The ideal NBA roster construction looks like what the Miami Heat currently has: a few All-Stars buttressed by younger, cheaper supporting pieces that can gradually move into bigger roles as veterans age. It’s a life cycle that virtually every NBA team aspires to, and as we see with the Golden State Warriors, it’s essentially a path to immortality. Get it right and you can turn one competitor into another and win championships in this golden intervening period before the first generation declines but after the second rises.

But it’s a small needle to thread. For every Spurs or Warriors dynasty, there are a dozen teams that have half measured themselves on a trophy. There’s a reason so many teams choose a set path: the all-in method, cashing in your chips for stars, or slow, deliberate rebuilding. Miami was aiming for that sweet, sweet middle ground. They came within five points of the final. A little more injury luck and they could be gearing up for Golden State right now.

They are not for reasons that go beyond health. Pick Your Poison: A limited half-court offense that ranked 24th in clutch minutes in the regular season, a small roster that had no fix for minutes Bam Adebayo rested against a frontcourt stronger, a defense so aggressive that it often struggled to avoid fouling. Maybe the Heat would be in the Finals if they were healthy. Maybe they would have been knocked out a round earlier if the 76ers had been. The hypothetical game rarely has winners. The game the Heat just played on Sunday turned Miami into a heartbreaking loser. They had a golden opportunity to reach the final and failed.

The Heat are now squarely focused on next season, when the Bucks and Nets return to the fray with decidedly more focused roster builds. The Bucks have three All-Stars between the ages of 27 and 31. Broaden that age range a bit and Brooklyn is in the same boat. Boston’s playoff series speaks for itself.

All three are more likely to age gracefully than a Miami team facing issues at both ends of the age spectrum. PJ Tucker just turned 37 and Kyle Lowry isn’t far behind. Jimmy Butler will turn 33 before opening night. The best version of him looks ten years younger, but he’s only played 70 games in a season twice. He’s missed an average of 20 games per season since leaving Chicago, and Miami is eyeing the barrel of another four seasons at max money on Butler’s contract.

That was part of why winning now was so essential. Butler, Lowry and Tucker will likely decline next season. They have plenty of youngsters to make up for that loss in value, but it won’t be cheap for very long. Tyler Herro, Gabe Vincent and Max Strus all expire after next season. Bam Adebayo is on a max contract, and Duncan Robinson is locked in for four more seasons despite the rotation dropping, and lest you think this issue is exclusive to youngsters, Tucker has a player option, and after a solid playoff run, could likely retire and at the very least command several years at his current salary. Add Victor Oladipo, who is also heading to free agency, and only Butler, Lowry, Adebayo and Robinson are locked in after next year. This is a franchise that once used the amnesty clause to waive Mike Miller as the two-time defending champion. The Heat don’t like paying the luxury tax.

It’s a major divider between them and the Warriors. Part of Golden State’s endless trail rests on Joe Lacob’s deep pockets. Golden State is expected to pay an estimated $170 million tax bill on top of its $176 million slate. The Heat are priced more moderately at $135 million, just below the luxury tax as these are most seasons. The Warriors can afford to pay youngsters before their value is established and veterans after it has gone down. Can heat?

If they can’t, it’s worth considering how viable the middle ground really is for them. Most of the league would rather have Butler, Lowry and Adebayo than its own top three, but Miami lacks Golden State’s enduring centerpiece in Stephen Curry. A top five player covers a lot of flaws. Miami’s alternative has been player development. Their roster rarely has any aggressive flaws because they’re so good at turning players no one else wanted into contributors. Chances are that if they let a combination of Herro, Strus and Vincent go, they’ll be able to generate some internal replacements. But these replacements only go so far. Players like Strus and Vincent can’t make up for an injured Butler who shot 7 of 32 in Games 4 and 5. Miami’s championship fairness hinges on Butler being a top 10 or 15 player. The equation changes if he is in the top 25 players. It goes completely out of balance once it slips into the 40s and 50s.

The Bulls once feared that Butler’s supermax cost exceeded his on-field value. They traded him to Minnesota to avoid finding out. There will naturally be an ounce of temptation for Miami to consider a similar path before age and injuries make the decision for him, but nothing the Heat have ever done suggests they will willingly sacrifice an All- Star. They saw just how dark the starless path can be when they devoted most of their space to Dion Waiters, James Johnson and Kelly Olynyk a few years ago. Butler saved them from such mediocrity. He nearly led the Heat to the Finals with 82 combined points in Games 6 and 7. Finding players like him is a lot harder than finding another Strus or Vincent. The Heat have proven capable of growing such support pieces in their Sioux Falls lab. If anything, they’ll probably try to cash in on some of that soon-to-be expensive youth for additional Butler support.

They have previously been linked to Bradley Beal. Zach LaVine also feels approachable. A few surprising stars move every year, and with Herro, Strus, Vincent and Robinson’s big contract on offer, they can come up with some compelling packages. The Heat quietly negotiated relaxed protections on a pick they also owe Oklahoma City at the deadline, making the 2022 or 2023 first-round pick tradeable. Miami has been preparing for a major trade since February.

Finding one is probably their best chance to keep pace with the rest of the Eastern Conference elite, as playing on both sides of the age curve becomes less and less viable with each passing year. Sooner or later, Butler won’t be the top 15 player he is now, and someone else will have to pick up that torch. As good as Miami is for incubating actors, these are the types of actors that are simply easier to find on the outside. The Heat can replace the worlds Herro and Vincent much more easily than they can develop another star.

There’s something frustrating and simplistic about saying a team’s path to victory is simply to add an All-Star, but that’s usually just the reality in the NBA. The Heat recognized that a year ago when they built their offseason around landing Lowry. Not everyone becomes the Warriors. The Heat won their championships much more aggressively. If they want to come back to the top of the mountain, it will probably be by accepting that their time is here and now.