Since the NBA season has begun, one would assume that trade rumors involving the Miami Heat are over, especially if they involve a loser like Sixers guard James Harden. But you would be mistaken.
The Heat are still linked to Harden, who is currently suspended by the team, despite the fact that he would be a glaringly bad cultural fit and that the organization has shown no interest in him at all thus far.
The Heat are considered to be CBS Sports’ “best partner” for a Harden trade this week.
The deal, as writer Ameer Tyree put it together, would send Tyler Herro to Philadelphia, with “Caleb Martin and draft capital (to) help sweeten that deal.”
Tyree wrote: “The Miami Heat missed out on the Damian Lillard sweepstakes and it’s clear that they could still use an upgrade at point guard. Harden appears to be the only star on the market and Miami shouldn’t have to fork up as much as they would have for Lillard. The Heat have enough moveable assets and talent to make a deal work.
There are a number of issues with James Harden-Miami Heat trade rumors, especially ones that involve Herro. In the end, the Heat were not going to go so far as to give up Herro, Martin and draft capital to get Lillard, though it is difficult to know whether they’d have budged on that because they simply did not talk to the Blazers.
If the Heat were not going to give up Martin and draft capital to get Lillard, they certainly would not do it to get Harden.
The only chance that Harden winds up coming to Miami is if the Sixers are willing to take back Kyle Lowry. Miami would not include much more draft capital or other “sweetener” in a deal because, for one thing, they do not want Harden all that badly and, for another thing, the Sixers have no market for Harden right now.
If the Heat wanted Harden, they could offer Lowry and simply wait. The Sixers might get a better offer, and the Heat could add in a draft pick or two to up the ante, but there is no need to do that just yet.
But as of yet, there’s no sign that Harden is something the Heat want. As the season progresses, that might alter, particularly if the offensive problems from the first week continue into the first month. That is feasible given the Heat’s demanding early schedule, which includes nine of ten away games over a 17-day span in November.
Heat Stays Calm on Trade Front: Executive
In fact, the Heat have been largely silent on the trade front during the offseason, a league executive told Heavy Sports.
There is also a tax issue to contend with. The Heat are only about $2 million below the new, more punitive luxury tax apron.
“They’re going to be a tax team, that’s already set, they were prepared for that, they’re just trying to avoid the repeater tax,” the exec said. “But they have an issue with the (luxury tax) apron. They’ve got holes to fill but they can’t because of that apron. So, anything they do, they’re going to want a little relief from that.”
If the Heat could dump salary in a Harden trade, maybe that would be of interest—could they get the Sixers to take on both Lowry and Duncan Robinson? That’s doubtful. But that’s just another reason why a Harden-to-the-Heat trade is unlikely.
