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Pat Riley resigned from his position as the head coach of the New York Knicks to take over as team president and head coach of the Miami Heat. In his time in Miami, he has been able to pull of acquisitions for players like Alonzo Mourning, Dan Majerle, Dwyane Wade, and of course, LeBron James and Chris Bosh to assemble the big three, a move that changed the NBA forever. His most recent splash of a move was finding a way out of the hole that giving Dion Waiters $52 million, James Johnson $60 million, and Hassan Whiteside $98 million put them in and finding a way to land Jimmy Butler. The move has paid off in an NBA Finals run and another Eastern Conference Finals rn that had them within a game of the 2021-22 NBA Finals.
Now, fans are calling for the Heat to make a move to acquire the Atlanta Hawks All-Star point guard Trae Young, who was reported to be considering asking for a trade. In a report for Bleacher Report, Chris Haynes writes:
“Rival executives in attendance at the NBA’s annual G League Winter Showcase are of the belief that Atlanta Hawks star point guard Trae Young could be the next player on a rookie max extension to request a trade if the team doesn’t make inroads come postseason time.”
One Heat fan took to the team’s Reddit page to share the news saying, “If Pat Riley ever wants to reset the clock, but still compete…” and fans on Reddit were quick to agree with the idea.
Charles Barkley Calls for Heat to Start Over
Heat fans on Reddit aren’t the only people suggesting that the Heat press reset. Charles Barkley, on a December episode of Inside the NBA, suggested that it could be time for the struggling Heat to blow it up and start over.
“It might be time to break the team up and start over,” Barkley said. “They got some contracts that’s like… they’re no good. So, they need to start over. That’s my personal opinion. It’s like, hey, trade some of these guys to contenders or teams that [can] get us some young guys and start over.”
Trae Young could be an excellent option for a young player to reset Heat culture with. Bam Adebayo still seems unlikely to be traded, and those two would be excellent building blocks for the Heat organization. Young is one of the best scorers in the NBA and is also a gifted facilitator. Adebayo can clean up some of the mistakes he makes defensively.
Young Trade Unlikely to Happen This Season
As Haynes says in his additional reporting, it’s unlikely that Trae Young will be traded this season as he is waiting for if the team is able to make “inroads” by the time the postseason comes around. The player that the Heat would likely headline a Trae Young deal seems to be Tyler Herro. A backcourt with two ball-dominant and scoring guards wouldn’t benefit either of them.
Herro is unavailable to be traded until after this season, following his max contract extension. Could that be the starting point for talks between the Miami Heat and Atlanta Hawks? Would that help solve the struggles in South Beach? Does Pat Riley have another move to change the future of the Heat franchise? We will see if the Hawks continue to struggle and if Young does indeed seek greener pastures.
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