While they weren’t the ones hoisting up the Larry O’Brien trophy, that doesn’t take away from the impressive run to get to this point, which included knocking off the No.
As miraculous as Miami’s journey was, the team still ends the season without any shiny gold hardware to add to the trophy case, which means it’s back to the drawing board for Pat Riley and the rest of the front office to figure out what this team needs to get over that hump next season.
Charania didn’t confirm if Irving was a target for the Heat this summer, but if Miami is interested in bringing in the mercurial All-Star point guard, he is an unrestricted free agent, so it is an option if they want to go down that road.
They missed out on Donovan Mitchell and Kevin Durant, and after losing again in the Finals, they surely won’t stop in trying to pursue another All-Star level talent to pair with Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo.
While Herro is a solid player, and draft picks have been worth their weight in gold lately, it’s certainly not going to be enough to land someone like Damian Lillard, who just recently shared how he would want to play in Miami if he ever left Portland.
Beal’s name has been in trade rumors for years, and while he and the Wizards have been adamant that he’s not going anywhere, the lack of success in D.C., Beal’s age, injury history and hefty contract could create the perfect situation for Miami to swoop in on.
Whomever Miami ends up targeting this summer, it’s clear that this roster needs to improve if it wants to close the talent gap that existed between them and the Nuggets in the Finals.