The Miami Heat’s start to the 2022-’23 season has not been to plan as they sit with a 15-15 record at eighth place in the Eastern Conference. Most notably, the injuries have been devastating to their team.
Miami brought back the same group that was one Jimmy Butler three-pointer away from facing the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals. With an aging roster and injury concerns, expect the Heat to be active at the trade deadline.
The organization has been linked to a few names, including Jae Crowder, Nerlens Noel, and others. However, one name stands out among the rest as most of the NBA is allowed to be traded after December 15.
Related: 3 big trade targets after Miami Heat’s unexpected poor start
Miami Heat interested in D’Angelo Russell, evaluating a potential trade and fit
The Heat will certainly be an interesting team to watch in the coming weeks and months as it remains clear that a trade is necessary to restore what could be a lost season of the Butler era. Well, one of his former teams could be a target for the team.
According to SKORNorth’s Darren Wolfson, the Heat are showing some trade interest in Minnesota Timberwolves guard D’Angelo Russell as the deadline for player movement is starting to creep into the picture.
Russell, 26, currently starts for Minnesota while averaging 16.6 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 6.3 assists while shooting 46.1% from the field and 35.5% from the three-point line in 27 games.
The point guard has a cap hit of $31.38 million and is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the year. Minnesota might be enticed to extract some value instead of letting him walk if it is for a good price.
Perhaps, the Heat could look to move Duncan Robinson and Victor Oladipo for Russell, which would be a combined $25.65 million in return. If not, Kyle Lowry could be possible with his $28.33 million cap hit.
Any trade would likely require some type of pick in return but would Miami and Minnesota even be interested in a deal surrounding these requirements? The Heat would surely not want to give away Lowry when their backcourt has defensive struggles.
Plus, the Timberwolves have seen Russell improve over the course of the season and a swap involving Robinson and Oladipo might not be intriguing. Lowry would also make the team significantly older.
It will be a story to follow as the NBA trade deadline is starting to creep into the frame. The Heat will likely be active while the Timberwolves look to gel together and hope for a healthy Karl-Anthony Towns to emerge.