NBA rumors: 5 teams that should be buying at the NBA trade deadline

2. Miami Heat

The Miami Heat have rapidly improved their situation after an ugly 7-14 start to the season, winning 14 of their last 18 games heading into Tuesday’s matchup with the lowly Cleveland Cavaliers. They’ve climbed all the way to fourth in the East and seem to have righted the ship.

With that being said, there’s a reason they’ve been mentioned in conjunction with damn near every star name over the last few months: Pat Riley is never content, and he certainly shouldn’t be given how shaky this season has been coming off an unexpected NBA Finals run. Jimmy Butler’s prime won’t last forever, and even if a James Harden trade never materialized, that doesn’t mean Miami will sit back on its heels at the deadline.

There’s not a lot of flexibility here to construct a trade. The team’s most attractive assets (Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro) are younger players who are intrinsic to the future and playing on smaller contracts; they won’t be dealt unless it’s in a blockbuster move for a superstar. The team’s most useful contracts for matching salary (Meyers Leonard, Kelly Olynyk, Andre Iguodala) hold little value to other teams, and to make matters worse, the Heat don’t even own their first-round picks in 2021 or 2023. Figuring out a deal will be difficult, but whether it’s Victor Oladipo or someone hitting the buyout market, expect Miami to be lurking around as a buyer.

Update: Riley’s ears must have been burning, because The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor reported Tuesday night that the Heat are discussing a Trevor Ariza trade with the Oklahoma City Thunder.