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While the top teams of the Eastern Conference got better in the offseason, the Miami Heat lost a key rotation player in Caleb Martin with franchise star Jimmy Butler getting older and could potentially enter free agency after the season.
With these in mind, Grant Hughes of Bleacher Report proposed a trade that would land them a 20-point scorer to add to their core and as insurance if Butler leaves next summer.
Miami Heat receive: Kyle Kuzma
Washington Wizards receive: Duncan Robinson, Nikola Jović, Josh Richardson and a 2030 first-round pick (protected 1-10)
Kuzma was the Los Angeles Lakers‘ fourth-to-third-best player when they beat the Heat in the Orlando Bubble for the NBA title in 2020. He’s grown a lot as a player after the Lakers sent him to the Washington Wizards in the Russell Westbrook trade in 2021.
“Kuzma is a demonstrated 20-point scorer with championship experience in his not-so-distant past. Stranded in Washington these past three years, he comes with the standard “good stats, bad team” concerns, but that might also mean the Heat could expect efficiency gains from him in a more functional, talent-rich environment,” Hughes wrote.
Kuzma is coming off his most productive season as the main star of a lottery team, averaging career-highs of 22.2 points on 46.3% shooting and 4.2 assists while tallying 6.6 rebounds per game.
He was a consistent 20-point scorer over the last two seasons. He is about to enter the second year of a four-year declining contract worth up to $102 million.
Nikola Jovic as Sacrificial Lamb
Jovic showed flashes of his potential last season, averaging 7.7 points on 45/40/70 shooting splits with 4.2 rebounds and 2.0 assists across 46 games. In 38 starts last season, the 21-year-old Serbian forward was good for 8.7 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.1 assists.
But Jovic is still years away from realizing his full potential with the Heat in a win-now mode with Butler turning 35 and two NBA Finals loses over the last four years.
With the Wizards seeking two first-round picks for Kuzma, Jovic and the Heat’s 2031 protected pick might convince them.
Kuzma, 28, could jolt the Heat’s offense as Hughes noted to compete in the Eastern Conference.
“A capable self-creator, solid passer (4.2 assists per game in 2023-24) and good enough catch-and-shoot threat (35.5 percent last year) to draw attention, Kuzma could juice the Heat’s attack and take over a starting gig from Haywood Highsmith, Jaime Jaquez Jr. or Tyler Herro, depending on what Erik Spoelstra thinks his first unit needs most,” Hughes wrote.
Hughes also suggested changing the 2031 pick to swap rights in 2026 and 2028 if the Wizards do not like the protection or want a draft capital that can be conveyed earlier.
Potential Jimmy Butler Replacement
Seven years younger than Butler, Kuzma could also be the Heat’s insurance and a leverage play if the sixth-time NBA All-Star decides to opt out of his player option next season to test free agency.
A new report suggested the possibility of Butler leaving the Heat after this season.
Butler “likes Brooklyn, according to sources close to the player,” New York Post’s Brian Lewis wrote on August 31, suggesting the Nets as the six-time All-Star’s next team.
Butler holds a $52.4 million player option for the 2025-26 season but is currently extension-eligible and can sign a one-year, $58.6 million extension tucked into the final year of his current deal or a two-year, $112.9 million extension that would void the player option, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks.
If Butler leaves, a Kuzma-Bam Adebayo-Herro trio along with Terry Rozier and Jaquez could sustain the Heat’s playoff streak. At worse, the Heat could use Kuzma’s team-friendly contract to dangle in a bigger star trade to pair with Adebayo in the post-Butler era.
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Heat Trade Proposal Flips Nikola Jovic for $102 Million Star