Another Miami Heat season leads to more trade and trade deadline rumors. Usually in the off-season there is tons of speculation from fans on social media, but that carries into the season as the trade deadline looms ahead.

While there are a bevy of options to choose from, there has to be some sort of realism to this discussion. Obviously, people shouldn't expect the Heat to try to trade for a superstar like Damian Lillard. Sorry, that must've brought bad memories from the off-season.

Even with the up-and-down season the Heat are having, they're currently 6-4 and in the midst of a five-game winning streak. They have a chance for six in a row if they can beat the Charlotte Hornets tonight in the second game of group play in the NBA In-season tournament.

However, the Heat are always looking to improve, so here are a couple of trade targets that the Heat can realistically go after in the 2023-24 season.

Zach LaVine

Bulls' Zach LaVine with NBA team logos around him.

If there is a realistic name that has appeared in a lot of people's wishlist in terms of who fans want to don a Heat uniform, one of them is Chicago Bulls guard Zach LaVine. Now, one of the key variables in trades is the money and cap space which Miami doesn't have total freedom on since they have big contracts to different players.

In terms of the fit to the team, LaVine does give the Heat a gifted scorer which Miami has needed, which was the reason they went for current Milwaukee Buck Lillard. Fans have been debating if LaVine would be a good fit because of the lack of defense he might provide.

Whether the Heat go for him or not is still up in the air, but there's no doubt that Miami needs pieces in the back-court, especially with Tyler Herro's absence. So far, LaVine has averaged 21.9 points and 4.8 rebounds per game.

Alex Caruso

Funny enough, another Chicago Bull that's been in consideration has been Alex Caruso. Even an Eastern Conference executive believes Caruso would be a good fit for Miami according to Heavy.com.

“They need a guard in the worst way,” one Eastern Conference executive said. “They’re not out there beating the bushes for a trade or anything, that is not how they operate. They’re going to say they like Josh and they like Dru Smith, and all of that. But they’ve got to be concerned and if the Bulls let it be known that Alex Caruso can be traded, they’d have to be the first in line. He is an Erik Spoelstra kind of guy all the way. They have an eye on him, for sure. We all do.”

What the unnamed executive got right is that the back-court is on its last legs as it's relying on a 37-year old point guard in Kyle Lowry, Josh Richardson, and Dru Smith. Caruso has shown to be a spark-plug for teams on both sides of the ball, but once again, the money question comes into play.

Who would the Heat trade? Lowry, Duncan Robinson, a still raw, but talented Nikola Jovic? For the Heat to make any of these moves, the Bulls have to be interested in some of the Heat's assets. Portland Trail Blazers general manger Joe Cronin wasn't, will Bulls GM Marc Eversley pick up Pat Riley's phone call? Only time will tell.