The summer of 2016
In large part, it begins to all end for the Miami Heat during the summer of 2016, when the team lost Dwyane Wade to the Chicago Bulls and were forced to match the outrageous contract offer sheet that Tyler Johnson was signed to by the Brooklyn Nets.
Miami also maxed Hassan Whiteside, which was a move that most agreed with at the time, and brought in Dion Waiters and James Johnson on one-year deals.
This was the beginning to lay the foundation of another dreadful summer the next year, but I don’t think it can be said enough how this was the summer that it all began to end for Miami. But after being blindsided by LeBron in 2014, and then Wade in 2016, it’s hard to blame the Heat for trying to keep some level of familiarity by keeping Tyler Johnson and Whiteside.
Understandable, to a certain extent, but what would happen the next summer would be almost indefensible.