Getty Bam Adebayo #13 and Jimmy Butler #22 of the Miami Heat.
The Miami Heat are stuck in a precarious spot with its roster. Select parts of the roster are ready to win now, with the likes of Jimmy Butler and Kyle Lowry representing the old guard of Heat veterans.
But the roster also has a stock of promising young guys: Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro, and rookie Nikola Jovic. Stuck in the middle are a handful of players whose talent level makes them relatively expendable, including bigs like Dewayne Dedmon and Haywood Highsmith.
This leaves the Heat at a crossroads: should the team go all-in for those aging assets or semi-hit the reset button and add youth to the lineup? According to Heavy Sports’ Sean Deveney, the Heat might be eyeing the latter, with a move for PJ Washington of the Charlotte Hornets highly coveted.
“They’d love to get P.J. Washington, too, because he is going to be a restricted free agent and maybe the Hornets will take back picks for him,” an Eastern Conference GM told Deveney. “The Heat could give up Jovic or a future pick and Caleb Martin to make that happen. If Charlotte decided to move off of Washington, the Heat would be able to make a serious offer, and he fits what they’re doing really well.”
While Adebayo has been terrific for the Heat this season — 21.4 points and 10.1 rebounds per game — he lacks an equally terrifying frontcourt mate. So far, Butler’s played as much forward as he has over the course of his career. Butler is a strong player but is undoubtedly better when slotted into the two-guard or three slot.
Miami Interested in ‘Big Guy’ Upgrade at Deadline
According to another Eastern Conference executive, the Heat have been hot on the trail for a frontcourt upgrade for Bam Adebayo.
“[The Heat] have been hoping that a good young big guy would sort of fall into their laps, like a P.J. Washington or Jarred Vanderbilt from Utah,” the executive told Deveney two weeks ago.
PJ Washington corner pocket 💰
“But those guys have not been actively shopped, not yet at least, and if they were, other teams could probably beat out the Heat’s offer. But those are guys they’d like to get hold of. If Charlotte has a fire sale, Miami will be right there trying to get Washington, hoping they can give up something like [Max] Strus and [Jovic] and another guy—Omer Yurtseven, or [Gabe] Vincent—plus a pick to make it happen. You’d have to pay Washington.”
Aside from Washington’s decent play this season — 15.2 points per night on 42% from the field — there’s one more reason the exec linked him to the Heat:
“But you know, [Washington] is a Kentucky guy and you know how Pat Riley likes Kentucky guys.”
Caleb Martin Named Heat’s ‘Best Asset’
The Heat will likely have to throw in its best asset into any trade for an upgrade or to sweeten a bad deal, like one involving Duncan Robinson’s contract.
According to an Eastern Conference executive, that “best asset” is Caleb Martin.
“Caleb Martin, if you are asking other teams, he’s probably the best asset,” the exec told Deveney. “He has a decent enough contract, he can play a few different spots, and he can fit off the bench or be a starter. If they make a deal, it is probably going to have to include Martin.”
A textbook tag of the roller and closeout by Jimmy Butler.
Even in his mid-30s, he’s still at the heart of the conversation for an All-Defensive Team in my opinion.
Caleb Martin represents everything that the Heat pride themselves on: a player whom the organization has squeezed every ounce of potential out of. The forward has hit on 40% of his threes over the last two seasons, making him a nice scoring addition to teams looking for playoff pieces ahead of the trade deadline.