Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh Should Be Traded by the Miami Heat

The Miami Heat are standing on the verge of a serious gut check. What was presumed to be just another photo op on the way to a sweat-and-champagne-mingled celebration with the Larry O'Brien trophy, has turned into a potentially ugly series with the upstart Indiana Pacers.  

They're deep, they play great defense and they have a head coach in Frank Vogel who is just young and brash enough to make these guys believe that they can and should win this series.

Again the questions are swirling like white-hot towels—are the Heat too top heavy (yes)?  Will playing without a third option eventually tire out D-Wade and King James (yes)?  

So many questions, so little variety.

It seems that with each fork in the road we re-heat (pun intended) the same bland and predictable bowl of Cream of Heat (ok, too much, but couldn't resist) out of mere obligation.  But what is the real answer?

For all the criticism surrounding King James, he's won not one, not two, but three MVP awards in the past four years (and it could very well have been four in the last four years).  This man will go down as one of the all time greats, so if anyone must stay, he must.

I boldly submit, then, that for the Heat to truly and sustainably achieve the success Riley imagined when signing the Big Three, they need to trade not only Chris Bosh...

but Dwyane Wade, as well.

Roll 'em!

Why the Heat Need to Trade Chris Bosh

Top-25 talent?  Sure.  Versatile big man?  Absolutomundo.  Viable third-option for the Heat as currently constructed?  

Ehhhhhh.......

Maybe bringing Bosh in as the third wheel of the Heat locomotive was a dream, but if so, it's quickly become a nightmare for the team, fans and maybe for no one more than Bosh himself.  He's been reduced to a 6'10" jump shooter who occasionally remembers he's 6'10" and goes inside for a bucket or a board.  

I don't fault Chris alone for this though.

The Heat have failed to ever truly establish a pecking order or a true offensive system.  While their fun-and-gun system seemed like a stroke of genius early on, it's looking more and more like the work of someone who couldn't figure out how to put all that talent into a viable system (hat tip, you-know-who).  

Some would argue it was an attempt to reincarnate Showtime, but Showtime had a director to put it all together...Magic Johnson.  In South Beach, there's nothing magical about watching the Heat in the half court. 

Thus the fall of Christopher Bosh.

He was brought in to be a big man but, for all points and intents, can't be.  It's for this reason that Pat needs to pick up the phone and make a call to a team that could use someone of Bosh's skill set.

Why the Heat Should Trade Chris Bosh to the Sacramento Kings

This may not be what most expected, but this would be the answer to the real problem the Heat face—not enough balance and/or youth and explosive athleticism from people not named Bosh, Wade or James.

The Heat simply don't have enough difference makers outside of the big guys, and for what Bosh brings to the table, the Heat could use that $16-plus million salary to inject some fire into the roster.  Without the kind of youth, depth and/or explosiveness that other teams like the Pacers, Spurs, Clippers and even (gasp) the Knicks have amassed, it's not a matter of if the Heat will be overtaken—just a matter of when.

It's for this reason that the Heat should call up the Sacramento Kings and propose the following trade:

MIA

Chris Bosh PF ($16,022,500)

                for

SAC

Tyreke Evans PG/SG ($4,151,640)

Jason Thompson PF/C ($3,001,284)

Terrence Williams SG/SF ($2,369,040)

Jimmer Fredette PG/SG ($3,000,000)

This deal works for both teams under the cap and fills needs for both.

For the Heat, Thompson is a young, rugged big who can provide offense, defense and rebounding.  Evans, though an injury risk, is still young and could move to shooting guard, bringing versatility and scoring.  Williams is very athletic and has a well-rounded game.  Fredette, at the least, can serve as a shooting specialist and crowd-pleaser.

For the Kings, this trade provides the marquee name the Kings need, along with leadership and veteran presence. It also creates, arguably, the most talented frontcourt in the league—between Bosh and Cousins.  With the emergence of Isaiah Thomas at point guard, Marcus Thornton at shooting guard and DeMarcus Cousins at center, this lineup would allow Bosh to get back to being Bosh.  This is a young, balanced playoff squad that could bring excitement back to ARCO Arena.

