4 trades the Miami Heat could pull off by the trade deadline
The NBA trade deadline is coming up, meaning it’s time to speculate on potential deals the Miami Heat could make.
We’re about three weeks away from the 2017 NBA’s trade deadline. February 23rd (at 3 PM ET) marks the last day that teams can deal players to each other. Some GM’s will attempt to bolster their rosters to get them ready for a deep playoff run, while others will come to the realization that it’s time to tank it, and make a push for a higher lottery pick.
The Miami Heat, now 19-30 after winning eight games in a row, find themselves at a crossroads. Pat Riley could decide that the roster is good enough to build around, and make a trade to help fight for a playoff berth. (No, really, they’re only five games back from Charlotte now!)
Or, maybe he sees this as the opportune time to sell high on some of his players. The odds that Dion Waiters will continue his stellar run of form are… low, at best. It may be best to strike while the iron is hot.
That’s also the case with Goran Dragic, who’s on the wrong side of 30, yet playing excellent basketball. His trade value will never be as high as it is now, so unless Miami sees him as a player you can build around (for the record, I don’t), he could also be a potential sell-high candidate.
With the clock winding down until the deadline, there’s no better time to speculate about which path Riley will take. So I decided to break down four potential trades the Heat could pull off by February 23rd. Some of them will be simple, straight up, player-for-player swaps. Others will be a little more out there. Warning: This will get weird. Let’s get to it.
Dec 20, 2016; Miami, FL, USA; Orlando Magic guard Evan Fournier (10) dribbles the ball against the Miami Heat during the first half at American Airlines Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
1. Magic trade Evan Fournier and their 2017 first round pick (top-10 protected), for Goran Dragic.
Just over a week ago, Marc Stein posted an interesting tidbit that pertained to a potential Dragic deal with the Orlando Magic. In his own words:
Orlando, according to league sources, recently tried to engage Miami on a Goran Dragic deal in which the Magic were said to be offering center Nikola Vucevic and a future first-round pick. The Heat, of course, already have a well-compensated starting center in Hassan Whiteside and, sources say, had no interest in Orlando’s pitch. [Miami] continues to leave the impression that they’re resistant to surrendering Dragic before the Feb. 23 trade deadline.
It’s obvious why Orlando would be interested in Dragic. For starters, they have the second-worst offensive rating in the NBA. Dragic would provide an immediate boost in that area.
Further, although their young point guard Elfrid Payton has been playing well of late, he is still a porous three-point shooter at 29 percent. He is, however, an excellent defender. Dragic, meanwhile, has shown the ability to play off the ball this season. His 41 percent rate from three would open up clogged driving lanes for the Magic. His main weakness is that he’s a limited defender. The two are a good fit, as one can cover for the deficiencies of the other.
To make this work, the Magic need to up their original offer for the Heat to have any interest. Riley has no need for another center, but where could he use some help? With another perimeter scorer, like Evan Fournier.
Orlando gets a point guard with experience, who helps them in the short-term. The Magic made a bunch of (somewhat reckless) signings this offseason, the goal being to make the playoffs. Thus far, it hasn’t worked out. There’s a chance they’ll be desperate to improve their current standing any way they can.
Plus, they’ll be protecting the pick through the first ten selections. Meaning that if adding Dragic doesn’t help them make the playoffs and they end up with a top ten pick in the draft anyways, they’d be able to keep it.
Miami on the other hand, would potentially receive another first round pick for 2017, and a player in Fournier who’s gotten better every year as a pro. Fournier was averaging 17.8 points, 3.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists, with a solid 57 true shooting percentage before suffering a foot injury in late December.
Though this trade would absolutely hurt Miami in the short-term, maybe that wouldn’t be such a bad thing. It would give them a higher pick in a draft class that stacked with talented point guards, to go along with a 24-year-old scorer in Fournier who still has potential to get better. You’re adding youth to a roster that still needs it. A lineup with a dynamic young point guard, flanked by Waiters and Fournier, Justise Winslow at the 4, and Hassan Whiteside manning the paint? That’s not a bad haul for a player who’s about to be 31-years old. (Best of all, this swap is ESPN Trade Machine approved.)
Dec 17, 2016; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Domantas Sabonis (3) drives to the basket past Phoenix Suns forward Marquese Chriss (0) during the first quarter at the Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
2. Thunder trade Alex Abrines and Domantas Sabonis to the Heat for Dion Waiters and James Johnson
Over the team’s last eight games (all wins), Waiters has been a monster. His play has been impressive enough to both help the team enjoy their longest winning streak in years, and garner himself some nice new hardware.
