Trade 1: Heat Get: P.J. Washington, Daniel Gafford, Maxi Kleber, Quentin Grimes, Dwight Powell, 2025 1st, 2031 1st Swap (Keep best)
Mavericks Get: Jimmy Butler, Alec Burks, Pelle Larsson, 2031 1st Swap (Keep worst)
Why the Heat Do It: As everyone knows by now, Jimmy Butler has requested a trade. There's a bunch of teams rumored but not too many of them make sense both ways, Dallas is one of the few that does. Miami pivots towards a rebuild... sorta... by acquiring a solid young player in Quentin Grimes. Washington and Gafford are still young and major rotation players, and Kleber/Powell are declining rotation players who Erik Spoelstra might pull a career revival out of. They acquire a 2025 1st to replace the one they owe to OKC and the 2031 pick swap banks on the Mavs not having a great team in 6 years with Kyrie and Jimmy retired. Burks and Larsson are hardly huge losses and help with roster and salary rules.
Why the Mavericks Do It: As everyone knows, Jimmy Butler just requested a trade, and Miami is in a tough spot. He's open to everyone but the fact remains that the original four teams mentioned: the Suns, the Mavericks, the Warriors and the Rockets make the most sense, bar maybe the Grizzlies or Lakers or something. The Suns have an inadequate offer, Rockets/Grizzlies/Warriors wouldn't want to gut their core and don't see the fit.
However, for years the Mavs have only been missing a gritty wing defender. Here, they get the epitome of that role while also getting a secondary playmaker and 20 point per game scorer who adds another clutch presence in the playoffs. This trade lets the Mavs challenge OKC with star power, as they'll never be able to match their depth. Keeping Naji Marshall means that they don't gut their wing depth and trading Gafford lets Derrick Lively step into a major role. The starting lineup features only one player under 6'7 and alternating Klay/Naji for offense/defense makes it a very malleable closing lineup.
Mavericks DC: PG: Luka Doncic, Spencer Dinwiddie
SG: Kyrie Irving, Dante Exum, Jaden Hardy
SF: Klay Thompson, Naji Marshall
PF: Jimmy Butler, Olivier Maxence-Prosper, Markieff Morris
C: Derrick Lively
Trade 2:
Heat Get: De'Aaron Fox, Malik Monk, Keon Ellis
Kings Get: Terry Rozier, Duncan Robinson, Kel'el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Nikola Jovic, 2029 1st, 2026 2nd, 2031 2nd
Why the Heat Do It: In the offseason, as soon as Miami trades Butler, they'll have a host of role players that they don't know what to do with. Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro are great, but neither is a franchise star, only a 2 or 3. De'Aaron Fox is every bit the piece to fix them, and with the Kings falling apart, he might be the next domino to fall. Fox fits perfectly both with the Miami roster sans Jimmy Butler and with the Miami tendency to star chase. With Herro's off-ball play and shooting, he fills in Fox's deficiencies, and him and Adebayo are capable enough on defense to cover for the rest of it. This trade puts Miami back in the top 4 of the East after just a couple months of mediocrity. Malik Monk gives the Heat a genuine bench bucket they're missing and Keon Ellis is a solid defender and shooter to fill the guard rotation as well.
Why the Kings Do It: If De'Aaron Fox is destined to leave, there's few teams with a fit that have as good of a return as Miami. Rozier's contract will expire in a year once this trade is made, freeing up a lot of free space as Sacramento gets off both Fox's and Monk's 4 year contract. In exchange they only take on two years of Duncan Robinson while getting three potential high-tier starters in Ware, Jaquez and Jovic. The 1st simply fills up a value gap as well as the two seconds - this is about the best deal in terms of young talent that the Kings could get for Fox.
Heat DC:
PG: De'Aaron Fox, Quentin Grimes
SG: Tyler Herro, Malik Monk, Keon Ellis
SF: P.J. Washington, Haywood Highsmith
PF: Bam Adebayo, Maxi Kleber
C: Daniel Gafford, Dwight Powell
Good luck scoring on Fox, Washington, Adebayo and Gafford. Spacing is a little awkward but Herro and Washington are both great shooters and Fox can shoot enough to have to guard him from the perimeter. Grimes and Ellis are great POA defenders while Monk gets bench buckets. Later on Kleber, Powell, and one of Ellis/Grimes could be flipped for an stretch big like Myles Turner while the bench can be filled out by the usual role player BS Spoelstra pulls.