Why the Heat Need to Trade D-Wade

Let me first preempt this by saying that this is not a knee-jerk reaction to Wade's 2-for-13, five point stinker in Game 3 against the Pacers.

Wade's a gamer.

But he's also 30 years old.  Does that spell the end of the world?  No, but perhaps the beginning of the end.

In these playoffs, Wade is shooting his worst field goal percentage since 08-09.  His 3.2 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game are both career playoff lows.  Sure the playoffs are just getting started, but Wade's performances have been somewhat telling.

Even more telling, perhaps, was Wade's tiff with head coach Erik Spoelstra on Wednesday night.

Wade is an alpha dog.  In fact, Wade is just a dog...period. He's old school.  He has a certain nastiness that a lot of today's players (including LeBron James) just don't have.  He's not looking to make friends.  He's looking to make mincemeat.  

Wade has the attitude and heart of a champion.

James has the game of one.  

So guys try to respect both things, but any two-headed thing is a freak by definition.  Welcome to the circus that is the Miami Heat.  This team has not just two heads but four: King James, D-Wade, Pat Riley and, to a (much) lesser degree, Erik Spoelstra.  

On the floor, the only way to solve this, is to make this LeBron James' team.  The Heat are still blurred, despite what Wade—who's really in charge—recently said about it being LeBron's team.  Moving Flash would quickly bring things into focus.

Why the Heat Should Trade D Wade to the Minnesota Timberwolves

Some may consider it cruel and unusual punishment, but this is a move that would equally help two franchises.

The Heat need more depth, youth and athleticism, and the TWolves need a scoring vet to pair with the best power forward in the game right now: Kevin Love.  This proposal could give both teams what they're looking for.

MIA

Dwyane Wade SG ($15,691,000)

MIN

Ricky Rubio PG ($3,480,120)

Michael Beasley SF/PF ($6,262,347)

Nikola Peković C ($4,503,600)

Future First-Round Draft Pick

This deal would make plenty of sense for both squads. 

The Heat have no bigger holes than those at the point and center.  This deal takes care of those for the next seven years or more, well beyond the King's reign in South Beach. 

Rubio is a supreme floor general, who would grow more prodigious with King James on the floor.  Mike Beasley could provide scoring punch from the bench in his second go-round in South Beach, and Peković would give the Heat another bruising big man to patrol the paint and score points—a complete coup for the Heat.

Meanwhile, Wade gives Kevin Love a scoring mate and adds championship presence to the T-Wolves squad.  He also gives the T-Wolves perhaps the best 1-2 punch in the league. 

J.J. Barea would make an above-average starter, and Beasley's move makes more room for young buck Derrick Williams to further establish himself.  The Wolves would not only be a playoff team, but an instant threat to break into the conference's top three, with Wade and Love leading the charge. 

How Does It Pan Out?

So these franchise rescue missions would leave each organization with the following:

MIA

PG:  Ricky Rubio

SG:  Tyreke Evans

SF:  LeBron James

PF:  Jason Thompson

C:  Nikola Peković

Key Reserves:  Michael Beasley, Terrence Williams, and Travis Outlaw

SAC

PG:  Isaiah Thomas

SG:  Marcus Thornton

SF:  Francisco Garcia

PF:  Chris Bosh

C:  DeMarcus Cousins

MIN:

PG:  J.J. Barea

SG:  Dwyane Wade

SF:  Wesley Johnson

PF:  Kevin Love

 C:  Darko Milicic (Or whoever.  This team has tons of flexibility with its pieces.) 

These would be examples of those rare trades in which everyone wins.  

This scenario would take one very good playoff team and two young teams trying to put it together and turn them into two solid playoff teams and one very good, very deep champion.

It would also give each team a "best": the best starting frontcourt (SAC), the best 1-2 punch (MIN) and the best overall team (MIA).

Win or lose against Indiana, these are moves that the Heat need to make if it hopes to bring not one, not two...well, let's just start at one.