Miami Heat Trade Rumors

The Miami Heat are currently sitting atop the Eastern Conference with a record of 35-20. They have been very impressive this season, especially against the league’s other top teams. But they have done it with their best players missing a lot of time. Bam Adebayo has missed 25 games, Jimmy Butler has missed 19 games, and Kyle Lowry has missed 13 games. That’s a lot of missed time yet the Heat are STILL on top. They also have Victor Oladipo who is expected to make his season debut within the next month or two. So they do not really need to make any moves at the Trade Deadline on Thursday,but they still could. Every team could use an upgrade if the player(s) fit. Here are four players that the Heat have been connected to ahead of the deadline.

Miami Heat Trade Rumors

Three players worth keeping an eye on for the HEAT in advance of Thursday’s trade deadline?

🏀 PJ Washington
🏀 Rui Hachimura
🏀 Nic Batum

For now, deals appear unlikely, yet all are players of interest according to sources.@5ReasonsSports @AdamNBorai

— Greg Sylvander (@GregSylvander) February 6, 2022

Rui Hachimura – Washington Wizards PF

Rui Hachimura was the ninth overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft. He had a good first two seasons in the league and started every game that he played in. But this season has been much different. He didn’t make his season debut until about a month ago and so he has only played in thirteen games. He has come off the bench in all of them. Hachimura has been averaging career-worst numbers across the board. I would attribute a lot of that to the fact that he has played over fourteen less minutes per game so far. I do not think that the Wizards are going to trade Hachimura. Even if they decide to blow it up at the deadline Hachimura is a key young piece for Washington.

P.J. Washington – Charlotte Hornets PF

Selected three spots after Hachimura in the 2019 Draft was P.J. Washington. Washington’s situation is very similar to Hachimura’s. He had a good first two seasons, started all but four of the games that he played in. But this year has been a bit disappointing and he has come off the bench in all but four of the games that he has played in. Despite coming off the bench he is still playing 24 minutes per game, yet has still been disappointing. Washington is a young player on a young team, so I don’t know if he’ll be dealt either. One of my colleagues has suggested they could deal him though.

Nic Batum – Los Angeles Clippers SF

I never really understood all the hate that Nicolas Batum got while he was with the Hornets. No, he didn’t necessarily deserve his $20+ million per year contract, but it’s not like he was bad, he still put in some good seasons. Granted his production did fall off in his last year and a half there. He was just one of the beneficiaries of that 2016 summer when the cap numbers went up and the money had to be given to someone. Batum is still a good player that could help any team. I have no idea if the Clippers will sell off some assets at the deadline, but if they do, Batum is a good candidate to be dealt.

Donovan Mitchell – Utah Jazz SG

Report: Donovan Mitchell’s relationship with Rudy Gobert is back to being ‘passively aggressively awkward’: ‘There’s some drama here’ https://t.co/7qrvGrBIxy

— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) February 4, 2022

This one is interesting. Donovan Mitchell is easily the biggest name in this group. There have been reports about him being unhappy in Utah since last season. The biggest ones have been about the tensions between him and fellow Jazz superstar Rudy Gobert. Mitchell has insisted that they are fine and that those reports aren’t true. But who knows. If they are true though, then Mitchell could be looking to get out of Salt Lake City. And if he does, then everyone seems to agree on where he would want to go: the Miami Heat.

Donovan Mitchell grew up a Heat fan and idolized Dwyane Wade. Mitchell has been compared to Wade and has talked about how much he has affected his game and his life. Plus, Pat Riley would certainly do what is necessary to land Mitchell. But also Wade just so happens to be a minority owner of the Jazz, so Mitchell might not want to leave because of that.