The Miami Heat knocked on the door of an NBA championship but fell short again. They’ve reached the Finals two times since Jimmy Butler arrived in South Beach, but he cannot win on his own.
Erik Spoelstra’s team fought hard and overachieved throughout the whole playoffs. Despite their apparent lack of talent and Tyler Herro’s injury, they were the better team on the court more often than not before facing the Denver Nuggets.
The Heat aren’t that far off from winning another championship. That’s why they’ll be quite aggressive in their pursuit of another All-Star caliber player, such as Damian Lillard. With that in mind, we’ll talk about him and other potential targets for the Miami Heat.
NBA Rumors: 3 Targets For The Heat
3. Damian Lillard
Damian Lillard — Getty Images
As we already mentioned, Damian Lillard should be an obvious target for Pat Riley and company. In fact, he already admitted that he would love to play there with his friend Bam Adebayo.
The Portland Trail Blazers might not be able to convince him of their chances to win a championship, so they could be forced to let him go in return for a very valuable trade package.
2. Chris Paul
Chris Paul — Getty Images
Chris Paul is going to be the consolation prize for whoever misses on Damian Lillard and/or Kyrie Irving. That’s just the reality of his future in the league at this point in his career.
He’s no longer much of a scorer and struggles to stay healthy, but he’s still an elite defender and one of the greatest playmakers ever. The Phoenix Suns could still look to keep him, though.
1. Fred VanVleet
Fred VanVleet — Getty Images
Fred VanVleet could be a huge difference-maker for any team this offseason. He’s a borderline All-Star player still in his prime, and he plays hard and puts up numbers on both ends of the floor.
VanVleet will opt out of his contract with the Toronto Raptors, and he has already found success subbing in for Kyle Lowry once, so there’s no reason to think he couldn’t do it again in South Beach.