Waiters arrived in Miami with the reputation of being an inefficient player. He’s a career 41 percent shooter, 34 from beyond-the-arc. In all likelihood, his current run of form is unsustainable. Why not be proactive and look for a deal that would send him to a team that needs immediate help scoring the basketball. A team like the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Thunder are currently 28-20, which is good for sixth in the Western Conference. The strength of their team lies in their defense; they have a defensive rating of 106.7, sixth-best in the NBA. Their offense is a different story.
The Thunder’s offensive rating (according to Basketball Reference) is 107.6, which is second-worst among playoffs teams in the West. Outside of Russell Westbrook and Victor Oladipo, they have a lack of playmakers and scorers on the roster. It doesn’t help that Enes Kanter (their backup center who provided a scoring punch — too soon? — off the bench) will be out for two months with a broken forearm.
Much like the first move I outlined, this deal is made with the future in mind. Miami is trading away Waiters, who is already 25, and playing somewhat consistently for the first time in his career, along with James Johnson, who turns 30 in a few weeks. In return, they get Oklahoma City’s two best young prospects in Alex Abrines and Domantas Sabonis.
Abrines is a 23-year-old rookie shooting guard from Spain, who is already showing flashes of improvement. Over his last 20 contests, he’s averaging 7.0 points and 1.7 three-pointers per game, on 47 percent shooting from deep. He was drafted early in the second round of 2013’s NBA Draft with the mindset that he would eventually become, among other things, a knockdown shooter. That’s already coming to fruition.
The Heat would also be getting a 20-year-old power forward in Sabonis. His numbers may be modest (6.2 points and 3.6 boards per game), but he’s a guy with a ton of upside. Sabonis came out of college as a stretch-4 with the ability to score in the post as well. If Miami decides to rebuild, they could do worse than adding those two guys to be part of the process.
And the Thunder would not only be getting Waiters, but Johnson too. They would both help OKC with their lack of scoring and playmaking. A lineup of Westbrook-Waiters-Oladipo-Johnson-and-Steven Adams would be versatile and explosive on both sides of the ball. It must also be mentioned that Westbrook is 28, and very dependent on his athleticism. They should be a team that’s in win-now mode.
Ultimately, do I think the Thunder would actually pull the trigger on this move? Probably not, but according to the almighty Trade Machine, it makes OKC five wins better. So it’s not that crazy.
3. Kings trade Demarcus Cousins, Darren Collison, and Omri Casspi to the Heat for Hassan Whiteside, Tyler Johnson, and Justise Winslow
Figuring out a trade that makes Miami better right now isn’t easy. The team is asset-poor, as they are without a first round pick they can trade until at least 2020. (Considering the state of the franchise, they probably shouldn’t be dealing draft picks anyway.)
However, Pat Riley is notorious for his ability to acquire disgruntled superstars out of nowhere. Alonzo Mourning, Tim Hardaway, Shaquille O’Neal, LeBron James, the list of Hall-of-Famers obtained by Riley goes on and on.
Observing the current NBA landscape, there seems to be one guy who fits a similar bill. I presume everyone automatically knows who I’m talking about.
Do the Kings have a Cousins issue, or does Cousins have a Kings issue? Answer? It's complicated. A 2-part look | https://t.co/TaqKjfXW2x
— Kevin Arnovitz (@kevinarnovitz) January 26, 2017
Demarcus Cousins’ situation in Sacramento is so weird/convoluted/volatile that it took a writer as renowned as Kevin Arnovitz an article the length of a short novel to describe it. Even despite the fact that Cousins and the Kings have an absolutely toxic relationship, news broke early this month that they were ready to hand him a $200 million extension this offseason.
The Kings, desperate to be relevant in the NBA landscape, are willing to hamper the future of their franchise by giving a personality as explosive as Cousins’ a massive extension. Is there a chance that if they were given a plausible alternative, they’d at least be willing to consider it?
That’s why I proposed the following: Kings trade Demarcus Cousins, Darren Collison, and Omri Casspi to the Heat for Hassan Whiteside, Tyler Johnson, and Justise Winslow
I told you things would get weird. The Kings acquire three guys locked up long-term, and Miami gets its superstar, plus two other solid players to help with a playoff push.
Because the Heat lack assets, the only way they could convince Sacramento to go through with a deal is by offering up two young guys full of potential. The Kings would get younger, while adding an elite rim protector in Whiteside, a really good sixth man in Johnson, and a do-everything forward in Winslow.
