The 2025-26 campaign is going to be an awkward one for the Miami Heat.
The Heat have a real chance to make something out of this season and become a factor in the weakened Eastern Conference. For that to happen, though, they need Erik Spoelstra to squeeze every possible ounce of production out of this superstar-less roster. Luckily, maximizing a roster just happens to be a strength of Spo's, and he even has an obvious path toward doing that.
The NBA Finals series that sparked Dwyane Wade's Hall of Fame career, and the one that helped put the Miami Heat on the map, still haunts former Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban to this day. Cuban admitted as much on a recent podcast with DLLS Mavs. During the interview, Cuban said that he still believes that series was "stolen" from the Mavs.
The Miami Heat traded Haywood Highsmith and a 2032 first-round pick to the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for a top-55 protected 2026 second-round pick, effectively dumping his salary.