Heat Trade Pitch Lands $215 Million All-Star, Keeps Butler, Adebayo in Miami

The Miami Heat have been known for “whale hunting” in the offseason for players who can deliver championships, and the organization is primed to do so again this summer.

A great deal of discussion around the Heat has been about the potential for the team to trade Jimmy Butler, who has led the locker room to three Eastern Conference Finals appearances and two NBA Finals appearances over the last five years.

However, Bill Simmons of The Ringer suggested a trade proposal that would keep Butler and big man Bam Adebayo in South Florida while still netting the Heat an elite offensive point guard from the Atlanta Hawks.

“Trae [Young] for [Tyler] Herro and [Duncan] Robinson and Miami’s pick in the [2024] draft — they’ll have to draft a guy and trade him — and then their [2029] unprotected first,” Simmons said on “The Bill Simmons Podcast” that aired on June 10. “And then, if you’re Miami, you keep Butler, you have Bam. Trae, Heat culture — this is the kind of guy, he’s a warrior. If you go back and watch him in the playoffs a couple years ago, he’s unafraid. He’s [a Heat] kinda guy. He’s competitive as [expletive].”

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Hawks Likely to Put Trae Young or Dejounte Murray on Trade Block This Summer

The Hawks own the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 draft on June 26 and 27 and have exited the playoffs in the first round in each of the past two years after making a run to the Eastern Conference Finals following the 2020-21 regular season.

Atlanta made a trade with the San Antonio Spurs for Dejounte Murray in June 2022, though his addition has not been the needle-mover the Hawks might have hoped. As a result, several analysts have suggested that a reset is likely coming to Atlanta this offseason, meaning that either Young or Murray will be on the move.

Murray is playing on a favorable contract of four years and $114 million that keeps him locked up through the 2026-27 campaign and includes a player option the following season. Young, meanwhile, is playing on a five-year deal worth $215 million that keeps him under contract for two more seasons with a player option in 2026-27.

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Trae Young Can Provide Heat With Elite Offense, Playmaking

The cost and logistics of both deals render Young the more likely trade piece from the Hawks’ perspective. Meanwhile, the Heat could benefit greatly from the playmaking and consistent scoring from Young, who has shown himself as one of the league’s premiere offensive players over the course of his six-year career.

Young has earned three trips to the All-Star game, including one last season, on the strength of career averages of 25.5 points, 9.5 assists, 3.6 rebounds and 1 steal per game, according to Basketball Reference. He has averaged north of 28 points twice and boasts a career 3-point percentage of 43.6%, which would make him the most dangerous offensive option on the Heat’s roster.

Herro has put up 18.1 points per game on 38.5% shooting from deep and has a reputation as a dangerous, albeit streaky, shooter. Miami signed Robinson to a five-year, $90 million deal in August 2021, which has not paid dividends.

Robinson’s 3-point percentage and minutes per game dipped significantly following the signing of that deal, hitting career lows (not including his rookie campaign) of 32.8% from deep and 16.5 minutes per night two years ago. Robinson bounced back last season to average 39.5% from behind the arc and 28 minutes of court time, though the Heat made the playoffs as the No. 8 seed and were dispatched in the first round in just five games by the Boston Celtics.

If Miami wants to retain Butler and compete in a winnable East next season, the team probably needs to make a trade for an impact player — and Young may be the best option.

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