Miami, FL
My Bad: I Cursed The Miami Heat
Just by nature of what I do here at Defector, sometimes I am wrong about something in a way that creates a lasting, bylined record of my wrongness. It makes sense: When I write about a team or player in any sport, it is usually because they are in a period of interesting ascendancy. When their fortunes turn after I write about them, sometimes immediately so, and sometimes so quickly that it seems as if it’s happened because I wrote about them, it’s generally just because that ascendancy has ended, and they are back to normal. This happens, and is natural; sports seasons are long and grueling beasts with many phases. So I don’t beat myself up if I write about a team that immediately goes into the shitter. I’m not clairvoyant, and this isn’t gambling advice. (Stop gambling!)
That said, none of this explains how badly I have seem to have jinxed the Miami Heat over the last two weeks.
Since I wrote about Tyler Herro’s post-injury resurgence and Miami’s 8-2 record in games in which he scored 20-plus points, the Heat have lost every single game they have played, most recently dropping Monday night’s home game against the Phoenix Suns, 118-105. Their losing streak now sits at seven games, with the team’s last win coming on Jan. 15 to the Nets. In that time, Miami has been held under 100 points on offense three times, and have only hit the 110 mark once, in a 143-110 loss to Boston on Jan. 25. They are giving up an embarrassing 118 points per game, which if you recall the bit from just now about how much they’re scoring is “not what you want.” Their average margin of defeat is 16.3 points.
Everything is bad, essentially, and it’s coming from all angles. Since I wrote about Herro most recently, let’s start with him. Since his 29-point game against Brooklyn, he has only cracked 20 points once—that was in Miami’s closest loss in this streak, a 109-108 loss to Atlanta on Jan. 19—and has appeared to lose his shooting touch entirely. In a way, his struggles validate my previous article; if Herro struggles as badly as he has, Miami has a tough time beating opponents. I just didn’t see this swoon coming immediately.
Elsewhere, the addition of Terry Rozier has been a net negative so far. That failure goes beyond his own personal struggles, mighty though they have been. In four games with Miami, the former Hornets guard has put up three stinkers, only coming up somewhat big against the Suns with a 21-point “explosion.” Otherwise, he has shot around the 30 percent mark from the field, and his lack of height—he’s listed at 6-foot-1, which seems generous—has made a small team even smaller.
Rozier and Herro are both starting these days, but they probably should not be. The starting lineup on Monday night featured those two poor defenders, along with Haywood Highsmith—who is good on defense but close to a zero on offense—alongside the star duo of Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo. That Adebayo continues to be the tallest player on the floor for Miami is a longer-term problem, one that exhausts the 26-year-old in all the ways you’d expect; it seems, in this case, to have led to his traditional midseason slump. Butler has been his usual self for the most part, but has disappeared a few times during this streak, failing to crack 20 points four times around three 25-plus games.
Something important to note here is that Jaime Jaquez Jr., Miami’s incredible rookie find, missed two weeks during the losing streak due to a groin injury, and only rejoined the rotation on Saturday against the Knicks. He’s still finding his feet again after the layoff, and has been a non-factor in the two games since returning, but he helps give Miami size and play-making that they are currently missing. That’s a lot to put on a rookie, though, especially one who is decidedly a role player and probably not a burgeoning star. But that’s how bad things have gotten in Miami.
Where’s the fix here? That’s what Erik Spoelstra, fresh off his massive contract extension, must figure out between now and the playoffs. Miami is (probably) not in danger of missing the play-in games, but that’s more down to how bad the bottom of the Eastern Conference is. Still, being able to lose seven straight and still be in seventh place with a 4.5-game cushion from missing out does give Spoelstra time to experiment with rotations and strategies. Perhaps he will realize that the Rozier-Herro experiment doesn’t work, and bump one to a staggered bench role would help inject the backups with some pace and scoring. Jaquez getting back into the mix would also help alleviate some of those size disadvantages for Miami; last year’s playoff hero Caleb Martin could catch fire.
