"However, even if things do play out somewhat perfectly for Miami this season, it'd be hard-pressed to envision a scenario where they finish in the top 5 of the East standings. It's almost a certainty that the Heat are going to reemerge as a Play-In Tournament team this season, if they don't pull the plug on the operation before, pivoting to some sort of soft tanking approach."
"Realistically speaking, all the Heat has to do to properly embrace this "gap" year, and potentially evolve into a team that is "soft tanking," is play all the young players. Miami has a strong enough young supporting cast that if they hand over the keys to them, even with Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo still on the floor, things will probably still work out in their favor."
The Miami Heat enter training camp without realistic chances to win the Eastern Conference this season and are expected to return to the Play-In Tournament. Embracing a gap year and a soft-tanking approach would involve prioritizing development of the young supporting cast while keeping Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo in the rotation. Playing the young players would accelerate their growth without resorting to blatant tanking. Norman Powell and Andrew Wiggins represent primary trade candidates at the deadline, and converting them into one or two net first-round picks would aid a future push to acquire a superstar via trade.
Read at All U Can Heat
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