NBA Trade Rumors: 5 trades Miami Heat need to make

Dwight Howard

Unfortunately for the Heat, Dwight Howard isn’t in the prime of his career. Numerous health problems have held him back in recent years and being 30 years old doesn’t exactly help matters either. That being said, with 14.8 points on a limited 8.9 field goal attempts, 12.4 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game, it can’t be denied that he’s still a valuable center. He can contribute to a contender, even if he’s far from being the cornerstone that he was with the Orlando Magic.

In regards to the Heat’s situation, Dwight is a backup plan behind Whiteside that could help them out long-term. And as Chris Sheridan of Sheridan Hoops reported in December, Miami makes sense as a possible destination:

"Dwight Howard is extremely unhappy in Houston playing second fiddle to alpha dog James Harden, multiple league sources tell SheridanHoops.com. And with the Rockets underachieving more than any NBA team, look for them to try to move Howard later this season. And the destination that makes the most sense is Miami in a trade centered around Hassan Whiteside. It makes so much sense, in fact, that I will go so far as to predict that Howard will be wearing a Miami Heat uniform by the end of February."

Is Howard happy or not? No one can really know. One thing we do know, though, is that the Rockets aren’t getting anywhere in their current state, and a deadline move for them is by no means out of the question.

Again, this trade suggestion revolves around the fact that the Heat won’t be able to afford to keep Whiteside if he’s looking for a max contract which he’s earned now as a top defender and one of the NBA’s few talented centers. To add more incentive for the Heat here, they also won’t have a shot at going in a totally different direction by pursuing a star center like DeMarcus Cousins, meaning Howard may be the next best thing.

The difficulty in making this trade work stems from Howard’s extortionate salary of $22.3 million. Besides Whiteside, possibly Deng ($10.5 million), Andersen ($5 million) or McRoberts ($5.5 million) and another play on a salary of around $2 million will need to be included. In return, the Rockets could add an additional role player, such as rookie power forward Montrezl Harrell ($1 million).

Just a few days ago Dwight exploded for 36 points and 26 rebounds in a narrow overtime loss to the Los Angeles Clippers. Yes, he won’t be going 14-of-18 from the free throw line every night (it’s amazing it actually happened against L.A.), but he can still be a strong presence in the paint.

If the Heat can get some of this defensive production from Howard and utilize him more than the Rockets as a pick-and-roll threat, he can still make a difference. In his current state, he just can’t (and shouldn’t) be the top option for Miami.

We’ll have to wait and see how this intriguing scenario plays out in the coming weeks.