The Miami Heat came within a game of making the NBA Finals last year.
Throughout the offseason Pat Riley has made strong plays for both Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant and Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell.
Because of the standard that the Rudy Gobert trade set, neither the Nets nor the Jazz have been willing to accept Miami’s offers.
What does that mean for the Heat? Well, it means they might need to turn to Plan C.
“I think a guy the Heat will keep an eye on is Gordon Hayward,” an Eastern Conference exec told NBA insider Sean Deveney. “Charlotte’s in a tough position with the (Miles) Bridges thing, they have (Steve) Clifford coming in, they’re in a position to rest things a little bit around LaMelo Ball.
“Hayward has two years left. If the Heat want to give up [Tyler] Herro before you pay him and you want to move [Duncan] Robinson, you would have to add a pick, but those two guys and Omer [Yurtseven], that might be enough to get Hayward if the Hornets decide to reconfigure.”
It will be interesting to see how this situation shakes out. The Heat are presently trying to make all sorts of moves – both big and small.
They are one of three teams in the hunt for LaMarcus Aldridge. They are a frontrunner to land one of the league’s more polarizing big men. They’re one of a handful of squads making a strong play for Blake Griffin.
And it is increasingly looking like they are coming to terms with the fact that they need a contingency plan in the event that Durant and Mitchell are unattainable.
Who will Miami ultimately be able to come away once everything is said and done?
Time will tell.
More must-reads: