The future just got a little bit darker for the Miami Heat, after the departure of star player Dwayne Wade, and the recent news of Chris Bosh no longer coming back for the season, many are speculating the struggling Heat, might not make this year's playoffs.
It looks like the Miami Heat will have to carry on with the season without their star leaders, and just have to prepare for the worst. As Dwayne Wade signed with the Bulls and went back home to Chicago, the Heat have already lost their biggest offensive weapon, now with Pat Riley's announcement that the organization are no longer working towards Bosh's return, the last of the Heat's "Big Three" is now gone.
The burden of carrying the Heat now falls on the shoulders of the only remaining players on Miami's squad with star potential, Goran Dragic and Hassan Whiteside. While Whiteside isn't the most potent when it comes to scoring, the big blocking machine remains a threat on the Miami defense, and Dragic will have to increase his point production to make up for Wade and Bosh being gone.
According to the ESPN Summer Forecast, where ESPN predicts the outcomes of the performances of the teams in the upcoming season, the Miami Heat will sit on 12th place in the Eastern Conference rankings, with just 36 wins. This is not only due to the loss of Wade and Bosh, but also because of Luol Deng and Joe Johnson, who also moved on and left Miami.
While the upcoming season might be a potential nightmare for the Heat, there are still reasons for Miami to be optimistic. With Bosh gone, the Heat's salary cup will be much larger when February comes, according to Sportsrageous. The salary cap space will allow them to rebuild their team around their young core of Whiteside, Dragic, and Justise Winslow, who made a promising effort during the 2015-2016 season.
