The 2025 offseason has arrived — now what?

The 2024-25 Miami Heat season has ended after getting mercifully swept by the Cleveland Cavaliers. The offseason is officially upon us!

Miami finished with its worst record since 2014-15, trading away their franchise star in a season mired by drama, inconsistency and #guts™. There are plenty of questions to ask regarding the current and future state of this team, and I know I won’t get to all of them. Let’s dive into a few of them…

1.) Which Heat players are still under contract?

As of right now, there are currently eight players on guaranteed contracts for the 2023-24 season, accounting for roughly $124 million.

They have $82 million tied up elsewhere to players on different options and partially guaranteed contracts. Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Keshad Johnson have team contracts for nearly $6 million; Pelle Larsson has a partially guaranteed contract that gets picked up for $2 million.

Duncan Robinson has a partially guaranteed Early Termination Option that he has until June 29 to exercise. Only $9.9 million is guaranteed–which becomes fully guaranteed on July 8. Terry Rozier’s partially guaranteed contract is 95 percent of the way guaranteed, so he will be on the books for at least $25 million next season.

Here are the 13 players on contract:

• Bam Adebayo — $37.1M
• Tyler Herro — $31M
• Andrew Wiggins — $28.2M
• Terry Rozier — $26.6M; partially guaranteed
• Duncan Robinson — $19.9M; Early Termination Option
• Kyle Anderson — $9.2M
• Haywood Highsmith — $5.6M
• Nikola Jovic — $4.4M
• Kel’el Ware — $4.4M
• Kevin Love — $4.2M
• Jaime Jaquez Jr. — $3.9M; team option
• Pelle Larsson — $2.0M; partially guaranteed
• Keshad Johnson — $2.0M; team option

2. Who are their free agents?

In addition to their three two-way players, the Miami Heat will have two free agents: Davion Mitchell (restricted) and Alec Burks (unrestricted).

Mitchell, 26, was acquired by the Heat in the five-team Jimmy Butler blockbuster. He was spectacular for the Heat upon arriving, averaging 10.3 points, 5.3 assists and 1.4 steals on 50.4 percent shooting, including 44.7 percent from 3-point range (3.1 3PA) and 70.2 percent from the free-throw line.

This year will be Mitchell’s first as a free agent, represented by Ty Sullivan (CAA Sports). He will have a $19.4 million cap hold, a placeholder that will go away once he signs a new contract–whether it’s with the Heat or another franchise.

Burks signed with Miami last year on a one-year veteran minimum. The veteran guard wasn’t always in the rotation. But when he was, he was a clear net positive. The 14-year veteran averaged 7.3 points on 42.5 percent from 3-point range in 49 games this season–including 14 starts.

3. Predicting which free agents get brought back (as of April 18)

I’ll have a column on this at some point. But as of right now, I think the Heat re-signs both Mitchell and Burks if I had to guess.

4.) Are there any Heat players who are extension-eligible? If so, who?

Miami will have four players become extension eligible this offseason: Tyler Herro, Andrew Wiggins, Terry Rozier and Nikola Jovic, who’s completing his third NBA season.

I’m not in the front office, but I highly doubt it re-signs Rozier. As of right now, I also don’t expect them to extend Wiggins, who has two years left on his contract after 2024-25.

Miami has been open about wanting to keep the summer of 2026 open, though free agency is dead in the modern day. His $30.2 million player option in 2026-27, his age-31 season, will have value, as it only accounts for 17.7 percent of the cap.

This was Wiggins’ least healthy season of his career. He doesn’t have a real injury history track record outside of a right adductor injury that forced him to miss 15 games in 2022-23. However, he only appeared in barely half of the Heat’s 33 available games post-trade due to multiple lower-body injuries. He’s in his physical prime and none of them were alarming soft-tissue injuries (i.e. torn ACL), so I’m not worried about them long-term.

The discussion about Jovic’s extension is the most fascinating because of his recent injury history. He missed most of his rookie season due to a back injury; he suffered a bad ankle sprain last summer and broke his second metacarpal in his hand in February.

The 6-foot-10 wing was playing the best basketball of his career up until his most recent injury. For the season, he averaged 10.7 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.8 assists. Jovic, 21, could bet on himself and play out the final year of his rookie contract or sign a smaller-than-expected deal for long-term security.

5. So, what about Tyler Herro’s extension?

There’s no doubt that Tyler Herro had the best season of his career and has improved each season of his career. He made the All-Star team for the first time in his career and completely modified his shot profile for the betterment of the offense (even if it didn’t collectively improve).

That said, Herro’s efficiency–both as a shot-maker and playmaker–dipped as the season went on. He was a target for offenses in the postseason once again and couldn’t create much offense against the opposing team’s worst defenders more often than not.

Herro, 25, will be eligible to sign a three-year extension worth $150 million in early October, beginning at $46.2 million. His contract right now takes up 20.6 percent of the cap; over the next two seasons, it will account for 20.1 percent and 19.4 percent, respectively. If he gets extended for the full $50 million per year, his new deal would take up 24.7, 24.2 and 23.7 percent of the cap over those three seasons, respectively.

