• The Miami Heat need to empty out their draft assets to get two stars from the 76ers and Bulls
• This proposed blockbuster trade sees James Harden and DeMar DeRozan join Miami in a three-team deal
• The 76ers get to move on from James Harden for Tyler Herro while the Bulls get an interesting package of veteran players they can trade for more assets
The Miami Heat need to find a magic move before the start of the season to keep the contending window of Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo alive. The Celtics and Bucks took massive strides forward this summer, with the Portland Trail Blazers single-handedly ruining Miami’s summer. But the new pecking order in the East could force Miami to part with draft assets and maximize their win-now window.
The Philadelphia 76ers need to get off James Harden, and it doesn’t look like the Clippers can get it done. Instead, they could upgrade the quality of incoming players by acquiring Tyler Herro along with a hometown hero looking to play out the final years of his career in Philly.
The Bulls haven’t had any direction and could maximize a big return on draft assets by letting go of DeMar DeRozan and taking bad contracts from both Miami and Philadelphia.
Trade Details
Chicago Bulls Receive: Duncan Robinson, Caleb Martin, P.J. Tucker, 2027 First-Round Pick (MIA), 2029 First-Round Pick (MIA)
Philadelphia 76ers Receive: Tyler Herro, Kyle Lowry, 2028 First-Round Pick Swap (MIA)
Miami Heat Receive: James Harden, DeMar DeRozan
This trade would serve the purposes of all three franchises and continue a late-offseason push to shake up the Eastern Conference.
The Chicago Bulls Acquire An Interesting Mix Of Assets
If the Bulls want to buck a trend of asset mismanagement, accepting an offer like this for DeMar DeRozan would be the best thing they can do. Instead of treading water in the East with DeRozan, Zach LaVine, and Nikola Vucevic, the Bulls can start the process of a rebuild by acquiring two first-round picks and a variety of players for an expiring contract in DeRozan.
The returning players aren’t superstars but can help the Bulls pick a direction. They can either start tanking now that they no longer owe future picks to the Orlando Magic, or find other trades to send LaVine and Vucevic to new destinations that could fetch even bigger offers. If they’re content with continuing down this path, Robinson, Martin, and Tucker could be win-now players expected to be high-value role-players on this roster.
The best would be to trade all their usable pieces, including Tucker and Martin from this trade to a contender that would part with draft assets for their proven playoff play. Robinson could also be moved, but they’re likely to eat his contract and hope he rehabilitates his value with the franchise.
The Philadelphia 76ers Make The Best Of A Bad Situation
The 76ers have come close to forcing a haul of assets from the Clippers for James Harden, but the LA franchise seems reluctant to answer that price. Given the players that would likely come to Philly are the likes of Terance Mann, the 76ers will feel worried about their chances of competing in the short term. For that reason alone, acquiring an experienced youngster like Herro would be a far better move.
Herro and Tyrese Maxey can be a supercharged offensive backcourt, taking turns with their playmaking and guaranteeing solid guard play next to Joel Embiid. Herro averaged 20.1 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 4.2 assists last season and could be of value to the 76ers due to his production as well as his age. It’s hard to find any team that could be interested in Harden that would give the 76ers a player better than Herro.
Kyle Lowry is a Philadelphia native and could be a stopgap bench option. He’s on an expiring contract and could still give rotational minutes at the spot, forming a bench backcourt duo with De’Anthony Melton. Lowry could be retained on a discount after his contract expires, given the 76ers are his hometown, and he could retire playing for the city while contending alongside Embiid. He averaged 11.2 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 5.1 assists last season.
The Miami Heat Join The Celtics And Bucks At The Top Of The East
The Heat missed out on Damian Lillard because they upset the Portland Trail Blazers with their actions in the trade saga. This also put them at a disadvantage when the Blazers were looking to trade Jrue Holiday away, sending him to the Celtics. The Heat’s two biggest rivals have massively improved as a result of these trades, while they have lost more valuable players than signed. Acquiring Harden and DeRozan would be the perfect way for them to re-introduce their name in the fight.
The Heat are masters of producing valuable role-players out of nowhere. They have young and impressionable players on their roster even after losing so much depth in this deal that can fill out minutes behind their big four. Harden averaged xxx last season, leading the league in assists. That’s the perfect floor general for Miami. With Harden fighting for a future contract, he’s likely going to do everything he can to prove he can fit into Heat Culture to maximize his future in the NBA.
DeRozan has been very good with the Bulls in the last two years, but the team hasn’t been competitive enough to give him a real spotlight. Forming a wing duo with Butler could allow DeRozan to use his improved shooting skillset to perform as a complementary player that can take a lot of the regular-season load that Butler doesn’t do.
The Bulls forward averaged 24.5 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 5.1 assists last season and could find his way into a contending situation for the first time since being traded away from the Raptors in 2019.
A Trade Where Everyone Can Leave Happy
The Bulls cannot find any team on the market that would net them two unprotected picks for DeRozan at this point. Given the position the franchise has been in, this would be the perfect first move for a deconstruction of the roster so that they can rebuild once again but with a load of draft assets in their arsenal. They can easily flip the veterans they get in this roster, or could push on a misguided effort to contend with the newfound depth.
The 76ers get the best possible player they could in a deal for the disgruntled Harden, while also getting a hometown favorite in Lowry. Getting a pick-swap from the Heat in 2030 could be massive for them, as the Heat won’t have their current superstar core in that year and the 76ers will likely be past the Joel Embiid era in seven years’ time.
The Heat will wince at the thought of losing all the picks that they do in this trade, but picks won’t help them win right now. Jimmy Butler has proven that he can carry a team through the postseason and is a legitimate superstar player on the court. It’s time for Pat Riley to stop trying to lowball teams and go all-in to give his superstar a genuine chance to bring him a ring. With a former MVP and a multiple-time All-Star, the Heat could manage to do exactly that.
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