What's the point in going all in for the Miami Heat?
The Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs have humbled most of the league without playing them. Their teams are more athletic, defensively potent and talented, so there's somewhat of a feeling of having to wait out this run like Eastern teams did during LeBron James' prime.
Luckily for the Miami Heat, they play in the East and wouldn't have to see San Antonio or OKC until the NBA Finals. Trading for a big star doesn't have its downsides like playing in the West, but they can't beat those teams even with Giannis Antetokounmpo in uniform.
They would need a big-time star like Antetokounmpo and a dependable perimeter defense to be real contenders. Consider how sharp the Heat's was during the Orlando bubble, being able to use top-level athletes like Jimmy Butler and Derrick Jones Jr. up top to pressure the ball with speed and length, and those lineups still had Jae Crowder plus Bam Adebayo.
Versatile size, athleticism, ball movement and defense are the four pillars needed to beat OKC and San Antonio, but each one needs to be close to maxed out. Unless the Heat have vintage Dwyane Wade, plus peak Chris Bosh, Alonzo Mourning and James, the best they could hope for is surviving five games against them.
Beating the Thunder is no small feat because they have two big-time stars, an emerging big man, depth at all positions and the infrastructure to keep it going. Keep in mind that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander turns 28 in July, and they have a lottery pick in the 2026 draft (12).
It is already Wemby's time
Then there's the Freedom Fries Conquistador, Victor Wembanyama, who plays for the Spurs. He is reaching heights only the most special have in this league. Not yet in terms of résumé, but what he can do on a night-to-night basis may already make him the best in the world, and he's got a great cast.
Consider how back in the day, Dikembe Mutombo was one of the defensive specialists who teams coveted, but he was physically overmatched badly whenever he saw Shaquille O'Neal. In a way, Rudy Gobert was neutralized the same way by Wemby, and Holmgren didn't want any action against him in Game 1.
It's easy to picture Nick Arison and the committee watching the Western Conference finals from their war room, sitting there with disconcerted expressions. The Thunder, if they are defeated, which would happen in the series because she Holmgren is overmatched physically, might be one of the few teams that could trade for Giannis without depth being terribly affected.
Remember when Pat Riley said the NBA was the chip stacking business? If the committee is comfortable making moves to say they got to the NBA Finals, then the standards have changed in Miami.
If only managment wasn't so stubborn and was willing to commit to the long game of a retooling. Perhaps some mileage and most importantly, spreading more money around, will have weakned the depth of these Western powers. No one knows what kind of run the Spurs will go on, but they always be in the mix as long as Wembanyama is healthy. The same could be said with the Thunder led by SGA.
The Heat need to accept that there is no quick fix to get on their level.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/nba/heat/onsi as What's the point in going all in for the Miami Heat?.
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This story was originally published May 20, 2026 at 8:50 AM.