NBA Free Agency 2017: One trade every team should make
Miami Heat
Miami attracts big-name talent. It’s glitzy, it’s tax-free, and it has the famed South Beach. It’s also a team run by Pat Riley, the NBA’s version of the Godfather. When Riley talks, players listen.
His fingerprints are on LeBron James’ decision to join the Heat in 2010. The man carries a lot of sway. He’s also a shark who can smell blood in the water and act accordingly when he does.
This would be a classic Miami move — Riley sniffs out a team in disarray and constructs a deal where he extracts the best player. Tobias Harris is a tweener forward, but is talented and just turning 25. Under Eric Spoelstra’s vision, his quality of play could only improve. Tyler Johnson blossomed into a nice player in Miami, but he ultimately doesn’t move the needle too much.
Detroit’s a team with the aim of making the playoffs but lacks the right combination of players to do so. They have heaps of money tied up around all the wrong players. A salary reprieve of expiring contracts would be welcomed with open arms.
Besides, Wayne Ellington’s 3-point gunning would fit right into Stan Van Gundy’s spread-the-floor gameplan. It might even be the elixir that Josh McRoberts needs to rejuvenate his career.