Ranking Heat's Top Trade Targets After 2026 NBA Play-In Loss
The Miami Heat, one of the NBA's Eastern Conference powerhouses in recent years, are suddenly logging a scary amount of mileage on the treadmill of mediocrity.
They haven't strayed too far above or below .500 in four consecutive seasons now, and they just followed consecutive first-round exits with an unceremonious ousting from the Play-In Tournament.
With their two most important players, Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro, presumably in the heart of their primes, and not a ton of young talent working its way through the pipeline, it's getting harder to see how the Heat can change their fate without a big-time external boost. This is, to put it simply, one of the league's biggest go-big-or-go-home candidates of the entire offseason.
Between the obvious need for top-level talent, the annual links to basketball's biggest trade sweepstakes and the asset collection needed to broker a blockbuster, the Heat figure to be serious players for the true elites on the trade market.
3. Ja Morant, Memphis Grizzlies
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The Heat, never one to rule out a distressed asset, gave Morant a legitimate look before the trade deadline. What they ultimately decided is that his combination of remaining contract and availability issues wasn't something they could accept, per Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald.
Could another early postseason knockout force Miami to reconsider? It definitely should—with the always critical for-the-right-price caveat attached.
If Morant is deeply discounted, then the Heat should be ready to pounce. He is 26 years old. There's no obvious reason to automatically assume his best basketball is definitely behind him. Before an elbow injury derailed his 2025-26 campaign for good, he was quietly looking like his old self: 23.5 points on 53.7 percent shooting and 9.3 assists over his final six outings.
If Miami thinks its famed culture could keep him on track and its conditioning program could keep him upright, then it should see star potential for someone who may not cost much more than salary relief and maybe a lower-tier draft asset. This could be right up the Heat's alley.
2. Zion Williamson, New Orleans Pelicans
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Wait, another clearance-section star? You bet. Since the Heat's ceiling seems uncertain even with a tier-two (or tier-three) star added to the mix, Miami must be careful about overpaying for a player who wouldn't radically reshape its outlook.
The goal, then, should be underpaying for someone who materially change this club. Maybe Williamson offers that very setup. The Pelicans, who have dialed back his involvement of late, could be ready to pivot toward a future without him, and they have to know that his troubles staying on the court will greatly reduce what suitors are willing to give up for him.
Again, this is the kind of thing that should get Pat Riley's distressed-asset senses tingling. Because if Williamson can stay on the floor—he quietly cleared the 60-game mark for the second time in three seasons (a number he reached just once in his first four seasons)—he can still be a powerful offensive force.
The Heat, who often struggle to field even a league-average offense, should not close paths to anyone capable of putting up 20-plus per night. Williamson, a lock for that kind of output (usually on 60-ish percent shooting), could give this group a powerful play finisher. Plus, the Heat could better complement him than most clubs, since Bam Adebayo is a hyper-versatile defender and a willing (and often able) spacer on the offensive end.
1. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks
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Like any club carrying win-now intentions without true win-now talent, the Heat should be firmly in the Antetokounmpo sweepstakes. And while there are no guarantees the Bucks will actually hold them, they've never felt more possible.
Remember, Milwaukee has participated in legitimate trade talks involving the two-time MVP. And that was before this relationship further devolved over a disagreement about a possible return this season.
Antetokounmpo's exit certainly feels more like a when than an if. The Heat have spent years waiting for this very moment. Some fans could have concerns about an all-in pursuit—injuries have increasingly been an issue, and spacing could get clunky with an Antetokounmpo-Adebayo frontcourt—but Miami should show that kind of commitment.
And, honestly, the Heat might have enough to get this done. Beyond draft capital, the Heat could build a package around Milwaukee native Tyler Herro and potential unicorn Kel'el Ware. If mega-rich asset-holders like Oklahoma City and San Antonio sit this out, there's a real chance Miami winds up with the strongest offer on the table.
