The Miami Heat currently sit 10th in the NBA’s Eastern Conference and look anything but a genuine championship contender to begin the season.
After a quiet summer, where the Heat lost both P.J. Tucker and Markieff Morris to free agency, their roster looks frail and consigned to the shot creation struggles we saw from them during the playoffs last season. Luckily, Sam Quinn of CBS Sports has proposed a trade with the Golden State Warriors, that could reinvigorate Miami’s rotation while also setting them up for long-term future success.
This trade will never ever happen, but we’re talking about Warriors trades in Slack so sure, I’ll piss off two fanbases tonight
Heat get a clean slate with some picks that become more valuable with this trade
Warriors go all the way in with a Steph-Poole-Jimmy-Wiggins-Dray five
The proposed trade looks like this:
Warriors Get: Jimmy Butler and Duncan Robinson
Heat Get: Klay Thompson, James Wiseman, Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody, a 2026 first-round draft pick, and a 2028 first-round draft pick.
While this trade proposal might certainly be a little out there, it actually makes sense for both parties. The Warriors would add Jimmy Butler’s grit and bully-ball style of play along with Duncan Robinson’s movement shooting to help double-down on the final few years of Stephen Curry’s career. While the Heat would be getting some top-level young prospects and an elite sniper in Klay Thompson who can also initiate some offense and defend at a high level.
Why Would Miami Make The Deal?
On the surface, signing off on Quinn’s trade proposal would be waiving goodbye to any hopes of winning a championship this season, and essentially entering into the territory of a rebuilding franchise.
However, Thompson’s presence in this trade would indicate that Miami could remain competitive whilst developing Wiseman, Kuminga, Moody, and Nikola Jovic, while also giving a bigger role to Tyler Herro and impressive big man Omer Yurtsven.
ASK IRA: Are the Miami #Heat too old and too slow? #NBA t.co/EOlkPRjhal
It’s no secret that Miami boasts an aging roster with some clear-cut flaws when it comes to breaking down half-court defenses. Quinn’s trade would inject new life into Erik Spoelstra’s team while ensuring the likes of Bam Adebayo and Herro remain with the team to help usher in a new era, and that could be an exciting time on South Beach.
Trading Butler Could ‘Free’ Bam Adebayo
Earlier this month, Heavy on Sports’ Sean Deveney spoke with a Western Conference coach on a range of issues, and Jimmy Butler’s role with the Heat is one that became a talking point. During the conversation, the coach, who spoke with Deveney under the condition of anonymity, noted how he believes Butler’s presence on the Heat roster could be limiting Adebayo’s room for growth.
“Because what you get from Jimmy is great, he is a fun player to watch play, but man, he has to work so hard for everything he gets…All the credit in the world to [Butler] because he does that work, he is not afraid of doing the work. And they’re paying him [$145 million] over the next three years until he’s 36 so they think he can keep doing that. But the problem is, somewhere along the line, you need Bam to pass him on the food chain. And he’s not going to pass the guy making $50 million,” The coach said.
This dude Bam Adebayo has the potential to be a GENERATIONAL talent, if he isn’t already. All the tools are there.
Adebayo, 25, is having an excellent start to the new season, averaging 19.1 points, 9.1 rebounds, and 3.4 assists while shooting 53.1% from the field – so, if the Heat can bring back a haul of young, talented players along with some future draft assets and a sure-fire Hall of Famer in return for Butler and Robinson, one would hope Pat Riley would at least consider picking up the phone.
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Wild Trade Proposal Sees Heat Land $270 Million Worth of Combined Talent