If the fan base is hoping that the Miami Heat can avoid what appears to be a “gap” year for the franchise, there are a couple of ways that can happen. If the Heat are going to unexpectedly emerge as a contender this season, they’re either going to need to find another undrafted gem or shockingly land another star player to raise their ceiling.

Thankfully, the Heat have been known to have a knack for pulling off such moves.

Whether they’ll be able to do that again this season remains to be seen, but if there’s any team in the NBA that has had a history of emerging as a surprise contender, it’s been the Heat. That may be a more difficult task to pull off without Jimmy Butler in uniform, but there are still paths toward the Heat having a successful season this year.

Heat is relying on internal development – for now

At least for now, the argument can be made that the Heat is heading into the 2025-26 NBA season with the intention of relying on their internal development. Strategically, with an eye toward the future, Miami is hoping the likes of Pelle Larsson, Kel’el Ware, Nikola Jovic, and Jaime Jaquez Jr. make improvements in their personal games in order to push this team forward.

If Kasparas Jakucionis is ready to contribute, too, that’d give this team another boost.

With Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo at their peak, the onus on raising the ceiling for this franchise is going to fall on the shoulders of the supporting cast.

Maybe Norman Powell gives this team an even greater jolt than many believe, as well. But, seemingly, if the Heat are going to be a contender this season, you’d imagine an “unknown” is going to have to arise for the franchise.

Maybe that’s an undrafted gem taking a bigger-than-expected role this season for the team. Or perhaps it’s the team swinging a trade for a player that no one saw coming. Miami does like to operate in the shadows, so that wouldn’t be all that surprising if they managed to pull something like that off.

The Heat, as currently constructed, aren’t expected by many to factor much into the Eastern Conference. However, with so many intriguing young players on this roster, and the contracts (and some draft capital) to make a big move, nothing can be completely off the table for the Heat over the next few months.

And if there’s one team that seems to outplay their expectations, it’s consistently been the Heat. The question is, will the right circumstances arise for the Heat to pull off the feat once again?