In November, we learned that what had been rumored for a long time has finally become a reality and that the Miami Heat’s sharpshooting forward Duncan Robinson has officially been listed as ‘available’ in trade talks, according to HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto.
“With the emergence of Max Strus and Caleb Martin, Miami has made Duncan Robinson available in trade talks, league sources told HoopsHype,” Scotto reported. “Robinson is shooting a career-low 35.4 percent from the field and has moved to a full-time reserve role for the first time since his rookie season. He’s owed $57.49 million over the next three seasons if you include his player option for the 2025-26 season.”
Duncan Robinson has the ‘Worst Contract in the League’
After learning that Robinson is officially listed as available in trade talks, Heavy Sports reached out to some league sources, and one Eastern Conference executive told Heavy NBA Insider Sean Deveney that the first obstacle in a Robinson trade is his $90 million contract.
“You can argue that, for its length, he has the worst contract in the league. There are other big ones that are bad, like what the Knicks are paying Julius Randle or the Ben Simmons contract, but those are guys who have value because they can still produce. And there are bad ones like (Davis) Bertans in Dallas, where he just got overpaid because he was in the right place at the right time.
With Robinson, though, he has a big deal, a long deal, and a bad deal—he has all three there. The Heat have him signed through 2026, and you just do not know what level he is going to be able to help you at from here on. He has been really bad as a shooter, and we know he can’t defend, so what is he bringing to the table?” the Eastern Conference executive told Heavy Sports.
Despite having what can be argued as the worst contract in the league, Robinson still has the unique upside of his streaky shooting, and there could be two rebuilding teams that could be willing to take on the contract of Robinson in order to potentially flip him for more in a year or two.
“Teams need shooting, they will always need shooting. But there is no need to pay at that level for shooting, and there is no need to trade for a guy with that contract, not for another year or more and not until he gets his shot together.
The only hope they’d have is a rebuilding team like Utah, if you sent them Robinson and a draft pick for a guy like (Malik) Beasley, then Utah could hold onto Robinson until he starts shooting better and look to flip him next year for another draft pick. Indiana could do that with Myles Turner going to Miami as another example. That’s the only hope of trading him,” the executive continued.
The money matches up with Turner whose $80 million contract expires at the end of the season making the big man an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season. Would the Heat be willing to trade for a short-term rental to offload the Robinson contract? First, some team has to be willing to take it.
Heat ‘Showcasing’ Duncan Robinson to Lift Trade Stock
While the executive only lists two teams that they believe could deal for Robinson, that could change as the Heat have been making more of an effort to give Robinson extended minutes. Heat beat writer Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel recently shared that part of Robinson getting more time is in hopes of possibly increasing his trade stock.
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Exec Reveals Hope for Heat to Trade League’s ‘Worst Contract’ for $80 Million Star