While Miami gets a legitimate star to build around, a wing who can score a bit and defend in Omri Casspi, and a decent backup point guard in Darren Collison. The latter two are on the last year’s of their deals, so if they prove to not be a good fit with coach Erik Spoelstra, it doesn’t matter because they’ll be gone this summer anyways.
Look, it’s hard to speculate about whether a team would deal a talent like Cousins. But if they did go through with this trade, it would provide them with some much-needed stability. For a franchise so often in the news for the wrong reasons, stability would be warmly welcomed.
Furthermore, getting rid of a ball-dominant guard like Collison gives Sacramento the freedom to give rookie combo guard Malachi Richardson (who’s been coming on of late) more playing time.
The all-knowing trade machine says this swap makes the Heat one win better, and the Kings three losses worse. (It may be in the best of interest of the Kings to tank anyways. Their 2017 first rounder is top-ten protected. If it falls anywhere after that, it belongs to the Bulls. Just another thing to keep in mind.)
4. Celtics trade Kelly Olynk, Avery Bradley, and Jae Crowder to the Knicks; the Heat trade Hassan Whiteside to the Celtics; the Knicks trade Carmelo Anthony to Miami, and a future first round pick to the Celtics
For our final trade, how about we figure out a way to unite the famed banana boat team. Whoever is not familiar with who the banana boat team is, please allow me to enlighten you.
Dwyane Wade, Chris Paul, LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony all went on vacation together a few summers ago. As a result, we got one of the best pictures in NBA history:
As mentioned earlier, here is the famous picture of Dwyane Wade, Chris Paul and LeBron James on the banana boat. pic.twitter.com/7wDl8Wv8iv
— Naylor & Landsberg (@NaylorLandsberg) July 14, 2016
Greatness personified. On a banana boat.
So, how could we make this happen? First, we start off by taking advantage of Boston’s need for a big man. Why them? Well, they’re 29-18, have a budding star in Isaiah Thomas, and are well-coached. They probably fancy themselves as a team that can knock the Cleveland Cavaliers off their perch. To do so, they may still need some help.
First off, their rebounding rate (percentage of rebounds available that a team secures) is 48 percent. That’s the fifth-worst clip in the NBA. Boston just picked up Al Horford last offseason, but of all the things he does so well, rebounding is not one of them.
Horford also isn’t much a rim protector. For his career, he averages just 1.2 blocks per game. The Celtics, thanks to their quickness and depth of guards, are still a decent defensive team. But by adding a center who can rebound and deter opponents in the paint, they could be even better.
(I think you can surmise who Miami could offer to help with those issues.)
Okay, that’s great. What does that have to do with getting one of the members of the banana boat team in Miami? Let’s think about it. Which of the four guys we mentioned — Wade, James, Anthony, and Paul — has been in the news recently?
Celtics trade Kelly Olynk, Avery Bradley, and Jae Crowder to the Knicks; the Heat trade Hassan Whiteside to the Celtics; the Knicks trade Carmelo Anthony to Miami, and a future first round pick to the Celtics
The Celtics receive their rebounder and rim protector in Whiteside, along with a future first round pick from the Knicks (who own their next eight first rounders, so it wouldn’t hurt them to lose one).
Boston can afford to give up Jae Crowder, Avery Bradley and Kelly Olynyk thanks to their depth. Rookie combo forward Jalen Brown has really started to impress recently. Not only that, but they also own the rights to swap first round picks with the Brooklyn Nets (from the asinine Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett deal). They’ll be able to pick up a stud early in the first round of the 2017 draft.
The Knicks lack depth, and would be receiving a lot of it from the Celtics. Bradley and Crowder are elite perimeter defenders, and excellent spot-up shooters. They would help space the floor around future superstar Kristaps Porzingis.
And the Heat get member number one of the banana boat team. Anthony’s nearing the end of his prime as an NBA player, but still good enough to average 23 points per game. If Miami could convince him to transition into being a stretch-4, he could certainly lengthen his prime.
He would probably be more easily convinced to do so if it meant he could play on a team with his friends. The Heat have a ton of cap space, and Wade is going through a serious rough patch in Chicago. A return to Miami may not be totally out of the question. Add Chris Paul, who’s an unrestricted free agent this summer, and boom, there you have it. The banana boat team in Miami!
(Even in this totally satirical scenario, I refuse to even kid about LeBron returning to South Beach. So three of the four members of the banana boat will have to do.)
There you have it. Three reasonable trade suggestions, and one totally farcical one. It will be interesting to see how Riley treats the upcoming trade deadline. I wouldn’t be shocked if he had a surprise in store for all of us.
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