Inside The Heat

Ranking the Miami Heat’s Most Important 2025 New Year’s Resolutions

Jake Elman

Dec 2, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Miami Heat players (left to right) center Bam Adebayo (13), guard Tyler Herro (14), guard Terry Rozier (2) and forward Duncan Robinson (55) sit on the bench during the fourth quarter of their loss to the Boston Celtics at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-Imagn Images
Dec 2, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Miami Heat players (left to right) center Bam Adebayo (13), guard Tyler Herro (14), guard Terry Rozier (2) and forward Duncan Robinson (55) sit on the bench during the fourth quarter of their loss to the Boston Celtics at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-Imagn Images / Winslow Townson-Imagn Images

Welcome to 2025, the year some Miami Heat fans hope includes a fourth championship.

Other Heat fans might be content just seeing the team finish with a winning record. 

The new year is a time for resolutions, where we set goals we often have no intention of following through on. Fitting into those size-30 jeans again sounds attainable on Jan. 1, but a couple cheat days and foregoing the gym means you’ll forget you ever intended on completing that mission.

However, the Miami Heat are a professional sports organization, meaning their resolutions may carry more weight than yours or mine. Here are three goals we believe the Heat must accomplish in 2025—and, no, winning the NBA Finals doesn’t count. 

1. End the Jimmy Butler trade saga sooner rather than later

You likely figured this was coming. The trade rumors surrounding Butler have become such a topic of discussion that Heat president Pat Riley openly called it a “distraction” in late December. You know things are bad when someone openly invokes the dreaded D-word.

The trade deadline is Feb. 6, giving the Heat just over a month to either trade Butler or keep him for the rest of the season. Butler hits unrestricted free agency this summer and is widely expected to decline his $52 million player option.

Riley recently declared the Heat won’t trade Butler. Only time will tell, especially after Butler gave cryptic, noncommittal answers about his Heat future this week. 

The Butler saga is guaranteed to end. It falls on the Heat to decide sooner rather than later if they’re keeping Butler or trading him. Otherwise, the distractions may only get worse and derail the Heat’s season entirely. 

2. Fully commit to building around Tyler Herro

Herro’s emergence as the Heat’s No. 1 scoring option is partly why Miami can likely get away with trading Butler. He entered the new calendar year averaging 24 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 5.2 assists. His 47.6 shooting percentage is a career-high, and he’s drilling a stellar 41 percent of his three-pointers. 

Herro is on pace to make his first All-Star Game, and he’s left no doubt he’s a franchise player. Unfortunately for the Heat, All-Star center Bam Adebayo’s offense has regressed and Butler has battled injuries, regularly leaving Herro in need of another reliable playmaker. 

We say that with no disrespect to Duncan Robinson or Terry Rozier. However, asking either one to play the role of a No. 2 offensive option in the postseason—especially if Butler isn’t on the roster—is a mistake.

Miami contemplated trading Herro for a franchise player. At least the Heat began 2025 knowing they’ve found one in the dynamic point guard. 

3. Land a young playmaker 

Bad news for Heat fans: real life and NBA 2K are different. In other words, trading Butler for a proven young playmaker isn’t guaranteed, nor will it be extremely easy. Teams have to make salaries work, and the Heat lack young players and draft picks. 

Plus, Riley and the Heat are dealing with human beings, not a computer.

However, something being difficult doesn’t mean it’s impossible. NBA executives and scouts recently told HoopsHype the Denver Nuggets could swap Michael Porter Jr. for Butler. The 26-year-old Porter Jr. averages 18.7 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 2.7 assists.

Kings guard De’Aaron Fox, who just turned 27, has been linked to the Heat in recent weeks. Fox averages 26.5 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 6.3 assists on 48.4 percent shooting. A backcourt featuring Fox and Herro sounds dangerously fun. 

Let us know what goals you’d like to see the Heat accomplish in 2025. 

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Jake Elman works as a contributing writer to Miami Heat on SI. He can be reached at jakeelman97@gmail.com or follow him on X @JakeElman97.

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Jake Elman
JAKE ELMAN

Jake Elman is a veteran sports journalist and graduate of Florida Atlantic University’s journalism program. In recent years, he has covered the NFL for EndGame360 and served as the sports content lead for ExpressVPN. He also covered the Lane Kiffin years at FAU for the Palm Beach Post.