The basketball world has heard the trade rumors involving the Cavaliers, Celtics, Lakers, Clippers and even the Wizards, however, nobody has brought up the Miami Heat. The Heat are currently 12th in cap space and they have a history handing out contracts to good/great players (i.e.- Shaq, LeBron James, Chris Bosh, Goran Dragic, Hassan Whiteside, Tyler Johnson).
Miami has a good group of guards like Dragic, Johnson and Dion Waiters. They have a defensive presence in Whiteside who can play down low. Justise Winslow, a wing player who averaged 11 points, 4 assists, 2 steals, and 5 rebounds a game in the 2016-17 season.
The Heat went 41-41 this past season and missed the playoffs because of a tiebreaker with Chicago. This happened without Miami having a star on its roster; so by adding a player like Jimmy Butler, Paul George or even Gordon Hayward, that could push the Heat into the playoffs and possibly to a top 5 seed.
Miami is a beautiful city with plenty of attractions for tourists to enjoy. Stars can bring more attention to themselves and increase their brand.
With people chatting about the Lakers and Clippers being in the running for all these excellent players it shocks me that the club from South Beach isn’t receiving any attention in this matter.
Both L.A. teams are fighting to stay relevant and there isn’t a ton of talent on either squad. The Cavs just fired their general manager before this year’s draft and they very well might lose all of their BIG 3 within the next year.
Miami is an ideal landing spot for any superstar and with there being zero noise surrounding that franchise, I could see the team striking a deal to land a big name. Pat Riley is a smart man, he knows the Eastern Conference is on the verge of changing in a gigantic way within the next calendar year.