Introducing Powell& Fontechio! The Heat s accurate tax avoidance: How far can the civilian team go in the new season?

The countdown to the new season is 4 days away. Looking back on last season, the Heat have been eliminated in the first round for two consecutive years.

After the retirement of Wade, the team spirit, the Heat's rise and fall in recent years is actually tied to Butler alone.

In the 2018-19 season, this was Wade's last season with the Heat. The Heat ranked 10th in the Eastern Conference with 39 wins and 43 losses and missed the playoffs. In the summer of 2019, the Heat acquired Butler as their new leader through a sign-and-trade with a four-year maximum salary of US$142 million. The Heat returned to the playoffs in the 2019-20 season and went all the way to the Finals as the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference. From 10th in the Eastern Conference to the Finals, Butler's leadership ability is obvious to all.

The Heat achieved brilliant results during the Butler era: five consecutive playoffs, three Eastern Conference Finals, and two Finals. He took a civilian team to a height that did not belong to them.

The decline of the Heat is also related to Butler's departure from the team: he suffered a medial collateral ligament sprain in April 2024 and missed the 2024 playoffs. The Heat were eliminated by the Celtics 4-1 in the first round; in January this year, Butler and Riley publicly submitted an application to leave the team due to intensified conflicts over injuries, and he was sent to the Warriors in a multi-party trade on February 6, 2025.

The Heat, which lost Butler at the mid-season trade deadline, recorded 37 wins and 45 losses last season and ranked 10th in the Eastern Conference. They defeated the Bulls and Hawks in the playoffs and unexpectedly entered the playoffs, and were eventually swept by the Cavaliers in the first round.

The Butler era of the Heat has come to an end, and the team building work around Hiero + Adebayor has officially begun.

The Heat used the No. 20 pick in the first round of this year's draft to select combo guard Kasparas Yakouchonis from Lithuania, which was widely regarded as a "miss" by the outside world.

Yakuchonis is 196 centimeters tall, weighs 93 kilograms, and has a wingspan of 203 centimeters. The draft template is Dragic/Austin Reeves.

Yakuchionis is a versatile combo guard with strong adaptability. He started playing in the youth team of the Lithuanian League at the age of 14. On the offensive end, he is full of the rhythm and smoothness of a European defender. His comprehensive skills can be used for a rotation position in any team.

Yakuchionis was praised as the "bankrupt version of Doncic". Riley and Coach Spoelstra highly recognized his organizational skills and game sense. The Heat missed the selection of Yakuchionis and was evaluated by a US reporter as "Coach Spoelstra gets Dragic 2.0".

The Heat did not receive multiple draft picks in the Butler trade, and their reconstruction resources are very limited. Taobao in the middle and late first round also fits Riley's "picking" personality.

The Heat have trained many practical players such as Dunloe, Struss, Vincent, and Highsmith, and Yakuchonis also has the potential to become a practical rotation player. It wouldn't be a surprise to see him become one of the main rotation players one night in the future.

The Heat conducted a lot of "leaking" operations during the offseason. From Riley's perspective, this is undoubtedly "profit".

On July 2, 2025, Duncan Robinson joined the Pistons in a three-year, 48 million sign-and-trade deal. The Pistons gave the Heat the bargaining chip Fonte Keogh. He is now 29 years old and a member of the Italian national team. He is 201 centimeters tall and weighs 95 kilograms. His contract will expire at RMB 8.3 million next season.

Fontechio averaged 36.3% three-point shooting per game in his NBA career. Last season, he played 16.5 minutes per game with the Pistons and was not taken seriously. He performed well in the European Championships this year, averaging 16.7 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.5 steals per game. His three-point shooting percentage was 38.5%. He can be used as a space point. He lacks the ability to hold the ball and relies on catching and shooting.

The Heat value his expiring contract more. After all, he is 29 years old and has no potential and value to develop. Play for one year and see the results. If the contract expires in one year, it is also feasible to renew the contract at a low price and stay with the team in the future. The Heat will definitely make money without losing money.

On July 7, 2025, the Heat, Jazz, and Clippers made a blockbuster three-point trade: the Heat sent Kyle Lee + Love in exchange for Powell!

Powell averaged 21.8 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.2 steals per game last season. His 20.48 million contract expires next season. He has the potential to become an All-Star in the Eastern Conference in the new season. The Heat only paid Kyle Lee + Love, a perfect robbery-style transaction, and Riley paid Powell almost for nothing!

During the offseason, the Heat signed and traded Duncan Robinson, who was originally a free agent, to acquire Fonte Keogh, and Kyle Lee + Love were exchanged for Powell. Both Fonte Keogh and Powell have expired contracts. The Heat can keep them themselves or trade them as expiring contracts in February next year.

Riley's two operations can be said to be empty-handed, which perfectly illustrates that old age is still spicy.

The Heat have created a foursome of Herro + Powell + Wiggins + Adebayor in the new season. It is a reasonable small goal to try to hit the playoffs.

Riley sent away Highsmith, a 3D wing engineer, on August 16. He would rather sacrifice his own combat effectiveness and take the second round of 2012 in order to send Highsmith to the Nets in exchange for the second round of 2026. The reason is also simple. Highsmith's salary next season is 5.62 million. After the Heat sent away Highsmith, they successfully reduced the total salary to below the luxury tax line, which is 4 million US dollars away from the luxury tax threshold.

Riley is a good player who lives a typical life. The Heat have only paid a total of $22.413 million in luxury tax since the 2014-15 season. You know, the Heat have played in two finals and three trips to the Eastern Conference Finals in the past five years, which is really difficult for Butler.

The Heat's starting lineup for the new season can basically be determined, Weir + Adebayo + Wiggins + Powell + Hiero; substitutes, Mitchell Jr., Jovic, Rozier, Fontecchio, Harks, Larsson, Yakuchonis.

Regardless of starting strength or lineup depth, the Heat's paper lineup is expected to make the playoffs in the relatively loose competitive environment in the Eastern Conference..

The Heat's future path is also relatively clear. Adebayor still has a 3+1 player option contract. Herro, Wiggins (1+1 player option), and Mitchell all have 2 years of contract left. Powell, Fontechio, and Rozier all have expired contracts. The Heat are also gathering strength to recruit super big fish such as Antetokounmpo/Jokic in the 2027 free market. The current lineup is just a transition.

We can think that Riley is "stingy", but we cannot doubt his ability to build a team to compete for the championship after recruiting big fish (James in 2010/Butler in 2019). At present, the talents of Hiero, Adebayor, and Wiggins are not enough to support the Heat to become a championship team again in a short period of time. They have chosen to avoid taxes and maintain the first round of the playoffs. If they are neither better nor worse, in the new season, they can actually enter the playoffs and sell two more home tickets. They will earn blood!