13. Miami Heat
After making another surprise run to the NBA Finals, the Miami Heat entered the offseason in hopes of landing a final piece of the puzzle. Luckily enough, the Heat had two shots at landing that piece. Earlier in the offseason, Bradley Beal became available. In the end, Beal was traded to the Phoenix Suns. But the Heat wasn’t all that interested in Beal because they had their eyes set on a bigger whale, Damian Lillard.
With speculation suggesting that this could finally be the year that Lillard, it did happen. On July 1, Lillard officially demanded a trade. And he wanted to be traded to the Heat. The writing seemed to be on the wall and it finally looked as if Miami was going to get that final piece to add next to Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo.
However, the next couple of months wouldn’t go as planned. At least not for the Heat. In the end, Lillard was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks in a blockbuster three-team deal. Miami was once again left at the altar without a dancing partner. They now enter the season after taking two huge Ls in the offseason.
It’s hard to imagine the Heat making a deep run in the playoffs again this season.