The Miami Heat began the 2022-23 campaign playing lethargic, uninspired basketball unbecoming of a team that won an Eastern Conference-leading 53 games last season. It looked as if the Heat were playing like they were out of gas on a nightly basis, as evidenced by their populous injury report that seemed to affect their core players, without fail. Jimmy Butler, as elite as he has proven himself to be in the postseason, has had a difficult time staying healthy.
Even then, the Heat have plenty of talented players on their roster to remain too mediocre for too long. Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro, in particular, have shown that Miami is definitely no longer the Jimmy Butler show. Adebayo, in particular, has had a stellar 2022-23 campaign resulting in the second All-Star selection of his burgeoning career.
With Adebayo steadying the ship, the Heat have begun climbing the Eastern Conference standings. At the moment, they are now sixth with a 29-24 record. However, the margin between an outright playoff berth and a relegation to the play-in tournament remains too close for comfort at the moment for Miami. Thus, with the NBA trade deadline approaching, it would not surprise anyone if the Heat pull off some trades to improve their shaky depth.
Adding depth will definitely be a key point of emphasis for the Heat front office in the coming week. With the occasional absences of their rotation players, they will need pieces who can step up comfortably to fill in the gaps those absences leave on a regular basis.
However, the Heat should not just pull off trades for the sake of it. Everything must be done with caution, given their limited trade resources. With that said, here are some moves the Heat will end up regretting.
Heat will regret trading away Kyle Lowry and Victor Oladipo and keeping Dewayne Dedmon
What has happened to Kyle Lowry? That is the question Heat fans would want the answer to. Lowry started the season off strong, as he pulled off performances reminiscent of his days with the Toronto Raptors on a regular basis amid injuries to Jimmy Butler and Tyler Herro – the Heat's other primary ballhandlers.
However, Lowry has fallen off precipitously in recent weeks. His jumpshot seems to have deserted him, and he has not been able to contribute in other areas as well as he would hope. As a result, even head coach Erik Spoelstra has seemed to lose trust in the 36-year old veteran, particularly in fourth quarters of recent Heat games. (Specifically, Spoelstra benched Lowry for the entire fourth quarter in the Heat's two most recent games against the New York Knicks and Cleveland Cavaliers.)
Thus, it may be for the best if the Heat move on from Kyle Lowry if given the opportunity. After all, Lowry is already 36. So if the Heat get the chance to swap him out for a younger floor general, like a D'Angelo Russell, they should probably mash the accept button.
Alas, it's difficult to see the Heat getting too much value out of Lowry given his struggles at the moment. As difficult as it may be to stomach more 1-7 or 3-11 performances from the veteran guard, it's hard to envision a scenario where the Heat upgrade on their current floor general without having to give up precious draft picks.
For better or for worse, the Heat should just ride this current core out and hope that Lowry turns it around. There's always the possibility that Lowry gets back on track, but he's also in the twilight of his career, which makes a turnaround more and more unlikely with every passing day. However, the Heat will definitely regret it if they see Lowry regain his form in another uniform.
Meanwhile, some reporters think that trading away Victor Oladipo remains a possibility for the Heat. Oladipo is making $8.75 million this year with a $9.45 player option for next, which makes his contract not too difficult a piece to trade.
Trading him away isn't the craziest idea in the world, as Oladipo is one of those core Heat players that routinely miss time due to injury. Perhaps the Heat could trade him away in hopes of getting someone with more durability.
Even then, Victor Oladipo has shown flashes of his old All-Star self when healthy, and it's difficult to think of a player the Heat could acquire in exchange for him with as much upside.
Lastly, it's quite a marvel that the Heat have not parted ways with Dewayne Dedmon yet. Ever since kicking up a fuss involving a massage gun, the Heat have banished Dedmon to the nether realm, never to be seen again. Kidding aside, he has not stepped foot for the Heat since butting heads with Coach Spo.
Thus, it will be a shock if the Heat end the season with the disgruntled center still on the roster. And they may end up regretting it too if his discontent becomes a distraction within the squad with the stretch run looming.
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