That’s a lot of speculation, though, which is another part of what makes what I do here a bit more difficult. Sports are fluid, and the NBA season in particular is too long and too topsy-turvy to prognosticate about with any certainty. That goes doubly when trying to figure out how a team that historically doesn’t care much for the regular season, like Miami, will perform before the playoffs. I comfort myself, both as a writer and a Heat fan, in thinking about how bad last year’s team was in the regular season; you might have heard that they still made the NBA Finals from the eighth seed.
This team feels a bit different, though, at least right now. That’s because the problems are less due to effort or poor shooting, and more about roster construction. There’s no savior here, although someone like Martin recapturing his world-beating postseason form for the regular season would obviously help. Instead, Miami will have to make tactical changes to mask flaws, and that’s never a spot that a proud team with title aspirations, meager though they might be, wants to be in as the calendar turns to February. I’m not sure if Spoelstra will learn something from this stretch of bad games that unlocks his roster’s potential, but I am sure that I have learned a valuable lesson: Basing any articles on what Miami will do in the regular season is a fool’s errand, and I should be prepared to eat shit whenever I do so.
Cain and Kushner are launching a South Florida real estate joint venture, planning a luxury apartment tower in Edgewater for their first project, The Real Deal has learned.
London-based Cain, led by Jonathan Goldstein, and New York-based Kushner, led by Laurent Morali and Nicole Kushner Meyer, plan a 40-story, 364-unit project on Cain’s 1.5-acre site at 614 and 720 Northeast 27th Street in Miami, according to a news release. The property is near the Missoni Baia condo tower that Cain co-developed with Vlad Doronin’s OKO Group.
BDT & MSD Partners provided a $42 million loan for the project, which is in the pre-development phase. Construction is expected to start late next year, the release says.
The Cain-Kushner JV is targeting residential and mixed-use investments and developments in the tri-county region.
“We are looking at all opportunities that we think are sensible,” Goldstein said.
Their South Florida JV comes as the region is experiencing another influx of out-of-staters after the pandemic-era boom, only this time the in-migration is primarily of wealthy individuals and their companies amid the blue-to-red-state migration.
Yet, Cain and Kushner’s plans for Edgewater apartments come as the multifamily market has softened due to hefty deliveries in recent years. A record 18,600 units were completed in 2024, outpacing leasing that year by about 20 percent, CoStar Group data shows. Although construction starts have slowed, last year’s 12,718 unit completions still surpassed total leasing for the year by about 1,000 apartments.
It has led to slower lease-ups, more concessions and a drop in the average asking rents across South Florida.
Developers starting projects now have said demand will catch up by the time they finish their buildings, with many adding that South Florida remains a strong apartment market. Many are betting on luxury rentals, which CoStar’s data showed made up the bulk of leasing in recent years.
“We are big believers in South Florida and big believers in Miami,” Goldstein said.
Cain, backed by Todd Boehly’s Eldridge Industries, has been investing in South Florida for nearly a decade, with the JV in some ways marking its second chapter in the region.
Cain’s most recent project is the Delano Miami Beach renovation. The hotel, which closed in 2020, is expected to reopen in time for the Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix early next month.
Aside from the Missoni Baia condo tower, Cain also partnered with OKO on the Una Residences condo tower in Brickell and the 57-story 830 Brickell office tower. The office building was completed in 2024 fully pre-leased, catching a demand surge during the pandemic-era in-migration of out-of-state companies to Miami. Cain also is an investor in Doronin’s hospitality firm Aman Group.
Kushner has a presence in Miami’s Edgewater, completing the 37-story, 420-unit apartment tower at 2000 Biscayne Boulevard in 2024, with plans for more residential development next-door at 1900 Biscayne Boulevard. It also purchased the 276-unit Hamilton apartment building at 555 Northeast 34th Street from Aimco.
Elsewhere, Kushner plans a 932-unit multifamily development at 300 West Broward Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale. It borrowed a $115 million construction loan last year for a luxury 68-unit apartment project in Surfside. And it scored approval in October for a 470-unit rental building and synagogue development near Hollywood’s Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino.