Combine the latter with Adebayo, and they’re taking up nearly 55 percent of the cap. As we transition into this next build, there are serious questions that need to be asked. Will Herro make enough growth to justify him and Adebayo taking up 55 percent of the cap? Will Herro consider taking less to have some more flexibility to grab another star?

Personally, I don’t think extending him for any amount is worth it because neither he nor Bam is good enough to lead you to a title. This won’t be the first time I say this: Learning from your own mistakes is important! If the Heat don’t think they should extend Herro, explore the trade market and strike while the iron is hot! If they do extend him, they better have a dang good plan to supplement the rest of the roster.

6. How did each rookie play this season?

At the time of the draft, my official grades for Kel’el Ware and Pelle Larsson were B and A- selections, respectively.

It’s hard not to be intrigued by how Ware’s rookie season went. He entered the starting lineup in January and didn’t look back–even though there were still bumps on the road. Those around the organization continuously praised his ability to process information and learn from his mistakes.

He was one of the most talented bigs in his respective draft class, though the reason why many (including myself) had questions surrounding his motor. When the screws are tightened, he pops off the page–figuratively and literally.

He developed into Miami’s best rim-running vertical spacer and rebounder with above-average rim protection. One of my favorite traits about him is his hands. Throw it anywhere within a 10-foot radius and he’s catching it if he shows the “want to.”

The same can’t quite be said for Larsson, who was out of the rotation for most of the season. Miami had a crowded–albeit average–wing room.

His physicality (despite the fouls), raw instincts, connective playmaking and cutting were always there. However, the Swedish rookie struggled to consistently make shots. He improved late in the season, but it was still an up-and-down season in that area.

7. What does each young player need to improve?

I’ll expand my thoughts in a later article, but so we can keep it moving and succinct, let’s list one thing that each must improve:

• Nikola Jovic: In-between game offensively
• Jaime Jaquez Jr.: 3-point shooting consistency
• Kel’el Ware: Strength
• Pelle Larsson: Shooting consistency
• Keshad Johnson: Ball-handling
• Isaiah Stevens: Shooting mechanics (he developed a hitch; no bueno)
• Josh Christopher: Shooting consistency

8. Which draft picks do the Heat own?

This offseason will be very important for the Miami Heat. By making the playoffs, they lost out on their own pick that had the 11th-best odds in the 2025 NBA Draft, conveying to Oklahoma City–though it prevented them from automatically locking out two future picks (2026, 2028).

The only other pick it owned was Golden State’s pick due to the Jimmy Butler trade. The Warriors finished 48-34, tied with the Milwaukee Bucks and Memphis Grizzlies. Upon the conclusion of the regular season, the pick was positioned to finish anywhere from 18-20. But as a result of a random drawing, the Warriors’ pick finished dead last, meaning it dropped to No. 20.

Making the playoffs (and preventing two picks from being locked) has value, sure. But, personally, the feeling of having two picks–including one just outside the top-10–to just one at 20 is underwhelming, I won’t lie.

Here’s each of the Heat’s first-round picks in the 20s throughout their franchise’s history:

• 2022: Nikola Jovic (No. 27 overall)
• 2020: Precious Achiuwa (20)
• 2005: Wayne Simien (29)
• 1999: Tim James (25)
• 1997: Charles Smith (26)
• 1988: Kevin Edwards (20)

9. What are some names to look out for?

Over 80 players declared as early entrants over the weekend. Here are a few names to look out for:

• Rasheer Fleming, F, St. Joseph’s
• Carter Bryant, F, Arizona
• Ben Saraf, G, Israel
• Nique Clifford, G/F, Colorado State
• Jase Richardson, G, Michigan State
• Liam McNeeley, F, UConn
• Nolan Traore, G, France
• Thomas Sorber, F/C, Georgetown
• Labaron Philon, G, Marquette
• Boogie Fland, G, Arkansas
• Tahaad Pettiford, G, Auburn
• Walter Clayton Jr., G, Florida
• Kam Jones, G, Marquette
• Danny Wolf, F/C, Florida
• Asa Newell, F/C, Georgia
• Egor Demin, G, BYU

10. What’s next for this build?

That’s a convoluted question because this can go in multiple directions. I don’t have the direct answers right now–other than change is needed. I can’t tell you where or how, but change is needed. No more #RunningItBack™, please.

On one hand, they can look to build around Adebayo and Herro, should he sign an extension for less than the max or completely hold off until the summer of 2026. They can try to consolidate some of their big money contracts (Wiggins, expirings (Rozier, Robinson) and young players (Jovic, Ware, etc.) plus any of the three tradable picks (on draft night only) for another star (if one becomes available) around Herro and Adebayo.

