3 players the Miami Heat can trade for besides Damian Lillard
If the Miami Heat strikeout on Damian Lillard, here are three potential consolation prizes to pursue via trade.
The Miami Heat finished last season with 44 wins and the No. 8 seed after months of locker room turmoil and on-court struggles. The result? Another Finals run, the second of Jimmy Butler’s tenure with the franchise.
No team can overcome adversity quite like the Heat. That team battles and then battles some more. Erik Spoelstra is widely considered the best coach in the NBA and Pat Riley is well-known for his voodoo abilities in the front office.
Miami isn’t going to rest on its laurels after getting gentlemen swept out of the Finals by the Denver Nuggets. There’s plenty of room to improve the roster around Butler and All-Star center Bam Adebayo.
One name heavily linked to Miami in recent weeks is Damian Lillard. The Blazers have struggled to build a contender around Lillard and a trade request feels plausible, maybe even imminent. If Portland ultimately holds on to the 32-year-old from Weber State, however, there are other options Miami can consider.
No. 3 player the Miami Heat can trade for besides Damian Lillard: Dejounte Murray
The Hawks are basically making everyone not named Trae Young available. Dejounte Murray struggled to adapt to his new surroundings last season, but he’s only one year removed from an All-Star appearance with San Antonio. He’s also on the final year of his contract, which could spur Atlanta to trade him while it’s still an option.
Murray is set to make $17.7 million in 2023-24, a price point well below his on-court value. He averaged 20.5 points and 6.1 assists on 54 TS% as Trae Young’s backcourt running mate last season. Murray earned All-Defensive team recognition in 2018.
The Heat are potentially short on guard depth with the looming free agency of Gabe Vincent and Max Strus. Kyle Lowry is on the decline, Victor Oladipo’s health is a perpetual question mark, and Tyler Herro comes with a significant Achilles heel on the defensive end.
Murray is probably the perfect backcourt running mate for Herro on paper. Long and athletic, he’s the dogged on-ball defender and set-up man Miami needs to complement Herro’s score-first mentality. The spacing with Murray, Butler, and Adebayo isn’t great, but Murray isn’t a non-shooter and the Heat are better than most teams at maximizing mismatched talents.