The Miami Heat have not been good enough this year, holding a poor 7-11 record in a stacked Eastern Conference. While the Heat have suffered with inconsistency in their lineups due to injury, nobody expects them to reach another level when healthy. After coming within a game of the NBA Finals last year, they have run it back with the same roster. Sure, they came close to making the Finals and tackling the Golden State Warriors.
- A Massive Gamble By The Heat
- Forming A Dynamic Frontcourt With Julius Randle
- Versatile Twin Towers Gets Formed
- Miami Acquires An Elite Offensive Player
- Kyrie Irving Forms A Big Three In Miami
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Nobody knows what would have happened had they made the Finals, but there were some questions about the team going forward. Jimmy Butler is an All-Star who is posting 20.9 PPG this year, but he is best suited to being a side-kick on offense. In other words, Miami relies greatly on 6th man Tyler Herro to do the bulk of the scoring. Not to mention, recently signed Kyle Lowry has not had the impact everybody expected as he nears 38 years of age.
Miami needs to make some big changes to compete with the likes of Milwaukee, Boston, and Philadelphia in the East, and that means going after one of the below five trade packages. It won’t be easy for the Heat to get back to the top of the East, but they can make some major moves to get there. Here are the five trade packages Miami can offer to acquire one of the five available star players.
A Massive Gamble By The Heat
Trade Package: Kyle Lowry, Max Strus for Russell Westbrook
Russell Westbrook has not been great with the Lakers; let’s not put it any other way. His poor shooting and turnover-heavy style of play have not helped Los Angeles reach the heights they should have reached. But this season, he has turned it around since coming off the bench and is averaging 15.8 PPG, 5.2 RPG, and 7.5 APG on 40.6% shooting from the field.
The Miami Heat might want to take a gamble and bring Westbrook on board with the hopes that he acts as an upgrade over Kyle Lowry. Lowry is shooting 35.0% from three, but he isn’t scoring as well as Russ. Westbrook can be a fire-starter off the bench for Miami, which brings Herro into the starting lineup, or starts alongside Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo. Assuming he starts, the starting lineup becomes Russell Westbrook, Tyler Herro, Jimmy Butler, Caleb Martin, and Bam Adebayo. On offense, this team takes a leap, as well as in the athleticism department.
This could be a gamble that could pay off, even if it means losing Max Strus, who can flat-out shoot it. The Lakers probably wouldn’t mind bringing in a better shooter to play alongside James and Davis, and Strus would become the starting shooting guard without a doubt for them.
Forming A Dynamic Frontcourt With Julius Randle
Trade Package: Omer Yurtseven, Duncan Robinson, Caleb Martin, 2023 first-round pick, 2026 first-round pick for Julius Randle
The days of having two above-average big men who control the paint are over. But Miami doesn’t just form a typical frontcourt with a Julius Randle trade, they form a very versatile one. Both Randle and Adebayo can pass, defend, and shoot and will be very good together on both ends of the floor. Sometimes, two versatile forwards are better than one.
A Big Three of Butler, Bam, and Randle would be difficult to defend against and score on. Randle can work on the perimeter, which gives Bam freedom to roam around the block, and the former is also a consistent scorer who can create shots for himself. The three players Miami loses won’t be an issue, but they could be going all-in by sending two first-round picks in this deal. The starting lineup remains Kyle Lowry, Tyler Herro, Jimmy Butler, Julius Randle, and Bam Adebayo.
Randle is posting 20.8 PPG, 8.8 RPG, and 3.0 APG this season, which are respectable numbers but not enough for the best player on a team. In some ways, the New York Knicks might want to trade Randle while his value is high and kick-start a new era with first-round picks. Miami’s picks could do wonders for the Knicks, who can purely focus on RJ Barrett and Jalen Brunson going forward.