On the other hand, they can look to “re-tool” (they’re never going to rebuild, let’s be honest) and collect future assets and prioritize cap space for the 2026 offseason. That would mean trading Wiggins, potentially Herro and others to the highest bidder while refusing to pay any of its young players minus Kel’el Ware, who will be extension eligible after the 2026-27 season.

Miami can also look to do a little bit of both, even though they would have to attach assets to get off, say, Terry Rozier. I guess the real questions interwoven in between the aforementioned question are: How many future assets will this organization be willing to part with to repair a stationary ship? And how will these players or assets that are (potentially) received in any consolidation affect their short- and long-term future, whether they’re kept or parlayed into something larger?

What’s the cost of going for a star or retooling around your two best players? What’s the give and take? And how do their possible moves allow them to maintain flexibility not only below the second apron, but below the luxury tax if that’s a goal (so repeater tax is avoided)? Miami needs to consolidate to have more roster and rotation clarity, but it needs to be done so wisely so there’s sustained success not only for next year, but for future seasons.

11. Should the Heat prioritize Kevin Durant, another “whale”?

The worst-kept secret around the NBA is that Kevin Durant has likely played his last game with the Phoenix Suns. The Miami Heat have continually been involved in the conversation for Durant–dating back to the summer of 2016 when he was thinking about leaving Oklahoma City (he joined Warriors instead).

While Durant is still a good player would inarguably help Miami in the shot creation department, I don’t think they should go this route. I know I’m in the minority. I also know that Pat Riley is 80-years-old and is more urgent than the rest of us.

But let’s be honest: Miami is more than a Kevin Durant away. If the price is anywhere near where it was at the deadline, it’s not worth it. Even then, Durant is on an expiring deal and will likely want a two-year extension for north of $55 million per year. The 17-year veteran will be entering his age-37 season in 2025-26 and, assuming you pay him that kind of money, you’re going to have to part with both Andrew Wiggins and (best two-way wing) and Tyler Herro (best non-Adebayo player) in some way to keep some sort of flexibility.

Houston also makes way more sense if Phoenix’s main goal is financial flexibility. Their best expiring contract (Fred VanVleet) is better than any of the Heat’s; their young core is better, they have far more assets to move and, frankly, they’re far closer to contention than the Heat. Oh, and guess who has the Suns’ picks in 2025, 2027 and 2029? Houston.

You trade for Kevin Durant if you’re one piece away, not if you’re several, like the Heat. It’s incredibly difficult to win if you’re top-heavy in today’s NBA without a good supporting cast. The Suns and new owner Mat Ishbia learned the hard way. Now look at them. Miami was at least one piece away for the last three years with Jimmy Butler. Why would that be any different with Durant? The gap isn’t that much greater to justify that, if at all.

There’s value in learning from your own mistakes. There’s even more value in learning from other people’s mistakes.

That said, if Giannis Antetokounmpo becomes available, practically anything should be on the table.

12. Are there any positives to take away from this season?

There are always some positives, especially over the course of a full 82 (and then some). Let’s go over them!

• Tyler Herro responded to Pat Riley’s criticism last year and grew as much as he ever has year-to-year.
• Kel’el Ware surpassed expectations, grew into a full-time starter alongside Adebayo
• Davion Mitchell burst through the gate as the Heat’s best point-of-attack defender while being one of their best knockdown shooters and playmakers
• Pre-injury Nikola Jovic continued to showcase improvement as a shooter, defender and decision-maker
• Bam Adebayo’s 3-point shooting!
• Heat were a top-9 offense and a top-5 defensive rebounding team

13. Moments that we forgot happened this season that happened

As I’ve said more times than once, this season has felt like three seasons jumbled into one. There were a few moments–both good and bad–that happened that we may have forgotten because of how excruciatingly long it was:

• “You sound scared” soundbite from media day.
• Erik Spoelstra’s timeout debacle against Pistons.
• Kel’el Ware outplaying Victor Wembanyama.
• Heat dismantling LeBron James, Lakers by 41 points.
• Orlando outscoring Heat 37-8 in fourth quarter (thanks, Cole Anthony).
• Thomas Bryant getting traded as soon as he was eligible.
• Jaime Jaquez Jr.’s face when he heard Butler got traded.
• Tyler Herro winning the 3-point contest.
• Bam Adebayo’s game-winner against Spurs.
• Adebayo breaks Rony Seikaly’s double-double record.

There are probably others that I forgot to list, too. It was a long season.

14. How does Heat not become a bottom-10 offense for a third-straight year?

At some point, it will come down to improving the overall talent around the roster. Spoelstra’s exhausted every last option and it didn’t bear any fruit. This is what happens when you lack a true facilitating guard who can organize an offense, which is a dying breed in today’s NBA.

That said, I think Miami should consider bringing in an offensive-minded assistant to help add more layers to the playbook. Better talent will obviously be the most important thing, but Spoelstra’s Heat teams have never produced great offenses outside of the Big 3. Their process has continuously been out of flux and disorganized in the halfcourt. Defense wins championships, but great offense beats great defense in the modern day.

Whatever happens, change is needed.

***

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