Getty President Pat Riley of the Miami Heat addresses the media
Going back to the offseason, there has been one major question mark for the Miami Heat, and it has been how will the team replace PJ Tucker following his departure and signing with the Philadelphia 76ers. Their plan has been to give Caleb Martin a run at power forward after re-signing him this offseason. Martin hasn’t been awful, but when you look at the team’s 5-7 record this season, it’s evident they could use an upgrade at that position.
They have been linked to a good amount of power forwards, but will they pull the trigger? Jae Crowder and Bojan Bogdanovic remain players that the team could potentially take a look at in the midseason trade market. KJ Martin has been a young player with upside named as well. But, one NBA executive recently shared a new name with Heavy Sports.
Could the Heat Pursue Julius Randle?
Recently, one NBA executive recently told Heavy Sports’ NBA Insider Sean Deveney that another name could emerge and the Heat, with their need for a power forward, could be a rightful home for New York Knicks big man Julius Randle. After being asked, any teams that should/ could inquire about Julius Randle’s availability? The Heat were linked.
“The Knicks would not trade him just for cap space, just because he got the big contract. Remember he is a CAA guy, and CAA is Leon (Rose’s) old agency. But sending him back to the Lakers would be something both sides would probably welcome. But what are the Lakers going to give back, Russ (Westbrook)? The Knicks don’t see Randle as that much of a problem that they need to dump him. If the Lakers included one of their picks (2027 or 2029 first-rounders), that would change the Knicks’ thinking but it is hard to see the Lakers doing that.
Miami is probably the big team that will be looking for a power forward and he would at least be interesting there with Bam (Adebayo) and Jimmy Butler. They’d have to make up for him on the defensive end, but they are good at scheming that way and they’ve been really bad on the offensive end. The Knicks would have to take back (Duncan) Robinson and a couple of their young guys like (Omer) Yurtseven and (Nikola Jovic), something like that. The Knicks would have to trust Obi (Toppin) to take that spot, too. You could make it work but it might not be the best thing for either side, really,” the executive told Heavy Sports.
Potential Trade Package for Julius Randle to the Heat
According to the executive, it would take a few players for the Heat to land Randle. The players he named were their younger developing stars Omer Yurtseven and Nikola Jovic.
Miami Heat Receive: Julius Randle
New York Knicks Receive: Duncan Robinson, Omer Yurtseven, and Nikola Jovic
The Heat are able to offload the giant contract of Robinson in the deal. However, Jovic has shown flashes that the team may want to hang onto. Even, Yurtseven has extreme upside with everything he can do and the versatility he brings as a seven-footer. At this point, you know what you get with Randle. Even in the Heat program, it’s hard to see how much he is able to make an impact in South Beach should a trade be made. Especially if you think Jovic or Yurtseven have potential to develop into something semi-special.