If the Miami Heat can’t land a superstar this summer, they should create the flexibility they need to make that trade in the future.
It’s been a rough first 36 hours of free agency for the Miami Heat, who have seen rivals in Philadelphia, New York and Orlando get better while they have failed to make a meaningful move.
It appears we’re headed for a gap year in Miami, where the front office can run back the same core for another season and see if they can capture lightning in a bottle in the postseason again, before making a decision on Jimmy Butler’s future next June.
But if the Heat can’t make a major addition that puts them in the same tier as the top teams in the East, then they should spend this summer accomplishing something.
The Heat are generally allergic to a step back – even a calculated one – but with a lack of financial and asset flexibility there’s a strong argument to be made that now is the time.
If a star player doesn’t emerge as a realistic option for the Heat in the coming days, then perhaps they can explore some trades that will create cap space and replenish their draft capital so that they are better positioned to retool around Bam Adebayo over the next half-decade.
So I came up with three trade ideas that could help them do that.
The Heat trade Tyler Herro for immediate cap flexibility
Miami Heat Receive: Jaden Ivey, 2027 First-Round Pick (Top-10 Protection)
Detroit Pistons Receive: Tyler Herro
The Pistons need shooting and the Heat need cap relief. Trading the remaining three years, $93 million on Herro’s contract into Detroit’s cap space accomplishes that.
While it would be difficult to part with Herro – a 24-year-old 20-point scorer with elite shooting chops – the Heat would at least bring back Jaden Ivey and a future first-round pick.
Ivey, the fifth pick in the 2022 draft, hasn’t panned out for the Pistons but his talent is tantelizing. Seeing how the 22-year-old Ivey would respond to being in Miami as opposed to a rocky Pistons situation would be worth the investment.
The move would result in more than $21 million in cap savings this year and unlock the non-taxpayer mid-level exception that the Heat could use to add to the roster.
Miami Heat Receive: Fred VanVleet, 2028 First-Round Pick, 2030 First-Round Pick
Houston Rockets Receive: Jimmy Butler
The financial benefit of Butler deciding not to seek a contract extension this summer is that it creates a path to cap space next summer if Butler declines his player option and the Heat decide not to bring him back.
It’s similar to Paul George’s situation with the Clippers, who decided not to bring back George on a long-term deal because they valued the financial flexibility.
The Heat letting Butler walk next summer could create $30 million in cap space – enough to retool around Adebayo, who signed a contract extension this summer that keeps in Miami through 2029.
The problem with that scenario is that Miami, like the Clippers did with George, would lose its star player for nothing. Scanning the league for trades that could bring back assets without sacrificing the chance to create meaningful cap space, I landed on the Houston Rockets.
The Rockets were rumored to be interested in trading for Butler before making it clear in their dealings that they prefer to pounce on either Kevin Durant or Devin Booker if the Phoenix Suns situation goes South. But offering Butler for Fred VanVleet and a pair of future first-round picks (not the Suns’ picks) could be too good of a deal for the Rockets to pass up.
For the Heat, getting back VanVleet helps them in the short-term while maintaining the chance to create major cap space next summer, when they can decline VanVleet’s $44.8 million team option.
So the Heat essentially get the same cap flexibility while also adding more draft capital – but they do punt on this season.
Sign-and-trade Caleb Martin for second-round picks
Miami Heat Receive: 2028 Second-Round Pick, 2029 Second-Round Pick
Chicago Bulls Receive: Caleb Martin
While second-round picks aren’t as valuable as first-round picks, they are still important for greasing the wheels in trades throughout the league year. The Heat don’t control any of their own second-round picks for the next six years, and their only incoming second-round pick is from the Lakers in 2026.
The Heat acquired that second-round pick in a sign-and-trade that sent Max Strus to the Cleveland Cavaliers last summer. It was good business, rather than losing Strus for nothing.
The Heat could do the same thing this summer with Caleb Martin. For the sake of being specific in this fake trade idea, I chose the Chicago Bulls as a trade partner, but it really doesn’t matter what team the Heat engage with. The point is that if there’s a team that doesn’t want to use its mid-level exception on Martin, then working with the Heat in a sign-and-trade could benefit both teams.
The Heat would lose Martin, but they are likely losing him anyway. At least in this scenario, they would be getting something back. (Maybe they can find a similar deal for Haywood Highsmith, too.)
Total return: VanVleet, Ivey, three first-round picks and two second-round picks
After a summer of tough decisions, the Heat more than doubled their draft capital and created more than $50 million in cap space that they can use to retool the team next summer.
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