NBA Trade Rumors: Heat sending Josh McRoberts to Mavericks?

The Miami Heat are reportedly trading Josh McRoberts to the Dallas Mavericks, in order to re-sign James Johnson.

The Miami Heat and the Dallas Mavericks reportedly have a deal in hand to send Josh McRoberts over, along with a future second round pick. The deal will reportedly give the Heat enough cap space to be able to re-sign James Johnson.

Heat president Pat Riley has been very active the last few days, after the team’s main target in free agency, Gordon Hayward, decided to join the Boston Celtics. The Heat re-signed guard Dion Waiters Wednesday, and agreed to a deal with free agent forward Kelly Olynyk earlier on Thursday.

Miami expressed their desire to re-sign their core players from last season if they missed out on Hayward, and they have certainly kept their word so far. Sending over McRoberts to Dallas will free up around $5-$6 million in cap space, and will allow them to reward Johnson with a nice pay day after his career best year last season.

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After starting off the season with an 11-30 record, the Heat finished with a remarkable 30-11 mark, and almost snuck into the playoffs. Johnson was a key cog for Miami all season off the bench, where he averaged 12.8 points, 3.6 assists, 4.9 rebounds, 1.1 blocks, and 1.0 steals per game. His all-around production and ability to play both forward spots well made it an easy choice for Miami to keep him around.

McRoberts never panned out with the Heat since they signed him before the 2014-15 season. He has not been able to remain healthy for an extended amount of time, and never averaged more than 4.9 points, or 3.4 rebounds per game in a Heat uniform. The Mavericks will presumably take on McRoberts’ contract in order to acquire the draft pick, not necessarily because they want him.