Trade Grades Heat

Brian Roberts

6/22/2016

Trade Grades
Click here for link to Portland Trail Blazers' Trade Grades

Heat get: More $$$
Blazers get: PG Brian Roberts, second-round pick

In all honesty, this was quite a beautiful series of moves by Pat Riley to get under the luxury tax. It's unlikely that Arison would have wanted to pay up for a team with so many question marks, and Riley was able to save his boss some serious money at the cost of a few second-rounders and the Birdman, all told. Would we really expect anything less from Riley?

Unfortunately, however, the legendary Brian Roberts era in Miami has come to a close:
2/16/16 - 2/18/16.

Grade: A

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Jarnell Stokes

6/22/2016

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Trade Grades
Click here for link to New Orleans Pelicans Trade Grades

Pelicans get: PF Jarnell Stokes
Heat get: "Highly protected" draft pick, $$$

A very minor move that could speak volumes about Miami's aspirations for this season. The Heat shave $2.1 million off their luxury tax bill here, while also opening up a small $845,000 trade exception. Combined with the previous trade, owner Micky Arison could save up to $8 million.

The draft pick, however, is protected to the point where it will never reach Miami. Stokes is also essentially a non-factor in this deal, as he was only in the team's D-League in Sioux Falls. The 22 year old had averaged 3 points and 1.8 rebounds in 19 games for the Grizzlies in his rookie year.

My point about the trade speaking volumes is that, when you look at this combined with the Andersen trade, combined with the subsequent Brian Roberts trade, it is clear that Miami's only goal is to clear cap space. And with the Dragic-Wade pairing not going as planned, Bosh dealing with a second wave of blood clots, and the uncertainty surrounding C Hassan Whiteside's future, there is actually some sense to prioritize money over wins at this point, as awful as that sounds.

Grade: A-

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Chris Andersen

6/22/2016

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Trade Grades
Click here for link to Memphis Grizzlies Trade Grades
Click here for link to Charlotte Hornets Trade Grades

Grizzlies get: C/PF Chris Andersen, SG/SF P.J Hairston, 2 second-round picks (via Miami), 2 second-round picks (via Charlotte)
Heat get: PG Brian Roberts
Hornets get: SG Courtney Lee

Sorry Jesse J, but this one's all about the "money, money, money". This trade brings owner Micky Arison's luxury tax bill from $14.3 million down to $8.8 million, probably the main plus of this deal for Miami. In addition, Andersen has been of little to no tangible value this season, appearing in just 7 games and averaging a mere 1.9 points and 1.3 rebounds in 5 minutes per game. Roberts, on the other hand, is averaging 15.7 points per 36 minutes and offers another productive option at point guard at head coach Erik Spoelstra's disposal, which is made all the more important by PG Goran Dragic's struggles this season.

However, the cons of this deal are also apparent. For starters, I understand how willing Arison has been to pay up in the past for an elite team, but two valuable second-round draft picks should not outweigh a "slightly larger" luxury tax bill.

In addition, between PF/C Chris Bosh's latest blood clots keeping him out indefinitely, the trade rumors swirling around star C Hassan Whiteside, and the "meh" seasons of backup PF's Josh McRoberts and Amare Stoudemire, does it really make sense for Miami to trade away a big man, no matter how (un)productive?

Grade: B-

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Mario Chalmers

6/22/2016

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Trade Grades
Click here for link to Memphis Grizzlies Trade Grades

Heat get: PG/SG Beno Udrih, PF/C Jarnell Stoks
Grizzlies get: PG Mario Chalmers, SF James Ennis

Letting a two-time champion that has worn your uniform his whole career go is never easy, but Miami had little choice here. After recently handing star PG Goran Dragic $90 million as well as being considerably above the luxury tax line, PG Mario Chalmers and his $4.3 million contract were made rather expendable for financial reasons. Chalmers, however, is no more than a backup point guard that can run the second-unit and hit threes, and even his three-point percentage has fallen off a cliff over the past couple of years. Udrih, although a downgrade from Chalmers, will likely slide in rather seamlessly for the Kansas product as Dragic's chief backup (at half the cost!), along with emerging SG/PG Tyler Johnson. Ennis and Stokes, meanwhile, don't really move the needle much for either side, as both are solid prospects yet neither can make an impact right away nor are they locks to pan out long-term. Pat Riley and Co did an excellent job of trimming salary while doing minimal damage to the team's core.

Grade: A-

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Shabazz Napier

6/22/2016

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Trade Grades
Click here for link to Orlando Magic Trade Grades

Magic get: PG Shabazz Napier
Heat get: Second-round pick from Orlando (protected on numbers 31-55)

That draft pick is protected to the point where it will never reach Miami. Much of the motivation in trading up and drafting Napier in the late first-round in the 2014 draft was to appease superstar SF/PF LeBron James.James was quite fond of the UConn product, but obviously chose to return to Cleveland nonetheless. Napier had a decent rookie season, posting 5.1 points and 2.5 assists in limited minutes, mostly as a third-stringer. However, with Miami now having star Goran Dragic and a solid backup in Mario Chalmers at point guard, there was little use for Napier. Trading away his rookie deal that would potentially pay Napier $8.5 million over the next 4 years made sense for a team that is constantly working against the cap, but failing to receive any assets in return for a first-rounder that has done just fine to this point is a little concerning.

Grade: B-

Thanks to Jakob Flores (@jakeswgr.102613) for his contribution to this trade grade

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Goran Dragic

6/22/2016

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Trade Grades

Heat get: PG/SG Goran Dragic, SG Zoran Dragic (Goran’s brother)
Suns get: SF/SG Danny Granger, SF/SG John Salmons, C Justin Hamilton, Miami’s 2017 first-rounder (top 7 protected), Miami’s 2021 first-rounder
Pelicans get: PG Norris Cole, SF/PF Shawne Williams

This move could really go both ways for Pat Riley. On one hand, Goran Dragic, Wade, Deng, Bosh, and Whiteside could form one of the most talented starting lineups in the entire league. On the other, Dragic is a flight risk this summer and Miami gave up two first-rounders. I’m a Heat fan, yes, but I still maintain the former. Dragic is one of the better point guards in the entire league, and is averaging 16 points, 4 assists, 3.5 rebounds, 1.5 threes, and 1 steal per game while hitting half his shots as well as 71% at the rim, which leads all guards. This is a downgrade from last season, where he was handed a full-time starting role in Phoenix and was voted to the All-NBA Third Team, and there’s no reason he can’t do that again in Miami with him clearly being the primary floor general. In addition, it is more than likely that Dragic sticks around, as he listed the Heat as one of his three preferred trade destinations yesterday, and tweeted out “NOW it's #heatnation time and I'm excited to bring the Dragon's fire to Miami!!” That sure sounds like a guy that wants to stay to me, and spare parts and a couple of picks well into the future are worth it if it means potentially building a championship squad in the present.

Grade: A-

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Miami Heat: Trade Grades

Brian Roberts

Jarnell Stokes

Chris Andersen

Mario Chalmers

Shabazz Napier

Goran Dragic

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