ESPN’s Zach Lowe had some criticism for the Miami Heat and the Milwaukee Bucks so far this offseason.
Both the Heat and Bucks have yet to make a major move – partially due to their lack of resources to sign players in free agency due to their current salary cap situations – and they’ve instead had to watch teams like the New York Knicks, Orlando Magic and Philadelphia 76ers improve their rosters.
New York made a massive splash, agreeing to a deal with the Brooklyn Nets to add 3-and-D wing Mikal Bridges to the roster.
After that, New York agreed to a new deal with forward O.G. Anunoby, giving it some serious depth and defense ahead of the 2024-25 season.
In free agency, both Philadelphia and Orlando have made big splashes.
The Magic added guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who was a key part of the Denver Nuggets’ title in the 2022-23 season, on a three-year deal.
Orlando finished ahead of the Heat in the standings last season, and now it has another solid rotation piece to pair alongside rising star Paolo Banchero.
The Sixers made arguably the biggest splash of any team this entire offseason, agreeing to a max deal with All-Star Paul George. Now, Philly has an impressive Big 3 of George, Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey.
While the Heat did bring in veteran Alec Burks, they have yet to re-sign Haywood Highsmith or Caleb Martin, two players that were key contributors for them in the 2023-24 season.
Milwaukee has added a few potential rotation players such as Delon Wright and Taurean Prince, but neither team has made a move that moves the needle as much as New York or Philadelphia.
Plus, the Boston Celtics reportedly agreed to extensions with Jayson Tatum and Derrick White, keeping their roster intact for the long haul after winning the title in the 2023-24 season.
Both Miami and Milwaukee dealt with injuries in the playoffs in the 2023-24 season that led to them being eliminated in the first round.
Still, it appears that Lowe wants to see both teams make some moves to improve to keep pace with some of the other teams in the conference.
On the bright side for the Heat, they made the Finals in the 2022-23 season and have been a contender for several seasons despite keeping their main pieces around Jimmy Butler (Tyler Herro, Bam Adebayo) relatively similar. It’s possible that the franchise believes that is enough to make a run again in the 2024-25 season.
