Miami Heat Must Trade Dwyane Wade to Build Around LeBron James and Win Big

The Miami Heat need to trade Dwyane Wade now in order to maximize the talents and time of LeBron James and form a new dynasty in the NBA.

Don't get me wrong, Dwyane Wade is an amazing basketball player, the second biggest reason for the Heat's dominance this season, and far and away the greatest player in Miami Heat History.

However, it's time for Heat President Pat Riley to lay aside the warm and fuzzy emotions of drafting Wade and watching him turn into the second best shooting guard in the league. It's time for Riley to get cut-throat, do what's best for the Miami Heat franchise and not what's best for Dwyane Wade, and trade Wade now!

Dwyane Wade recently turned 30 years old and has always seemed to be a star that can find the injury bug as well as any. He has played in just 82.9% of his team's games since coming into the league and just 73.5% of the team's games this season.

By comparison Kobe Bryant has 92.3% of his team's career games despite dealing with many more injuries and issues than Wade. The fact of the matter is Dwyane Wade is a declining basketball superstar, his trade value may never be higher than it is right now and the Heat would be wise to trade him before this year's trade deadline.

While it is true that Wade is shooting a career high in field goal and free throw percentage it is also true that he is getting to the charity stripe less than he has since he was a rookie nine years ago and that it is also true that his increased field goal percentage is due to hardly ever even attempting a three-pointer (something Heat fans probably appreciate as he is shooting a career low .077 from distance).

Wade is also averaging the least amount of rebounds since his rookie year and the Heat have proven this year that they have no problem winning a high percentage of games without him on the court.

Again, don't get me wrong, I do believe Dwyane Wade is still a superstar in this league, that he should remain one of the top two shooting guards in the league for the next few years and that the Heat have the best team in the Eastern Conference at present and one of the top two team's in the league along with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

However, winning one Eastern Conference championship is not what the Miami Heat President Pat Riley had in mind when he signed LeBron "not five, not six, not seven" James.

Every team in the league should be focused on winning as many championships as possible, especially a team with the most complete and talented basketball player on the planet in King James.

Trading away a superstar, let alone one who has been the face of the franchise for years is always a difficult thing, but something that every team should consider if it will improve the team and lengthen their shelf-life as title contenders.

The Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal pairing might have had another Conference championship or two and maybe even another NBA title in their future. However, after trading the self-professed M.D.E. (Most Dominant Ever) O'Neal for what basically turned out to be Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol, the Lakers went on to 3-Peat as conference champions, winning two NBA titles in the process and still have what most consider to be a top-two team in the Western Conference, as well as the most realistic trading pieces needed to acquire Dwight Howard, the current most dominant center in the league, from the Orlando Magic and continue their reign of terror on the Western Conference.

That is what maintained dominance looks like.

Dwyane Wade needs to be traded now if the Miami Heat want to build the NBA's next great dynasty and here are the five best trades to accomplish this goal:

Trade Opportunity One: Dwyane Wade & Mike Miller for Rajon Rondo & Ray Allen

Heat Trade: Dwyane Wade and Mike Miller

Celtics Trade: Rajon Rondo, Paul Pierce, Celtics and Clippers #1 picks and $3mil cash

Boston Celtics General Manager Danny Ainge has been shopping each member of the "Big Four" in hopes of finding a franchise star to build around at best and extreme cap relief at worst.

However the fact of the matter is that there may not be a team in the league that has the right pieces to trade for Kevin Garnett and his monster salary or Paul Pierce and his high and relatively lengthy salary. Ray Allen would be easy to move if he were younger or under contract longer than just this season; as-is the best the Celtics may be able to get for Allen is Michael Beasley, a mercurial small forward who may refuse to sign an extension with the team next season anyhow.

Rajon Rondo of course is an All-Star point guard and one of the five best in the entire league. Rondo is also extremely moody and known to rub coaches and teammates the wrong way, which is perhaps the biggest reason the Celtics are so intent on trading him.

They failed to acquire Chris Paul by offering Rondo and it has been reported the Golden State Warriors also turned down a Monta Ellis for Rondo swap.There is a possibility that the Celtics could trade Rondo and Jermaine O'Neal for Pau Gasol of the Lakers but they may not want the aging power forward with the mega contract who is more suited to being a second option than "the man" on a title contending team.

