With the NBA trade deadline and All-Star break in the rearview mirror, it's never too early for teams to begin thinking about 2025-26 — especially those who have fallen well short of expectations. For a handful of teams, the upcoming summer presents an opportunity for a fresh start and a chance to rectify their missteps.
That's small consolation for the New Orleans Pelicans, Philadelphia 76ers and Phoenix Suns — three teams that began the year with playoff (and, in the cases of Philadelphia and Phoenix, championship) aspirations and will almost certainly end up in the lottery.
Two other underachieving teams — the Miami Heat and Minnesota Timberwolves — still have time to turn things around. The Timberwolves, the only one of these five teams with a record above .500, are here because of the combination of a deep Western Conference in which they're no sure thing to make the playoffs and the expectations generated by last year's run to the conference finals.
Let's take a closer look at why things haven't gone according to plan for these five teams and what they could do to change their fortunes for 2025-26 and beyond — including potentially solving each other's problems.
Jump to a team:
MIA | MIN | NO
PHI | PHX
What's gone wrong
A game above .500 when they dealt Jimmy Butler to the Golden State Warriors ahead of the Feb. 6 trade deadline, the Heat have subsequently lost six of their past nine to slip two games below breakeven. With newcomer Andrew Wiggins off to a slow offensive start, Miami ranks 20th in offensive rating in that span.
In the bigger picture, the Heat's star power took a hit with the Butler trade and a down season from Bam Adebayo. Miami now has just one player on the roster who has been selected for an
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