Report: Miami Heat and Sacramento Kings have engaged in ‘vague’ trade talks
By Wes Goldberg
The Miami Heat could use the Sacramento Kings to help them tank this season.
Zach Lowe’s annual 30 crazy predictions column is a must-read, and over the last few years its included more and more inside information as Lowe has become entrenched in the inner workings of the NBA.
In his latest edition for the 2016-17 season, Lowe predicted that the Heat will tank the season, and dropped a little nugget that should be particularly interesting for Miami Heat fans.
"The easiest method: trade Goran Dragic without receiving a point guard, leaving the offense in the hands of (mostly) unproven ball-handlers. The Heat and Kings have had some vague trade talks since July — not necessarily involving Dragic, sources say — and given the Kings’ shaky point guard situation, it’s tempting to build deals sending Dragic to Sacramento. A half-dozen other teams are searching for a long-term answer at point guard."
It’s a deal that makes sense if the Heat are going to tank (and one we talked about doing in our hypothetical rebuild of the team).
How it would work
Later on in the column, Lowe predicts the Kings will trade Rudy Gay and Ben McLemore. A deal centering around those two and Dragic makes sense if Miami wants to clear as much cap space as possible. But that won’t be enough to pry Dragic away from Pat Riley (who gave up two first rounders for the point guard). The Kings’ cupboard of picks is dry, so they’ll have to look elsewhere.
That’s where the Oklahoma City Thunder come in, who could be looking for a small forward in the wake of Kevin Durant’s departure. OKC has plenty of picks, and if they are in the running for a playoff spot near the trade deadline, moving a future first to fill a major weakness could be tempting.
A three-way deal with Dragic going to Sacramento, Gay heading to Oklahoma City and the expiring contracts of Ersan Ilyasova and McLemore (plus maybe backup center Mitch McGary) and a future first heading to Miami works on paper.
Does it happen?
First of all, that’s a lot of moving parts. So the odds are against it. As far as trading Dragic in general, probably not. Riley, at 71, may not be itching to trade his best offensive player in the name of a rebuild. However, as Lowe says, if things go South quickly in Miami, this could be a phone call Riley starts making to save face. There are plenty of teams looking for point guards, and Dragic could be among the most available come the trade deadline.