Hi All,

Heat based trade for you today addressing most of their issues without giving up major draft capital. In this trade the Heat move off of the Duncan Robinson contract as well as the unreliable Oladipo and much maligned Dedmon, bringing in a higher quality of roleplayers to deepen their rotation and thrust them back into Eastern home court contention.

Heat: This is a no brainer for the Heat. They bring back Dragic, a bit of a cult hero who can ease the burden on Lowry who’s been playing 36 minutes a game this year. Dragic can come in and run a second unit paired with Drummond who he’s already built chemistry with this year. He’s got playoff experience and should fit straight back into that Heat culture. Drummond himself has proved to be one of the better back up centres in the league. Still a physical force to deal with Drummond crashes the boards better than any other 5 in the league and has embraced his role as a back up guy. Playing zone instead of 5 on 5 the Heat can hide some of his deficiencies on the defensive end. Derrick Jones jr. Is another Heat alumni, and he provides another asset the Heat are lacking at the moment. Athleticism! Jones can still get up and dunk with the best of them in the league and with his lanky frame he’s adding some size to the forward spots. He might not make the playoff rotation but Spo would welcome back a player with his talents. Lastly and most importantly is Bojan. Miami have lacked a 4 all year and Bogdanovic has shown he’s still got it with the Pistons, lighting up the league scoring 21 a game shooting 43% from 3. He’s got good size and while he’s not the most athletic he can be trusted in a playoff series to not be a liability defensively. In the Jazz’a match up with the Mavs last year he was Luka’s primary defender and didn’t embarrass himself. He knows how to use his size effectively. I think this is must do scenario if this is available for the Heat, not only do they significantly improve the rotation but they also get off Robinson’s contract, at the cost of draft capital and their rookie Nikola Jovic.

They’d line up like this: PG: Lowry, SG: Herro, SF: Butler, PF: Bogdanovic, C: Adebayo - Dragic, Drummond, Strus and Martin play big minutes while the likes of Jones, Vincent, Highsmith would round out the rotation.

This is suddenly a versatile roster with a lot of shooting and a bit more size than previous. I think a trade like this pushes the Heat into that 5-6 seed range and from there they become a tough out in the playoffs.

Pistons: Far simpler for the Pistons, to me they’re still at the start of their rebuild and can afford more than most teams in the league to take on a contract like Robinson’s, especially when he can space the floor for the likes of Ivey and Cade. The Heat 1st should be in the late teens and with the Pistons success in the draft recently that becomes a valuable asset. Perhaps they can get a 1st and a less damaging contract for Bogdanovic but offers haven’t been forthcoming thus far.

Bulls: A minor move in their larger tear down. This see’s the Bulls give up some older rotation guys in exchange for a 2nd and Nikola Jovic, a prospect who can play for them this year helping them to tank if that’s the direction they choose. This move gets then below the luxury tax line and still allows for more significant moves of the likes of Caruso, DeRozan, Lavine and Vucevic.

Let me know your thoughts on this trade. Thanks for reading.