NBA Champion Suggests Miami Heat Covet Giannis, Kevin Durant

“They don’t have much to give, but their best bet is to find a big star in the offseason,” Green said. “People were talking about Kevin Durant. They hope that the Bucks lose, and Giannis wants out. Obviously, Dame is hurt. Now, that’s a guy that they were trying to get before, who is going to be out for next season. The only guys they really can get are Giannis and KD. This is the target, but it’s hard to get Giannis with the pieces you have. Milwaukee is not going to want Terry Rozier or Davion Mitchell. It seems impossible because they’re going to have to give up Bam Adebayo or Tyler Herro.”

Against the Cavaliers, Adebayo and Herro proved they’re best utilized as secondary options or supporting players to an established No. 1 offensive option. Despite being forced to trade Jimmy Butler during the regular season, the Heat’s return was solid in the short term. Long term, Andrew Wiggins, Herro, and Adebayo cannot be a contending team’s top three players.

 PAUL PIERCE CLAIMS PAT RILEY IS “SINGLE-HANDEDLY” RUINING HEAT CULTURE

Despite being one of the primary figures who built the Miami Heat into a successful organization, Pat Riley is facing considerable criticism following two consecutive first-round exits.

On the Speak show for Fox Sports, Paul Pierce explains why Riley deserved most of the blame for the Heat’s recent shortcomings.

“I feel like Pat Riley is kind of like single-handedly tearing down Heat Culture,” Pierce said. “You run the face of the culture in Jimmy Butler out, and you see him in Golden State thriving and having an opportunity to push Golden State to the next round. You have got to understand that other superstar players watch this. They’re talking in locker rooms. They talk on All-Star weekend. They talk in the summer when they’re working out like ‘man, do we want to go down there and really play under the Heat Culture with these types of things going on?’ I really believe some things have to change within the Heat Culture. They have to revamp it, realign the rules, get a new memo, or something.”

Pierce was one of the first people to publicly call out the Butler and Heat tenure, which faced more tension behind the scenes than most expected. As of now, the Heat’s success since 2020 appears to be attributed mainly to Butler.

JEFF TEAGUE ADAMANTLY SAYS PAT RILEY NEEDS TO RETIRE AFTER DISGRACEFUL PERFORMANCE

Losing to a superior team is one thing, but getting blown out at home in a must-win elimination game by 55 points is another thing entirely.

On the Club 520 Podcast show, Jeff Teague reacted to the Miami Heat’s beatdown at the hands of the Cleveland Cavaliers. 

“They should retire Pat Riley right there,” Teague explained. “It’s time to go, Pat. I feel them, though. This is my theory. You know y’all not about to win, so why the (expletive) we got to travel back to Cleveland? Yeah, let’s just look like we can’t compete. Like, let’s not make it close. I mean, we were trying the first three games. We lost. But the last game, let that (expletive) cook bro. I legit would have walked into the locker room and said, ‘(expletive), I know y’all are not trying to fly back to Cleveland for one more night.’ If we’re playing good that first quarter, let’s go to work. We're hoopers now. We like to play. But if they start beating our (expletive), take me out.”

The most significant offseason move the Heat made last year was signing Alec Burks. All things considered, he was solid throughout the year. But it was clearly not enough, even if the Heat had kept Jimmy Butler. With more clarity regarding Butler's future absence, the Heat will need to make several moves to compensate for his departure.

Bryan Townes is a contributor to Miami Heat On SI. He can be reached at btownesjr@gmail.com or on X @bryantownesjr11. Follow our coverage on Facebook