MIAMI — The success of the Miami Heat’s offseason now sees beloved former player Dwyane Wade involved.
The success of Pat Riley’s offseason might now be up to longtime mortal archenemy Danny Ainge.
You cannot make this stuff up, folks.
Sports remains the original and greatest reality show.
And the Heat offseason sure has pivoted from dull to intriguing rather suddenly.
The week began with Miami general manager Andy Elisburg and his Brooklyn Nets counterpart, Sean Marks, seen at a breakfast meeting in Las Vegas, where NBA summer league play is going on.
According to an anonymous source of mine privy to the conversation, the eggs were a tad runny — but the hash browns were perfect. Also, Kevin Durant’s name might have come up.
“Sean, could you please pass the salt and tell me what you need for Durant?”
One day later, as the Heat’s interest in Durant seemed to be going from never-happen-dormant to rekindled, the Utah Jazz was suddenly sticking an ‘available’ sign on All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell, saying it would entertain trade inquiries after previously saying no way.
With the Heat among the clubs trying to elbow to the front of the line.
Those would be the same Utah Jazz whose new part owner is D-Wade, who is close friends with and an influential confidante of club owner Ryan Smith. There was surprise within the Miami organization, and some disappointment, that Wade did not first come to the Heat without any ownership ambitions.
Yes and those would be the same Jazz whose CEO is now Mr. Ainge. That means Mitchell-to-Miami won’t ever happen without face-to-face talks with Ainge, whom Riley once publicly admonished in 2013 as part of a 30-year feud.
Riley insisted this go out as an official club statement after Ainge, then running the Celtics, called LeBron James complaining about the officiating “embarrassing”: “Danny Ainge needs to shut the f--- up and manage his own team. He was the biggest whiner when he was playing, and I know that because I coached against him.”
Would Wade use his leverage to help favor an offer from Miami? Would Ainge hold his past with Riley as a reason to favor an offer from the New York Knicks or anybody else?
Those things make it fun, but chances are Utah will take the best offer for its team, overriding Wade’s ties to Miami and Ainge’s past with Riley.
In any case, things have gotten eventful down in the 3-0-5.
Just a few days ago the Heat seemed content to run it back with essentially the same team that came so close to reaching the NBA Finals just six week ago. In lieu of major deals, or indications of any, what passed for offseason news in Miami was the re-signing of Victor Oladipo, Caleb Martin and Dewayne Dedmon.
Splashes and ripples. No whales causing major waves.
Now, though, with Durant or Mitchell in view (the mind cannot comprehend both without exploding), at least the possibility of big and exciting change looms.
What does it mean? Two things:
— 1. Means change is needed. Means more is needed. Means el presidente Riley and coach Erik Spoelstra understand that the current squad is competitive and close in the East but not all the way there. Not with Boston improved after eliminating the Heat in the Eastern finals. Not with Giannis Antetokounmpo and Milwaukee still around. Not with Joel Embiid and Philly really good even before poaching valued Heat starter P.J. Tucker in free agency.
— 2. Means the Heat sort of has to score big now and get either Durant or Mitchell, or the offseason will be seen as a rather stagnant letdown. If you lose Tucker and re-sign a bunch of role players, you haven’t even stood pat. You have regressed. If you cast a major line for king-of-the-ocean whale Durant and small-whale Mitchell and bring neither on board, that’s a public comeuppance unbecoming to an accomplished closer such as Riley.
This could take awhile, though, with Durant and Mitchell under contract to the Nets and Jazz, respectively. Both could stay put for now and be traded into the season.
Who should the Heat rather have?
I would take a healthy Durant in the short-term. Eye on a championship in ‘23, it’s K.D. for me.
But I would lean Mitchell, bottom line, simply because he is eight years younger at 25-soon-26. One player is fighting off natural decline while the other is just coming into his prime.
Durant is the all-time great coming off a season averaging 29.9 points, 7.4 rebounds, a career-high 6.4 assists and 38.3 percent shooting on threes.
Mitchell, earning a third straight All-Star appearance, averaged 25.9 points, though his aim on threes was slightly down at 35.3 percent.
Durant named Miami and Phoenix among his preferred destinations. Mitchell would love a trade to Miami. He is friends with Bam Adebayo. They had a jersey exchange last season and worked out together recently in Louisville.
Either would be an extraordinary get, and naturally a costly one.
Miami should deal for either in a heartbeat if it can be done while keeping Jimmy Butler and Adebayo as a core.
I would offer some combination of Tyler Herro, Duncan Robinson and a at least two future first-round draft picks. For Durant it might take Kyle Lowry as well. For Mitchell it might take an additional player such as Max Strus to make the salary exchange work.
All of that might not be enough, but I would not fault the Heat insisting on keeping Butler and Adebayo even if it meant no deal. I would fault the Heat losing out on Durant or Mitchell because it considered anybody else untouchable.
It is so appropriate that Utah is the team in the middle of all this.
The Jazz’s recent trade of All-Star center Rudy Gobert to Minnesota was a fleecing by Utah. The Timberwolves got a good player, but the Jazz got five players and four first-round draft picks.
I would rather have Mitchell than Gobert. But Utah getting such an absurd windfall for Gobert alters the market. It will have Brooklyn expecting and demanding more for Durant, and it will have Utah expecting and demanding more for Mitchell.
With Wade and Ainge unlikely players in the drama, it could leave the Miami Heat without a big offseason score despite the interest and the effort.
