Well, this is a new era in Miami. LeBron has left the South Beach just two summers ago, Chris Bosh’s career with Heat looks all but done, and their best player and franchise history has gone home to Chicago and will be playing for the Bulls. Heat don’t have Wade on their roster for the first time since 2002-2003 season. It’s highly uncertain what is going to happen with this Miami team going forward.
Hassan Whiteside is re-signed and was supposed to be an important addition to a contending team. Now, he looks like the best piece that they have in a rebuilding process. There is also Justise Winslow who will start for this team now when Luol Deng is gone. And he was also a big piece for this team last season.
But, the heart and soul of this team are gone. Dwyane Wade is the symbol of this franchise; he gave them their identity, he represented who they are and what they are about. He was the one that brought them the first title with O’Neal and then he helped LeBron win other two.
At the end of the day, he was pushed out of the door because Heat couldn’t throw some more money on top of his deal. It seems like Pat Riley didn’t want to give him that money. Wade did take a lot of pay cuts in the past, but this time, he wasn’t willing to do that.
Now, the Heat have no direction. Where do they go from here? It seems like this will be a retooling period for this franchise, they have some young and good talent in Goran Dragic and already mentioned Whiteside and Winslow, but that is not good enough for a team that wants aims for highest spots.
Who knows if they are even going to make the Playoffs. We are picking them to miss the postseason for the second time in past three years. They are too good to be one of the worst teams in the NBA, and Pat Riley will unlikely tank this season, but they aren’t talented enough to fight with other teams in the east. Around 30 wins sounds about right for Erik Spoelstra and this Miami squad. We are predicting that they won’t make the Playoffs and will finish the season with 30-52 record.
