As per the usual when talking about any team in the midst of a new season, fans and others will speculate about possible trades the team can make. With the Miami Heat, it's no different.
Miami's name is always mentioned in terms of making a trade, usually for a big superstar, but it's never followed through. They either make a move for a well-known player, a role player, or even don't get involved at all. With the trade deadline set for Feb. 8, anything can happen in the span of time until then.
However, there are players on the team that haven't necessarily been bad, but their contracts are huge and the level of play hasn't backed up the value. Every team, including Miami, is in the market of improving, especially as the team is trying to defend their Eastern Conference championship crown after a miraculous playoff run last season.
At the moment, the Heat are 9-5 which puts them at fourth in the conference. It's been a rough start to the schedule for Miami as in their first 15 games, 10 of them are on the road. Performing a seven-game winning streak in the midst of it was huge, and while it's been a good start for Miami, they should be one of the teams active through trades this season.
Here are the players the Heat must trade soon:
Why Heat must trade Kyle Lowry
It seems like Heat point guard Kyle Lowry has always been the butt of the joke from fans and general watchers of the NBA. After having a really good run with the Toronto Raptors where he won a championship in 2019, it's been a up-and-down stint in Miami.
At the age of 38-years old, the Heat are currently paying Lowry on a three-year, $85 million contract where he's expected to be a free agent in 2024. It's a question of whether Miami will wait until the end of his contract or possibly cut him loose in a trade.
The money does not equate to the value of Lowry, even though getting rid of him could be an underrated hit to the Heat. He's one of the few point guards the team really has as the others are Josh Richardson and Dru Smith. However, the Heat do have players like a Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, and others that aren't true point guards, but take the ball up the court and run the floor.
With trading Lowry, Miami would be on the lookout for a point guard that could possibly replicate what Lowry brings, but at a much cheaper price. As a regular starter for the Heat, he's averaged seven points, 4.1 rebounds, and 4.8 assists.
Why Heat must trade Kevin Love
It might be a trend of saying that the Heat should trade their veterans in the twilight of their careers. However, Kevin Love has been in-and-out of the lineup ever since the start of the season. While Love will be out for tonight's game against the Cleveland Cavaliers, it shouldn't be because of poor play since it's for “personal reasons” according to the official NBA injury report.
However, there have been a stretch of games where he doesn't play a lot of minutes or doesn't even play at all. Even head coach Erik Spoelstra who likes Love said after the bad 1-4 start it was a hard decision to make according to Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel.
“Look, nobody likes being 1-4, losing four straight. It sucked,” Spoelstra said. “I hate having to make those kind of decisions, because from everybody outside, it looks like it’s an indictment on one particular player. It’s not. It’s really not.”
“I hated having to make that move, because Kevin [Love] brings so much from a spirit and connection and leadership standpoint. But this is just a move for now.”
Does having “Heat Cuture” prevent Love and Lowry from being traded?
Love does still have some gas left in the tank, but there should be legitimate questions if the fit with the Heat is perfect or not. What he does bring is that veteran leadership that he can bring to young players like rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr. or Nikola Jovic.
Currently on the season, the 35-year old in Love is averaging 7.8 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 1.9 assists per game. He can still throw beautiful full-court outlet passes and make a three-pointer every now and then, but is that enough to keep Love past the trade deadline?
On the other side of the argument, Love seems to have emerged as the Heat's backup center over the likes of Thomas Bryant who was impressive to start the season. At the end of the day, it's up to Spoelstra and the front office to make the final decisions. There's no doubt that Lowry and Love fit the “Heat Culture,” but will their play lead to a championship? It remains to be seen.
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