Philadelphia 76ers PF Ersan Ilyasova
Ersan Ilyasova is in a situation very similar to Tucker’s. He’s on the last year of his current deal, and not young enough to be a part of the team’s future. Even despite knowing he isn’t going to be in Philadelphia much longer, that hasn’t stopped Ilyasova from posting the best numbers of his career.
As a member of the Sixers, he’s averaging 15.6 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 2.2 three-pointers per contest. He’s shooting 46 percent from the floor, and 38 percent from three. Ilyasova’s VORP is 0.8, which puts him right behind Kristaps Porzingis, but ahead of Klay Thompson and Eric Gordon. And the Sixers’ net rating is 7.4 points better when Ilyasova is on the floor.
He is the exact type of stretch-4 you would want next to Whiteside. A good shooter who’s not limited to scoring behind the three-point line. Ilyasova doesn’t get enough credit for his ability to get buckets in a variety of different ways.
Moreover, although he may not be a great defender by any stretch, he’s got solid size at 6-foot-10, and quick enough feet to be serviceable in that area. Plus, playing next to Whiteside would help mask those deficiencies.
So let’s think: Who on the Heat would strike enough interest from Philadelphia to make a deal plausible? Even after the years of legendary tanking, and trusting of the process, there’s still one area their team is lacking. And that’s in quality guard-play. I suggest the following:
The Sixers trade Ersan Ilyasova and Richaun Holmes for Miami’s Tyler Johnson and Wayne Ellington
Though this trade would cause some distress among Heat fans (Tyler “Bumpy” Johnson has a cult-like following in Miami), it works out for a multitude of reasons.
The Heat would get the stretch-4 they’ve been missing since Bosh went down. Ilyasova is just 29 years-old with a lot of his prime left.
Additionally, Miami has a glut of guards on their roster. There’s Johnson, Dion Waiters, Goran Dragic, Rodney McGruder and Wayne Ellington all currently fighting for minutes. Josh Richardson hopes to return from his foot injury before the All-Star break too, so that’s another guy to factor into the rotation.
Trading Ellington, at least, wouldn’t change the Heat’s fortunes. He’s a shooter, yet has converted under 35 percent of his attempts from three this season. Ellington’s just not good enough at his role to warrant that much playing time (which is why he’s been on seven teams already).
On the other hand, Miami losing Johnson (nice asset, signed to a long-term deal and not even 25 yet) would hurt. So to recompense, they get Richaun Holmes in return.
Holmes is quietly one of the highest-upside players in the NBA. His per-36 stats (average of a player’s numbers if they played 36 minutes) are through the roof: 15.4 points, 9.7 rebounds, 1.7 blocks, and 1.7 threes. His Win Shares per 48 (number of wins contributed by a player over a 48-minute average) is 0.166, which is 128th in the league, ahead of freaking Carmelo Anthony and Dwyane Wade. Holmes is also under contract for three years, on a very team-friendly deal.
That’s in addition to Ilyasova, whose pick-and-pop abilities fit nicely with Dragic, and three-point shooting give Whiteside room to operate. Even though he is going to be a free agent after this year, an offseason that included re-signing Waiters, James Johnson, and (potentially) Ilyasova would be a successful one. It would give Miami a solid (and relatively young) core for years to come.