The Miami Heat expect to be one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference this upcoming season just two short years after losing LeBron James. The Heat's starting five is among the very best in the NBA going into the 2015-16 season, but don't expect Pat Riley to be satisfied with the roster he currently has. The Heat are reportedly very likely to make a run at signing Kevin Durant next summer, according to Zach Lowe of Grantland.
At the moment, the idea of the Heat making a run at Durant seems ludicrous because they are currently well over the cap and in danger of being the first team ever to pay the repeater tax, but it is possible. The Heat will have Luol Deng and his more than $10 million coming off the books next season and will likely be able to open up as much as $45 million in cap room next summer.
Even though the Heat will have a lot of cap room for next summer, they will still have to pay Dwyane Wade and Hassan Whiteside who will also be free agents. The likelihood of the Heat having enough room and then being able to woe Kevin Durant to Miami seems very low but it's extremely hard to bet against Pat Riley in these situations. Riley is the man that brought in LeBron and he has a reputation for being able to get star players to come to Miami.
Many people just see the Heat's interest in Durant as smoke and mirrors, but Lowe doesn't see it that way at all writing "Rail against the Durant rumor mill if you want, but you're kidding yourselves if you don't think Riley will set Miami up to make a run at him."
The way the Heat's roster is currently constructed they should be a very good team and contend in the East, but in the NBA, you need star players to win championships and Durant is certainly that. Durant will also only be 27 next summer which is still right in the middle of his prime and the rest of the Heat players are getting up there in age.
The Heat may not be the most likely destination for Durant when he hits free agency next summer but it's hard to bet against them given their past success in bringing star players down to South Beach. One thing is for sure and that is that Riley will do almost everything he can to ensure the Heat have the room to sign Durant should he decide Miami is the place for him.
