NBA GMs: Heat bound for major improvement on last season

By foxsports
Published

The Heat had themselves one heck of an offseason, good enough that they can once again boast one of the most formidable rosters in the Eastern Conference. They're not the only ones who believe that, either. 

Every year, NBA.com releases a survey of GMs, polling the top execs from around the league on their thoughts for the upcoming season. They'll ask everything from "Who's the leading MVP candidate?" to "Which coach has the best defensive schemes?" Of course, they also asked which team will be the most improved in 2015-16, and the Heat made the list:

1. Oklahoma City Thunder -- 25 percent

2. Milwaukee Bucks -- 17.9 percent

3. New Orleans Pelicans -- 14.3 percent

4. Miami Heat -- 10.7 percent

5. Indiana Pacers -- 7.1 percent

The Heat, who went 37-45 last year, brought in Gerald Green and Amar'e Stoudemire over the offseason. They also drafted Justise Winslow and are expecting a healthy Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade and Josh McRoberts back, too. Having Hassan Whiteside and Goran Dragic for the full year won't hurt, either.

The GMs picked Miami to finish fourth in the East, behind Cleveland, Chicago and Atlanta, respectively. That's quite the jump from last year's team, which missed the postseason altogether.