MIAMI — The drumbeat for change resonates arguably like never before, with the Heat about to make their fourth consecutive trip to the NBA play-in tournament.

The call for something different is real and logical and something that has to be addressed.

But, first, a few qualifiers.

Erik Spoelstra isn’t going anywhere, nor should he be going anywhere. You coach your talent, and in the wake of the Heat not finding a replacement for Jimmy Butler, middling talent has led to a middling result. Further, even if eventually his choice is a Brad Stevens-type move to the front office, it is highly doubtful Spoelstra would leave the bench ahead of his assignment as Team USA 2028 Olympic coach.

Pat Riley isn’t going anywhere, except by his choice. Although to a degree, he already has gone somewhere, with the Heat handling personnel decisions more by consensus than at any time during his three-plus decades with the team.

The Arisons aren’t going anywhere, at least not any time soon, with NBA owners facing upwards of a $500 million-per-team payoff in the expected  potential next round of expansion.

But that doesn’t mean that it has to be — or should be — same as it ever was with the enduring personnel circle of the Arisons, Riley, Spoelstra, Andy Elisburg, Adam Simon and an elite scouting and executive staff.

Even amid current frustrations, there have been too many success stories to sweep the accomplishments aside, even amid the current hamster wheel of mediocrity.

But there is a way to take what is in place and make it better.

For better or worse, when Spoelstra recognized that the Heat’s offense was stuck in the mud, he thought outside the box, as he often does, and brought in Noah LaRoche as an offensive consultant last summer. The upshot was a Heat offense, at least earlier in the season, that was up-tempo, exciting and effective.

He brought in a disruptor.

The Heat would be wise to consider the same with the personnel wing.

By this stage, we know what Spoelstra wants in a player, what Riley demands in a player, and what Simon prioritizes with his scouting. Amid more than a decade now without a Top 10 lottery pick (Justise Winslow was the last, at No, 10 in 2015), the Heat have found a way to remain competitive, with a few deep playoff runs sprinkled in.

And, yet, there is a tangible sense of staleness, even with Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro the only remaining players from the Heat’s 2020 run to the NBA Finals and  those two plus Dru Smith and Nikola Jovic the lone remaining players from the 2023 run to the NBA Finals.

To find something different, it could require something different.

A case could be made for more of the analytics input from Shane Battier, if he this time would be more amenable to an increased role (and workload). A case could be made for Udonis Haslem getting an increased role in decision-making (although that certainly would create conflict with his television stardom).

But even that would still be thinking inside the Heat box.

Perhaps the Arisons turn to their Duke connection and get Mike Krzyzewski involved, if that’s something he would want at 79.

Or perhaps this is the time to turn to the college ranks, which at the moment are starting to more closely resemble the pro ranks, and pluck someone who could add youth and vitality, while no longer having to worry about the recruiting trail.

Another approach would be someone with experience in tanking, if not exactly rushing out to locate Sam Hinkie, just someone with definitive thoughts, and perhaps previous success, with the approach.

In this case the “who” is not as important as the “what,” as in fresh ideas, a broader outlook, someone perhaps to succeed Riley, or at least push those in the current succession line to think outside of the box.

This season certainly has not been fun, which is something that comes off as somewhat remarkable considering it included a 14-7 start, a seven-game winning streak and an 83-point performance from Adebayo.

The previous approach to such malaise was for Riley to go into Micky Arison’s deep pockets and lure a free agent. But that, now, too, is old school. Free agents don’t leave as much as they either get extended or chose where they want to go, not where they’re lured.

Enter, a disruptor, bridging the Heat into this brave, new NBA world of the 2020s.

Yes, the outside clamor is for a shakeup.

But it doesn’t have to mean housecleaning.

Just someone to freshen up the thinking, the approach and charting a course beyond mere play-in.

IN THE LANE

A BIG FAN: To Erik Spoelstra, the selection of Mark Few was a no-brainer when it came to this weekend’s announcement of the 2026 inductees into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. The Gonzaga coach and NCAA Tournament mainstay has been a long-time friend of Spoelstra, with the two serving as assistants on Steve Kerr‘s Team USA coaching staff during the run to gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics. “I knew him when he was a young graduate assistant when I was a player at UP (University of Portland) and we worked camps together. We kept in touch all the years. I love him. My kids love him. He’s like a family member almost,” Spoelstra said. “If you knew him 25 years ago, you would just say he hasn’t changed at all. He loves the game of basketball, he’s going to pour everything into the game, into his family,  and into fishing. I always tell him he’s the character or a character out of A River Runs Through It.”

STATE OF NEVADA: In another college-related turn this past week, former Heat G League coach Nevada Smith was named coach at Siena. Smith coached the Heat’s G League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce, from 2016 to 2019, producing a winning record. “We’ve kept in touch all the years, and we’re really rooting for this opportunity. He could have been a head coach probably at a different school, different level the last few years,” Spoelstra said, with Smith working in recent years as a Marquette assistant. “He has a great, innovative coaching mind and I think his experience with Shaka Smart the last several years has really taken his acumen and understanding of everything at that level, big-time level, to even a different level than what he was before. I think it’s a great fit.”

SECOND THOUGHT: When it came to the NBA trade deadline, among the reasons the Heat reportedly opted out of going all-in on Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant was a concern about his lithe build. Build aside, former Heat guard Joe Johnson said on the podcast co-hosted by Shannon Sharpe and Chad Johnson that the Heat would be the right fit. “I’m not going to lie,” Johnson said, “I think he would thrive in that Miami situation. One thing about Pat Riley, he’s going to have a real sit down one-on-one with him. He does that with everybody. It’s going to be something in that meeting you’ll be able to take, and run with. All you got to do is apply it. If you apply it, I promise you the sky will be the limit for this kid again.” Johnson added, “I never went to the club when I played for the Heat. We worked so hard I couldn’t wait to go lay down.”

HOMECOMING TRIP: Last Monday’s game at Kaseya Center was truly unique when it came to Philadelphia  rookie VJ Edgecombe playing in front of a large, flag-waving contingent that traveled over from his native Bahamas for the 76ers’ lone visit of the season. “They’re going to cheer for their own, at all times,” said Edgecombe, who embraced the embrace. “Regardless where you are, who you are, you’re from the Bahamas. They’re going to have your back.” Even in defeat, Edgecombe returned to the court postgame to greet some of those who made the trip. “It felt like a home game,” he said. “It’s just love. It’s a lot of love.”

COACHING CANDOR: Ahead of the his team’s Wednesday night blowout of the Heat at Kaseya Center, Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla was asked for his thoughts on Luke Murray, the current UConn assistant and son of actor Bill Murray, being named coach at Boston College. “I’m happy that he gets the opportunity,” Mazzulla said. “The opportunity to be a head coach is obviously the dream, part of what we all do. So he’s been great for us. He’s been to practices; I’ve been to his practices. He’s smart. I mean, he helps run one of the best offenses in the country at the collegiate level and really has to think the game and how they build a language. I’ve learned a ton from him, so I’m happy he gets the opportunity. He’s made me a better coach, so I’m grateful for that.”

NUMBER

45. Combined 3-pointers by the Heat (a franchise-record-tying 24) and Celtics (21) in Wednesday night’s game at Kaseya Center, the highest combined total in a game in the Heat’s 38 seasons. The NBA record for combined 3-pointers is 48 in a Dec. 15, 2024 game, when the Warriors made 27 and the Mavericks 21 in a Dallas victory at Golden State. The 45 in the Celtics’ Wednesday night victory is now the second-highest total, eclipsing a pair of 44 3-pointer games.