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By Alex Kirschenbaum
Contributing Entertainment Writer
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Will the 2024-25 vintage of the Miami Heat perform like its 2023-24 or 2022-23 iteration?
That's the question hanging over the heads of most Heat fans and pundits heading into this regular season. The 2022-23 Heat finished with a middling 44-38 record and the Eastern Conference's No. 8 seed, but managed to storm through the East en route to its second NBA Finals appearance in four years (and its third Eastern Conference Finals berth during that frame).
For an encore, after upgrading itself at the point with Terry Rozier and drafting All-Rookie First Team small forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. with the No. 18 pick in the draft, the team wrapped up with a similar 46-36 finish in 2023-24 and the No. 8 seed again. This spring, however, its run in the postseason was less charmed. Without injured All-NBA small forward Jimmy Butler or Rozier, Miami fell in the first round to the eventual champion Boston Celtics.
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This summer, Miami made minimal moves. The Heat inked All-Star and All-Defensive Team center Bam Adebayo to a three-year, $166 million contract extension, brought back floor-spacing big men Kevin Love and Thomas Bryant on slight deals and lost undersized forward Caleb Martin to the Philadelphia 76ers in free agency.
Miami did make two big additions this summer. The Heat drafted 7-foot All-Big Ten Second Team Indiana center Kel'el Ware with the No. 15 pick in the first round, and signed veteran shooting guard Alec Burks to a minimum deal, following Burks' solid playoff run with the New York Knicks.
But it seemed clear the team's offense struggled mightily whenever Butler sat, regardless of how well pricey wings Tyler Herro and Duncan Robinson performed in his absence. Adding Burks and Ware doesn't look like it would be nearly enough to cure what ails Miami in a deepening East.
Read more: Stan Van Gundy Slams Heat For Confusing Roster Decisions
Longtime Heat team president Pat Riley, however, remains surprisingly optimistic about his team's upside, as he said in a Thursday presser (per Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald).
"I believe in this team, I truly believe in these guys. Bam, Jimmy, and Tyler, to some extent maybe Terry [Rozier] have to be better," Riley said. "It's always about can you produce more, can you be more, can you be together more. I've seen the improvement. ... So I think we have a core of really, really great players who need to find another level of greatness. This is their time. So take the challenge."
In fairness, Adebayo could be primed for a leap this year. He seemed to prove his two-way mettle by winning his second gold medal with the U.S. men's Olympics squad in Paris this summer. The 6-foot-9 Kentucky product and Los Angeles Lakers All-Defensive Team big man Anthony Davis both roundly outplayed nominal starting center Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers, who had earned the role thanks to his status as the 2023 MVP and a perpetual All-NBA First or Second Teamer.
Read more: Stephen Curry, USA Basketball Survive Team France to Win 5th Straight Olympic Gold Medal
Butler, 35, failed to negotiate a contract extension with the team over the summer. He has a player option on the final year of his deal, for 2025-26, and could become a highly sought-after restricted free agent should he decline it.
The uncertainty of the eventual Hall of Famer's future has inspired some intriguing trade rumors. Riley, though, seemed to be thinking Butler would be sticking around this season, at least during his remarks to the press this week.
Read more: Bizarre Team Favored to Land Jimmy Butler if Heat Star Requests Trade
"Six years, yeah, this is a telling year for the team. It should be," Riley said. Butler joined Miami as a free agent in the summer of 2019. The Heat also drafted Herro with the No. 13 pick out of Kentucky that year. "They've been together for six years. The core has been together for six years, they've all gotten better."
Herro's offense has been solid, but he's such a defensive liability that Miami has often thrived without him healthy, as it did during the majority of its 2023 Finals run. He did, however, play an outsized role as a rookie sixth man during Miami's 2020 Finals journey.
"Everything changes, I think, for the better with continuity and the fact that we believe in this roster," Riley added. "Does it mean that if we don't win this year or if we don't go deep this year, there are going to be massive changes? No, it doesn't mean that. But they should know that this should be a crucial year for them. They want to win. They've been [to the NBA Finals] twice, but they want to win."
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