The Miami Heat have to feel pretty good about things heading into next season. They surprised a lot of folks on their way to the Finals in Orlando, and they feel fairly confident that if the injury bug hadn’t gotten to them at the worst possible time, they would’ve been much more competitive against the eventual champs.
The Heat are basically running things back this season, having secured Bam Adebayo and Goran Dragic in free agency, but as Heat president Pat Riley understands all too well, it never pays to be complacent in the NBA. So it’s no coincidence that Miami has suddenly found their name cropping up in the latest James Harden trade rumors as one of his preferred destinations.
And if you were curious as to what Jimmy Butler might think of the prospect of adding one of the league’s all-time lethal scorers to the mix in South Beach, you might look no further than Instagram, where Butler recently liked a post about Harden naming Miami as a trade target.
Asked about it on The Jump this week, Butler naturally demurred, claiming that he was simply appreciating Harden’s new cut.
That is expert-level evasiveness on the part of Butler. These days, one can never be too careful, what with how the NBA has promised to crack down on tampering. It’s a hefty fine, and Butler would have to sell several cups of Big Face coffee to make up for the financial hit.
In any case, the Rockets are apparently standing pat on what appears to be a steep asking price for Harden and appear to be in no rush to make a deal happen, as Harden finally reported to Rockets training camp this week after missing the first couple of days. Still, it’s a situation to keep an eye on, and the Heat are definitely in play here.