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The right-hander consistently set the tone early, either landing a first-pitch strike or inducing a foul
The Miami Heat are heading into another crucial offseason, and they MUST make changes. This team has been mediocre for the past few seasons and has been stuck in the Play-in Tournament. The Heat can’t currently compete with the way the roster is constructed. They need to trade for a star who can lead this team, and if a star becomes available, Miami will be involved. The real question is which direction actually makes the most sense.
The Heat could go after three potential targets this summer: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kawhi Leonard, and Donovan Mitchell. Who should Miami target? Let’s stack rank them based on fit, risk, and potential.
1. Giannis Antetokounmpo: The Only Move That Changes Everything
The Miami Heat need to go all-in for Giannis. This is a trade that would completely reshape the franchise. Giannnis could potentially turn the Heat into a contender overnight. Even with his recent injury cutting his season short, nothing about his overall impact has changed. He still bends defenses in a way very few players can. Teams build entire game plans around simply trying to slow him down, and most of the time, it doesn’t work.
The Miami Heat have desperately needed a true superstar who can take over games late in crunch time. The Heat have been relying on undrafted players and role players to create and execute their offense. Giannis flips that instantly by creating advantages on his own, possession after possession.
I think the most interesting part will be pairing Giannis with Bam Adebayo. They would automatically become the best defensive frontcourt duo in the NBA. Giannis and Bam could both guard 1-5, and their switchability and rim protection would be elite. Offensively, Bam’s versatility allows Giannis to stay aggressive without needing to adjust his game too much.
The risk is obvious. Injuries have started to creep into the conversation, and committing everything to one player always carries weight. Still, Miami has never been a franchise that plays it safe. If Giannis is available, the conversation starts and ends there.
2. Donovan Mitchell: The Cleanest Basketball Fit
If Giannis is the bold swing, Mitchell is the move that makes the most basketball sense from top to bottom. At this stage of his career, Donovan Mitchell knows exactly who he is as a player. He can control tempo, create offense in isolation, and take over stretches of games when things stall out and that is something Miami has struggled with consistently.
This is less about transforming the roster and more about fixing a specific problem. The Heat have lacked a reliable perimeter engine. Mitchell fills that gap immediately. What makes him especially appealing is how easily he fits into different lineups. He doesn’t need the ball every possession to be effective, but he can handle that role when needed. That flexibility matters on a team that values structure as much as Miami does.
There’s also a timeline advantage here. Mitchell is younger than the other options and doesn’t come with the same long-term durability concerns. He gives Miami a clearer runway to build around, rather than a shorter window that demands immediate results. He may not bring the same overwhelming presence as Giannis, but he raises the overall level of the team in a way that feels sustainable.
3. Kawhi Leonard: Elite Talent With Too Many Variables
When Kawhi Leonard is available and healthy, he’s still one of the most controlled and efficient players in the league. His season with the Los Angeles Clippers was a reminder of that. Playing 65 games was a big step, and when he was on the floor, he looked like himself, methodical, physical, and impossible to speed up. From a pure basketball standpoint, he fits Miami’s identity. He defends, doesn’t force offense, and thrives in structured environments.
The hesitation comes from everything outside of that. Kawhi’s availability has been unpredictable for years, and even in seasons where he plays a high number of games, there’s always uncertainty about how things will hold up deep into a playoff run. Age adds another layer. Miami wouldn’t just be trading for a player; they’d be betting on a timeline that may already be shrinking. There’s no denying the upside. A healthy Kawhi still moves the needle in a big way. It’s just harder to justify that gamble compared to the other two options.
Final Take
Each path offers something different. Giannis is the all-in swing that could put Miami back in the championship conversation overnight. Mitchell is the calculated move that stabilizes the offense and fits long-term. Kawhi is the wildcard, still elite, but with more uncertainty than the Heat can comfortably ignore.
If Miami is serious about breaking out of the middle, they need to pick a direction and commit fully. Giannis is the dream, Mitchell is the smartest bet, and Kawhi is the toughest sell.
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