Bleacher Report released an article, highlighting the one biggest regret from every NBA team this season. In the article, the Heat's biggest regret is "not blowing it up".
"Heroic efforts by Jimmy Butler got the Miami Heat to the 2023 NBA Finals, obscuring the fact that they finished the regular season as a Play-In team," the article wrote. "This season's No. 10 position in the East makes it four straight years in which Miami has only technically qualified as a postseason participant. The Heat's reputation as a functional franchise and their tendency to make improbable playoff runs are well known. But if the team's identity were hidden and all you knew was that it made four straight Play-Ins, you'd criticize it for hanging around the middle for far too long."
The Heat did not have the highest of expectations heading into this season. After moving Jimmy Butler at last season's trade deadline, the team did not have a strong identity. They traded for Norman Powell in the offseason and at the time, that deal wasn't viewed by many as a needle-mover in terms of establishing Miami as a threat in the Eastern Conference. However, Powell was a big reason for Miami's early-season success.
Pat Riley has consistently expressed his reluctance when it comes to parting with the team's young talent. Last offseason, Kevin Durant and the Heat had reported mutual interest but Miami would have needed to include players such as Kel'el Ware and Jaime Jaquez Jr. to the deal, which is something Riley did not feel comfortable doing.
"Miami isn't Chicago, but the two have a lot more in common than you might think," the article added. "This is all to say the Heat, who seem set on using 2027 cap space for a talent infusion, deserve far more criticism for continuing to run on the mediocrity treadmill than they've received. The cold, calculated move this season would have been to blow it up and start over."
With the consistent stretches of mediocrity over the past couple of seasons, this offseason may finally be the time to make a franchise-swinging move and that may mean tearing apart the current unit.
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