Dwayne Wade would be the perfect player to not only be the new face of the Boston Celtics, but the perfect player to also inspire free agents next season to consider singing with the Celtics and returning the team to glory.

The Miami Heat would be foolish not to consider this trade.

Rondo is the best pure floor general in the game today and one of the best defenders at the point guard position. The one knock on his game is that he cannot shoot the long ball with accuracy but even he is shooting 305% better than Dwyane Wade is so this one knock is an irrelevant one where the Heat are considered.

Ray Allen certainly has the long ball covered and would be a perfect fit at the shooting guard position next to LeBron James.

This trade would instantly make the Miami Heat, head and shoulders the best team in the league, not merely a top-two team with OKC.

This trade would also in effect, exchange a declining 30 year old shooting guard for a 26 year old, yet to hit his prime point guard. On top of all of this the Heat would even receive two first round picks in the deepest draft since 1996 which they could use to upgrade their depth and draft Wade's heir apparent at shooting guard as well.

This trade is a no-brainer in my mind for both the Miami Heat and the Boston Celtics.

Trade Opportunity Two: Dwyane Wade & Mike Miller for Monta Ellis & David Lee

Heat Trade: Dwyane Wade and Mike Miller

Warriors Trade: Monta Ellis, David Lee and Klay Thompson

The Golden State Warriors are in a state of flux at present. The team has not been relevant since Baron Davis led them to a shocking playoff series victory against the heavily favored Dallas Mavericks five years ago. It has even been reported that the Warriors are entertaining trading multiple talented young players on their roster for a mere half season rental of Dwight "Superman" Howard in the hopes that they can convince him to re-sign with them next season.

Needless to say, the Warriors are a desperate team looking for a new franchise star and hoping to be relevant again.

Enter Dwyane Wade.

Dwyane Wade would instantly become the greatest player the Warriors franchise has ever had and in turn may single-handedly transform Golden State into a team that marquee free agents want to play for, something the Warriors have never experienced before.

Golden State is also actually one of the few small market teams that Wade may relish playing for.

The Warriors are known for having a rabid fan base, a magnificent home court advantage and just happen to have one of Wade's best friends in Dorell Wright. Playing along side a great young point guard who can spread the court with his long range marksmanship in Steph Curry is also a huge plus.

The Miami Heat should also think long and hard about this trade.

While Wade is undoubtedly one of the top two shooting guards in the league, Monta Ellis is questionably the third best. Ellis is also nearly four years younger than Wade, much less expensive and is a better three point shooter and free throw shooter than Wade. David Lee is also a very solid big man who can play center against many teams and would be one of the best backup power forwards in the league in Miami. 

Klay Thompson is a pure shooter who may turn out to be one of the best long range marksmen in the league quite soon.

This is a solid trade for both teams and should be considered by each respective franchise.

Trade Opportunity Three: Dwyane Wade & Mike Miller for Lowry, Martin & Dalembert

Heat Trade: Dwyane Wade and Mike Miller

Rockets Trade: Kyle Lowry, Kevin Martin, Samuel Dalembert, the Knicks #1 pick and $3mil cash

The Houston Rockets are desperate for a franchise star to build around and attract free agents to Houston.

They had and still have a very strong interest in the Lakers Pau Gasol, but if Dwyane Wade was made available to them they would be crazy to pass up the opportunity to acquire the future first ballot Hall of Fame player.

If the Rockets were to pull this trade off they would have the cap space necessary to next season to offer a large contract to a true center like Roy Hibbert or Brook Lopez and still bring back much of their young talent.

Realistically the Rockets 2012-13 roster could look as follows:

PG: Dragic / Flynn

SG: Wade / Miller

SF: Budinger / Parsons

PF: Scola / Patterson

C:   Lopez / Hill

The Miami Heat would certainly not be receiving a super star in this trade and that will irk the occasional fan. However, receiving three quality starters and an additional 1st round draft pick for one super star and an overpaid backup who rarely plays is a very solid return, especially when the Heat already have two bona fide super stars at the other two starting positions.

