The Miami Heat may have lost out on the arguably best basketball player on the planet last summer, but in the spirit of counting your blessings, they are still thankful that they're playing in the Eastern Conference.

In their first season of the post-King era, the Heat are presently (as of this writing) at 17-22"”and sitting at third in Southeast Division. Ric Bucher of Bleacher Report opines that while the rest of the league is wondering whether the Heat are going to tear it all apart or add a few pieces to remain competitive, Miami is currently looking to do a bit of both"”add a few players to make enough noise in the postseason, while maintaining flexibility for the summer of 2016.

Before the three-team trade that sent Jeff Green to Memphis, the Grizzlies were reportedly had internal discussions into acquiring Luol Deng. But with that off the table, the Heat are rumored to be eyeing Denver Nuggets' shooting guard Aaron Afflalo.

The Heat are not the only ones with their sights on the two-way guard, as the Los Angeles Clippers and the Charlotte Hornets are reportedly also looking to land Afflalo.

Afflalo has a player option next season worth $7.36 million, and has expressed his interest in hitting the open market, especially now that the salary cap is expected to rise with the NBA's new TV deal.

The Heat, who are only a half-game ahead of the eighth seed Brooklyn Nets, would more than likely need to add more pieces if they hope to make anything more than a first round exit. Bucher reports that the Heat are open to listening to offers for anyone outside of Chris Bosh, with Mario Chalmers (making $4 million), and Chris Andersen ($5.38 million) speculated to be the more likely trade candidates.

Kevin Durant, DeMar Derozan, Chris Paul, and Al Horford are just some of the names the Heat could look to land in 2016.