Heat Admittedly Facing Offseason Of Hard Questions, Big Decisions

“These last two games were embarrassing,” Spoelstra said, via The Miami Herald’s Anthony Chiang. “We’re as irrational as we usually are, thinking we had a chance in this series. They showed us why we weren’t ready for that.”

Cleveland, the East’s No. 1 seed with 64 wins, looked every bit the juggernaut. Miami? They looked like a team that limped into the playoffs and got run over once they got there.

Now comes the fallout.

Spoelstra didn’t sugarcoat it. “As an organization, yeah, we’re going to look at this and say this is unacceptable,” he said. “We got to get to another level.”

Getting there won’t be simple. Miami is armed with the No. 20 pick in the upcoming draft — not their own, but from the Jimmy Butler trade. Their own pick, at No. 15, goes to Oklahoma City.

According to Barry Jackson of the Herald, the Heat are limited in draft capital, with their 2030 first-rounder the only other asset available to deal on draft night.

Davion Mitchell, acquired late in the season, is expected to receive a qualifying offer, but that doesn’t mean Miami will match any lucrative offer sheet that comes his way. And then there’s Duncan Robinson, whose partially guaranteed contract will force the front office to make a decision — keep him, trade him, or eat the cost.

The Heat have made a living exceeding expectations. But after a humbling playoff exit and an offseason full of tough calls, simply returning to form might not be enough.