Kyle Lowry is a much better point guard than either Mario Chalmers or Norris Cole. Samuel Dalembert, for all his limitations offensively is far superior to Joel Anthony. Kevin Martin, while not in Wade's class may actually be a better compliment to LeBron James as his long range accuracy will spread the floor for King James and Martin's stellar off-the-ball play will allow the rock to be in James' hands more often.

If the Heat were to pull the trigger on this trade they would literally be a flawless team without one single weakness.

At present they lack size which would be solved by the addition of Dalembert and three point shooting ability which would be solved by the addition of both Martin and Lowry.

This trade is perhaps the least "sexy" of any of the five possibilities but actually may be the trade that is best for the Heat.

All things considered, this is a solid trade for both teams and one which the Heat should strongly consider.

Trade Opportunity Four: Wade, Miller and Cole for Williams, Lopez and Morrow

Heat Trade: Dwyane Wade, Mike Miller and Norris Cole

Nets Trade: Deron Williams, Brook Lopez, Anthony Morrow and $3mil cash

The New Jersey Nets are dedicated to landing Dwight Howard via free agency next season and pairing him with Deron Williams. However they also know they may lose one or both to the Dallas Mavericks, Deron Williams hometown team.

Dwyane Wade is not an unrestricted free agent like Deron Williams is.

If the Nets can acquire Wade they won't have to deal with any "what if" scenarios like they will with Williams. They won't have to hope he will re-sign or hope they can surround him with the talent necessary to make him want to stay. They will have Wade locked up, and as such will have the perfect player to draw other free agents, most notably Dwight Howard to Brooklyn.

Having the best post player in the game and what some consider to be the best perimeter player in the game would be a great way to start building a champion, no doubt about it.

The Miami Heat would only and should only consider this trade if they knew for sure that Deron Williams would re-sign with them next season. However, unless Deron Williams is allergic to winning and competing for NBA titles for the foreseeable future I cannot imagine why he would not agree to re-sign with the Heat.

To understand if this trade makes sense for the Heat all one needs to do is ask a simple question and that question is, "What is the better trio, Dwyane Wade, Mario Chalmers and Joel Anthony, or, Deron Williams, Brook Lopez and Anthony Morrow?" The answer to such a question is quite easy to come up with.

Dwyane Wade is a much better pure scorer than Deron Williams but Williams is years younger, a far superior distributor, better long range shooter and quite possibly a better compliment to LeBron James.

Anthony Morrow is a pure shooter and the perfect compliment to LeBron and Brook Lopez is a dominant low post scorer

This trade would also vastly improve the Heat and leave them without any significant weaknesses and should be seriously considered by Heat President Pat Riley.

Trade Opportunity Five: Wade, Miller & Cole for Bogut, Jennings & Jackson

Heat Trade: Dwyane Wade, Mike Miller and Norris Cole

Bucks Trade:Brandon Jennings, Andrew Bogut and Stephen Jackson

The Milwaukee Bucks are a below average NBA team with no sensible hope for future championship contention whatsoever.

That is the sad but true truth.

The Bucks do however have a quality young and ultra-talented point guard, former All-Star center about to enter his prime and a cagey veteran swing man who has a history of coming up big in big games.

Those three players could be just what the Heat need to trade Dwyane Wade.

Dwyane Wade would instantly become the greatest Bucks player since Lew Alcindor manned the pivot and give them a new franchise superstar to build around. Losing Jennings and Bogut would be tough but considering Bogut hasn't played much this year due to injury and Jennings will probably bolt from Milwaukee the instant he becomes a free agent, the loss would not be too much to bare.

Shedding the salary of grumpy Stephen Jackson is also a bonus for a small market team like Milwaukee.

The Miami Heat would not instantly become a better team by making this trade due to the fact that Bogut is still sidelined with an injury. However, with nothing more than Jennings and Jackson replacing Wade, Miller and Cole, the Heat would be able to maintain a top two seed in the Eastern Conference, leading them to a Conference Finals rematch with the Bulls, by which time Andrew Bogut should be fully healthy, making the Heat almost unbeatable.

This is a trade that could set the Heat up as the prohibitive favorites to win the NBA title for the next five years at least and is something the team should seriously look into.