The Miami Heat reportedly are expected to “remain in the race” to acquire either Houston Rockets superstar James Harden or Washington Wizards star Bradley Beal.
According to The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor, Miami has cooled trade talks in recent weeks, but it still could put together a solid offer that would be centered around guard Tyler Herro.
“Miami shouldn’t qualify as an under-the-radar team since it was involved in public trade reports for Harden, but it was frequently mentioned nonetheless,” O’Connor wrote. “The Heat have cooled on those discussions in recent weeks, though they could put together an offer built around Tyler Herro. Following their Finals run, the Heat are off to a bumpy start, with a 4-4 record and the 23rd-ranked offensive rating. League sources expect Miami to remain in the race for either Harden or Beal. But the fact the Heat can only offer their 2027 first-round pick hurts their odds of making a splash, and as ESPN’s Brian Windhorst first reported in December, that caused early discussions with Houston to fizzle.”
While the Heat are off to a slow start during the 2020-21 season, they also didn’t have Jimmy Butler for multiple games due to injury.
While Harden or Beal certainly would bolster Miami’s offense, a trade could also leave Miami with very few assets going forward.
In the end, Miami will have to decide whether or not it believes that trading for Harden or Beal will get it a championship.
If not, the Heat may be more inclined to stick with their young guys like Herro going forward.
