The Miami Heat had an unexpected run to The Finals as the No. 8 seed and could be in position to upgrade their roster this offseason by trading for a star.
"They have draft picks at their disposal," said Brian Windhorst on his podcast following Game 5. "And they potentially have tradeable contracts and I think they're going to go hunting for a star. I don't know if they'll get one. I don't know if it will break their way. There's other teams interested in it. I'm not going to sit here and tell you who it is because I'll get aggregated. But there are players they are keeping an eye on and they have the ability to do it, especially if the players says 'Send me to Miami.'
"They have a little window here before the second apron kicks in where they may be able to spend a little bit of money. They have some draft picks they can trade. After the draft, they get access to their 2030 pick. They have the 18th pick in this draft, not that that's super interesting. I don't think they can beat all comers on a star trade, but if a player says 'Send me to Miami' in the next two weeks, they're not in the worst position."
The Heat were on Kevin Durant's list of trade destinations during the 2022 offseason, and they also pursued a deal for Donovan Mitchell.
This offseason, Damian Lillard is considered the big star who could potentially become available via trade. Joel Embiid is another star with ties to the Heat who could become a trade candidate depending on what happens with James Harden.
