5 perfect trade targets for the Miami Heat
The NBA trade deadline is right around the corner on Feb. 8, less than three weeks away. Few teams should be more active than the Miami Heat.
At 24-19, Miami currently places sixth in the East. The first-place Boston Celtics profile as undeniable favorites to win the conference, but Miami has been to the NBA Finals twice in four years. Jimmy Butler is a known practitioner of postseaon voodoo and Erik Spoelstra is the highest-paid NBA coach for a reason. If ever there was a team built to contend from the No. 6 seed, it's the Heat, who went all the way to the doorstep of history as the No. 8 seed a season ago.
Still, the Heat are probably a piece away. The scale of that piece is up for debate. Miami tried and failed to land Damian Lillard in the offseason. Bradley Beal was briefly floated as an idea, but Miami balked. The Heat are constantly prowling for star-power, but Pat Riley is limited in the assets he can package in a trade.
Miami will have to get creative in order to supplement the core for another deep postseason run. The Heat have a few tradeable contracts to work with — Kyle Lowry ($29.6 million), Tyler Herro ($27.0 million), Duncan Robinson ($18.1 million), Caleb Martin ($6.8 million) — and a depleted stash of draft picks.
Here are a few viable targets.
5. Heat can add bargain-bin defender in Jonathan Isaac
Jonathan Isaac continues to quietly occupy the strangest role in the NBA. Is is averaging 13.5 minutes per game. On the surface, he is little more than the ninth or 10th option in a deep Orlando Magic rotation. And yet, he is very clearly one of the best defenders in the league. Isaac's ability to cover ground, protect the rim, and consistently out-think the offense is a sight to behold.
The only reason Orlando doesn't play Isaac more is because he recently missed almost three years to catastrophic knee injuries. It's fair to wonder if Isaac can ever get back to a full workload or anything close to it. He's only under contract through the end of the season, though. His $17.4 million for 2024-25 is non-guaranteed. He is not necessarily a negative trade asset, but there is zero buzz around Isaac as potential target fodder. He is a great stealth target for a savvy Heat front office.
Even in limited minutes, Isaac can elevate Miami's defense as the perfect interior complement to Bam Adebayo. The Heat would pair the NBA's best switching big with a dominant help-side rim protector in Isaac. Listed at 6-foot-10 with a 7-foot wingspan, Isaac is a hulking, lane-clogging presence. He would steal minutes from the likes of Caleb Martin, Kevin Love, and Haywood Highsmith, but pound-for-pound, Isaac's defense is next level. He's averaging 2.8 steals and 4.0 blocks per 100 possessions with a 3.1 defensive box plus-minus.
It shouldn't take much to pry Isaac away from Orlando. He's struggling with his 3-point shot and the offense isn't quite back up to speed, but Miami generally understands how to maximize mismatched pieces on that end. It's the defense that makes Isaac so worthy of consideration, injury risk and all.