With the trade deadline quickly approaching, we take a look at three power forwards the Miami Heat could make a move for.
There are just 15 days remaining until the 2017 NBA trade deadline. The Miami Heat, currently one of the hottest teams in basketball, have reeled off 11 wins in a row. Thanks to that incredible run, they sit two games behind the Detroit Pistons for 8th-place in the Eastern Conference. So it’s time to surmise: Is there a power forward out there that Pat Riley could potentially make a move for to help with a playoff push?
That’s no knock on their current starter at the position — Luke Babbitt — by the way. Over his last 11 games, Babbitt is shooting 47 percent from three, with a plus/minus of plus-4.8. He may not be the driving force behind the winning streak, but he’s certainly had a hand in it. However, even with his improved play, Babbitt has only averaged a meager 5.0 points and 2.8 rebounds in that span. He is simply a limited player, fit to do just one thing — shoot.
So if the Heat legitimately consider themselves playoff contenders, they need to get more out of their starting 4. Luckily, there are a few players at that spot rumored to be available for the right price. It’s impossible to know if Miami will be buyers or sellers when the trade deadline arrives, but it’s still fun to speculate.
Let’s take a look at three power forwards the Heat could deal for in the next two weeks. (Sorry, no Blake Griffin’s or Paul Millsap’s. Those guys are way out of the Heat’s price range. Whole point of this is to get a player — for cheap — who would help with a run at the playoffs. Not mortgage half the team away to get a superstar.)