Versatile Twin Towers Gets Formed
Trade Package: Omer Yurtseven, Duncan Robinson, Caleb Martin, 2023 first-round pick, 2026 first-round pick for Pascal Siakam
Another option for the Miami Heat would be Pascal Siakam. The Cameroonian star has been a great servant for Toronto, but Miami could maximize his production by surrounding him with another All-Star-caliber big man and a no-nonsense wing in Jimmy Butler. Siakam’s play would improve alongside these two players.
As a scoring forward who can rebound and defend multiple positions, Siakam is posting 24.8 PPG, 9.3 RPG, and 7.7 APG in what can be considered a career year in many aspects. Siakam would elevate the Heat into top-3 rankings with ease because of his tremendous versatility on both ends of the floor, and he has the energy to fit in the culture. Similar to Miami’s Twin-Towers lineup with Randle, the lineup is similar with Kyle Lowry, Tyler Herro, Jimmy Butler, Pascal Siakam, and Bam Adebayo. No doubt, this team improves offensively and defensively and will be much better on the court together.
Meanwhile, the Raptors are only at 9-8 and don’t seem to be ready to compete for a title as they did in 2019 when they had a superstar in Kawhi Leonard. Cashing in on Siakam when the forward is playing well could improve their stash of picks while they continue to develop Scottie Barnes. Overall, this could be a win-win deal for both franchises.
Miami Acquires An Elite Offensive Player
Trade Package: Tyler Herro, Nikola Jovic, Omer Yurtseven, 2023 first-round pick, 2026 first-round pick, 2024 second-round pick for Bradley Beal
Bradley Beal has been in trade rumors for so long, but it doesn’t seem like the shooting guard is letting that get to him. He seems happy in Washington, and since he is getting paid max money, who could blame him? Beal is averaging 22.7 PPG and 5.8 APG on 41.0% from the field, which are below his usual numbers.
But Beal can score with the best of them, and Miami could certainly use a player of his talents. Beal could become the team’s primary scoring option instead of Tyler Herro and give Butler the room to focus on locking down on defense and being a secondary scoring option. As good as Herro is, he is not quite on Beal’s level. Replacing Herro in the starting lineup, Beal joins Lowry in the backcourt and is bolstered by Jimmy Butler, Caleb Martin, and Bam Adebayo. Beal takes this offense to another level with his perimeter scoring and ability to create shots.
Washington might wake up and realize that tanking is the way to go, and accepting a 22-year-old scorer with first-round picks and Nikola Jovic makes a ton of sense. The Wizards can build around Herro and Jovic, while the picks give them the confidence to tank while doing so. Washington can also trade Kristaps Porzingis next to continue their tanking.
Kyrie Irving Forms A Big Three In Miami
Trade Package: Kyle Lowry, Max Strus, Caleb Martin, 2023 first-round pick for Kyrie Irving
The biggest gamble Miami can take is acquiring Kyrie Irving and putting him in the starting lineup with Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo, with Tyler Herro being the designated hitter. In a perfect world, this deal would place the Heat as the favorites to come out of the East because Kyrie is such a special offensive talent.
The guard is averaging 25.2 PPG, 4.8 RPG, and 4.3 APG this season which are clearly All-Star numbers. But Irving is a walking ball of drama, and he seems to be getting worse by the year. If Miami wants to take a massive gamble and hope their culture “fixes” Kyrie, it could work out in their favor because he would become an immediate upgrade over Kyle Lowry. With Kyrie starting games, Miami’s lineup becomes Kyrie Irving, Tyler Herro, Duncan Robinson, Jimmy Butler, and Bam Adebayo. This is an All-Star Team that would be ready to take the league by storm as long as Miami’s culture controls the point guard.
For the Brooklyn Nets, they get a championship point guard who can shoot and defend, along with two shooters and a first-round pick. That means Kevin Durant and Ben Simmons have more shooters who don’t bring drama, and they also have options to focus on the future as well. It remains to be seen how desperate Miami is because this deal could place them over the top if things work out.
