Heat Urged to Make ‘Panic’ Move & Trade for Kyle Lowry Replacement

With starting point guard Kyle Lowry struggling to start the season, the Miami Heat are being urged to add another PG via trade: Malcolm Brogdon of the Portland Trail Blazers.

Greg Swartz of Bleacher Report believes the Heat “look like they desperately need a point guard upgrade,” and he pitched Brogdon as a potential answer at the position for the 1-4 Heat.

Swartz proposed five “panic” trades for teams off to a cold start. Miami is currently in last place in the Eastern Conference, and he thinks sending Lowry in addition to an unprotected 2029 first-round pick to Portland in exchange for Brogdon would benefit the Heat greatly.

“Brogdon going to Miami makes all the sense in the world,” Swartz wrote on November 1. “The 30-year-old would be a big upgrade over Lowry. He’s averaging 19.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, 4.0 assists while shooting 41.7 percent from three off the Blazers’ bench thus far.”

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Kyle Lowry Is Off to Rough Start for Heat

Lowry, 37, is averaging just 6.0 points, 4.2 rebounds and 4.2 assists in 30.8 minutes over his first five games. The veteran point guard is entering the final year of his three-year, $85 million contract with the Heat. He’s due $29.7 million this season, which Swartz doesn’t think will be a deterrent. “Lowry’s expiring contract gives the Blazers future salary relief,” Swartz wrote.

Last season was also a down year for Lowry. He missed 27 games due to injury and finished with averages of 11.2 points, 5.1 assists and 4.1 rebounds. Fans and analysts alike were questioning whether the veteran PG’s play was worth his salary heading into the season, and Lowry heard the whispers.

“I don’t have to prove anything to anybody, to be honest,” Lowry said before the regular season kicked off, via the South Florida Sun Sentinel. “I just have to prove things to myself, and that’s all I care about.”

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Malcolm Brogdon Off to Solid Start in Backup PG Role

Brogdon averaged 26.0 minutes last year, finishing with 14.9 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.7 assists. He’s backing up rookie lottery pick Scoot Henderson this season, and he’s off to a hot start. The 6-foot-5, 229-pound guard is averaging 18.2 points, 4.6 rebounds and 4.4 assists through five games.

Last year’s 6th Man of the Year award winner with the Boston Celtics, Brogdon could very well get that honor for a second straight year if he keeps this up.

There’s little doubt he would make an excellent addition to a Heat team that could use a floor general, but the primary question is whether Trail Blazers GM Joe Cronin would want to work with the Heat on a possible trade.

Former Blazers superstar Damian Lillard has publicly stated that Cronin refused to trade him to Miami or work with him in an agreeable fashion when Lillard had requested a trade after the 2022-23 season. Considering how long, drawn out and contentious things were between the Heat and Trail Blazers during that ordeal, it’s unlikely the two teams would want to head to the negotiating table again so soon.

Still, Lowry’s struggles are real, and if a trade for a player such as Brogdon doesn’t happen soon, the Heat could continue to struggle.

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