reason in the world to still be working at his age approaching 80. He’s not going to wait around for another young team to ferment…I have assumed that the next play is going to be…trying to get (Kevin) Durant again. I’ve assumed that’s the move they’re going to try and get in play for because I don’t see a better one,” Le Batard said during a recent segment on his show.

Acquiring Kevin Durant while keeping the core of Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro intact would be an incredible move for the Miami Heat. Alas, it is unlikely such a scenario exists when wading through NBA rumors.

The Phoenix Suns are not going to just give away Durant. They surrendered a ton of assets to acquire him and would be looking for a package in return that at least approaches what they sent to the Nets.

To land Durant, the Suns traded Bridges, Cameron Johnson, four first-round picks and a pick swap to Brooklyn. Phoenix would almost certainly ask for Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Nikola Jovic to make up for the lack of draft capital the Miami Heat would have to offer.

Gutting the team’s depth and long-term building blocks for Durant would be an extremely risky move. But, as Le Batard pointed out about his age, Riley would cash in his chips for the chance to contend one more time.

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