Miami Heat's Possible Trades: Some Realistic and Some Fantasy
With the trade deadline approaching, the Miami Heat look to be sitting on the sidelines this time around as opposed to making any major moves.
At least that was the thought. However, according to Brian Windhorst of ESPN, Pat Riley is rumored to be shopping around Mike Miller as a possible trade piece.
Trade pieces are something that right now the Heat do not have; however, Pat Riley has done more with less in the past, and I wouldn't put it past him to try this again.
The Heat have two glaring holes: point guard and center. Odds are these won't be addressed until the offseason, pending the new collective bargaining agreement, of course. Even if one of them was addressed now, it could only be one or the other, not both, right?
In a way, wrong. Here are some trades, most of them unlikely, but smart, not just for the Heat but the other teams involved, that the Heat could make before the deadline to make them more formidable going into the playoffs.
1. Four-Team Mega Trade with Denver, Memphis and the Clippers
1 of 5
The Clippers can afford to send the Nuggets their first-round pick in 2012, due to them owning the Timberwolves 2012 first-rounder, which is unprotected. If the rumors are true that they are going after Gallinari, then they would use this in a trade anyways.
The Grizzlies seem willing to get rid of Mayo for anything, and being in the middle of a playoff push, a veteran like Mike Miller, who was a fan favorite in Memphis, would be a great asset to them going forward.
The Heat can afford to trade Miller, because thanks to the outside shooting of James Jones and Eddie House, he has become more of a redundancy.
I know he does other things, but Mayo is younger and can do the same thing. He'd be a great scorer for the Heat off the bench that could also play alongside the Big Three during crunch time.
As for the loss of Chalmers, well, he is what he is. A decent point guard who at times makes silly mistakes. I'd rather have an Eric Bledsoe, who can come right in and start.
While Hasheem Thabeet would be more of a project, he's younger than Joel Anthony, so why not take a two-year flyer on this kid and see if being in the Miami Heat culture will shape him up the way it has for other players (i.e. Ike Austin in the late 90s, who while he was with the Heat was in shape, but the second he was traded drifted back into the laziness that plagued him early on in his career.)
As for Illgauskas, this would be similar to last season when the Cavs included him in the Antwan Jamison trade. The Clippers could buy him out, and thus he'd be free to re-sign with the Heat right before the beginning of the playoffs.
2. Helping Out an Old Foe, Kind of
2 of 5
Miami Receives:
Ronny Turiaf, C ($4 million one year)
Phoenix Receives:
Chauncey Billups, PG ($13.2 million, two years)
Mario Chalmers, PG ($854.4K, one year)
New York Receives:
Steve Nash ($10.3 million, two years)
Grant Hill ($3.2 million, one year)
Mike Miller ($5 million, four years)
In Turiaf the Heat would not only get a center that can rebound, but possibly more importantly a center whose $4 million comes off the books this offseason. Sounds great to me.
With the Knicks, well, I know Billups is great and all, but isn't this team tailor-made for Steve Nash to run? Imagine the Knicks being led by Steve Nash, with Grant Hill and Mike Miller coming off the bench? If anything that would bring them closer to a title (well, almost), but at the very least has the potential to score 200 points in a game.
The Suns will probably also receive cash in this deal, most likely from the Heat, which will be used to buy out Chauncey Billups.
Who the Heat would then sign. See, this trade doesn't only help out the Knicks.
3. Only in My and Kevin Love's Wildest Dreams
3 of 5
Minnesota Receives:
Mike Miller, G ($5 million, four years)
Joel Anthony, C ($3.3 million, four years)
I don't know if Kevin Love is a religious man, but if he is, does he pray for this deal every night? I know as a Heat fan I do.
This trade can only be made one way: Pat Riley either needs to find incriminating photos of David Kahn, fly up to Minnesota and drink him under the table or just rely on his own stupidity. Give him enough drinks, and he could maybe even throw in the rights to Ricky Rubio (more for the trade value than the player himself.)
Don't worry, it's not like the Wolves will be completely fleeced. The Heat will give back the 2011 second-rounder Minny gave them for Beasley.
Obviously this trade is only a fantasy, yet I know a lot of people who only look at the slides and don't read the content in them are already attacking me as you the smart reader reads this, but a man can dream.
And I'm sure Kevin Love is dreaming of this too.
4. More Realistic: Miami and Memphis Straight Up
4 of 5
Miami Receives:
OJ Mayo, G($4.4 million, two years)
Darnell Arthur, PF ($1.12 million, two years)
Memphis Receives:
Mike Miller, G ($5 million, four years)
Mario Chalmers, PG ($854K, one year)
I heard this trade rumored on Miami Talk radio. It's realistic because the Grizzlies have Gasol and Randolph up front, therefore making Arthur a bit redundant, and because of their desire to trade OJ Mayo.
All the benefits I laid out for having Mayo on the Heat are on the first slide. As for Arthur, well, it never hurts to have too much size up front. Of course, Miami could probably add The Warden to the mix and instead receive Thabeet.
5. Most Likely: Just Rely on Buy Out Guys
5 of 5
After the trade is completed, Murphy is expected to be bought out by the Warriors, thus making him a free agent. Miami, Orlando, Dallas and Boston are said to be interested in him.
This is what the Heat are most likely looking at as far as midseason adjustments.
The trade talk is fun, but at the end of the day, other than the Big Three, the Heat do not have the pieces to trade. Any other work on this team will come in the offseason.
Maybe there's still the possibility of a point guard falling out of the sky, like if Andre Miller is traded to New Jersey for Devin Harris and wants a buy out, but don't hold your breath.
Even with the holes at Center and Point Guard, the Heat are still only percentage points behind the Celtics for the East's top seed.
Perhaps the biggest piece they can add is already on their bench and about a month away from returning to action on the court, Udonis Haslem.
I wouldn't say that they're favorites yet, but its nice to know that even with the holes they have, the Heat are still contenders for the title this season, even if they don't add any more pieces to the puzzle.
Thomas Galicia is a Miami Dolphins Featured Columnist on Bleacher Report who also writes about the Miami Heat, Chicago Cubs, and Miami Hurricanes. Follow him on twitter, @thomasgalicia. For more non-sports musings from Tom, visit his website, www.thomasgalicia.com.
