As the NBA season gets underway, one of the last unsettled bit of business from the offseason is the pending Jae Crowder trade. The Phoenix Suns and the 10-year NBA veteran have mutually decided to part ways. The only thing left to do is to find the right trade partner. Rumors have Crowder being interested in several Eastern Conference destinations, with the Miami Heat at or near the top of his list. The only problem is, with the Heat’s current contract situation, there aren’t a ton of options for a trade. That said, there is still a path to get a deal done, so here is the perfect Heat-Suns trade that will get Crowder from the desert to South Beach.
Suns get Duncan Robinson, Heat get Jae Crowder and Torrey Craig
A Heat-Suns trade for Jae Crowder makes a ton of sense. The tough, versatile wing would fit perfectly with the Heat from a mentality standpoint, and his 9.4 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 40% 3-point shooting would help the team as well.
In fact, between his mentality and his numbers, Crowder is the perfect replacement for P.J. Tucker, who left for the Philadelphia 76ers this offseason.
The problem for the Heat is that their hands are a bit tied from a contractual perspective.
Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, and Kyle Lowry are the core of the team, and all make way too much money to move in a trade for a player making $10 million anyways. Victor Oladipo and Caleb Martin — who both have nice, tradeable, $6-$9 million contracts — signed this offseason, so they can’t be in a trade right now. Plus, Oladipo has veto rights.
Finally, the rest of Miami’s assets like rookie Nikola Jovic or playoff hero Max Strus don’t make enough money to make a dent in a Jae Crowder trade.
That leaves Tyler Herro and Duncan Robinson.
Both players make sense for the Suns. The team could use more 3-point shooting on the perimeter to create space for Chris Paul pick-and-rolls and Deandre Ayton on the inside. The Suns would likely rather get Herro, last season’s Sixth Man of the Year. But that’s where things get complicated.
Herro signed a four-year, $120 million extension this offseason, which doesn’t kick in until next season. That means he only makes $5.7 million this season, but he has a poison pill provision this year, making him difficult to deal.
The poison pill provision means that, in a trade, his contract is not counted as $25.1 million for the team receiving him instead of the $5 million he’ll make this year. A PPP player can be in a trade, but it almost never happens. In fact, only one player in NBA history — Devin Harris in 2008 — has been in a trade with a PPP in their contract.
With Herro effectively off the table, that leaves Robinson and his $16.9 million contract as the only true option for a Heat-Suns trade.
Robinson had a down season in 2021-22. His numbers dropped from 13.1 points, 1.8 assists, 3.5 rebounds, and 43.9% 3-point shooting in 2020-21 to 10.9 points, 1.6 assists, 2.6 rebounds, and 39.9% 3-point shooting in 2021-22.
Despite the drop in stats, a move to the Suns could help Robinson get back on track. As a pure shooter, Robinson (whose 3-point attempts also dropped last year from 3.5 a game to 2.9 last season) could thrive in a more fast-paced offense. In 2021-22, the Suns played at the ninth-highest pace in the NBA, while the Heat played the third-slowest game in the league.
A Jae Crowder trade for Robinson straight-up would seem fair, but the contracts ($10 million for Crowder, $16 million for Robinson) don’t match up. To make the deal work, the Suns would have to throw in veteran swingman Torrey Craig and his $5.1 million salary.
Adding Craig isn’t a killer for the Suns, as they signed Josh Okogie this offseason. The former Minnesota Timberwolves defensive stopper hasn’t been able to overtake Craig on the depth chart yet, but moving Craig to the Heat will open up time for a Robinson/Okogie split backing up Devin Booker and Mikal Bridges at the 2/3.
That’s a lot to give up for Robinson, so the Suns may push for something else, be it a draft pick or maybe Jovic or Strus. However, the longer the Crowder saga drags on with him not contributing to the Suns' season, the lower his value falls.
At some point, Phoenix may have to value Crowder at 50 cents on the dollar and make a deal just to get a live body back that can help the team. When that happens, a Jae Crowder trade involving the Suns forward and Torrey Craig for Duncan Robinson will be a good deal for both sides.
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