Miami Heat fake trade: Landing Anthony Davis from the Pelicans

Here at All U Can Heat, we’ll be running a series in which we build and contemplate (fake) trades between the Miami Heat and all 29 other NBA teams. In part four, a trade with the New Orleans Pelicans.

Now things are starting to get serious.

Whereas the previous trade proposals in this series have involved role players, this one features some of the elite big men in the league.

Hassan Whiteside rewarded the faith of the Miami Heat this past season by taking his game to the next level, and solidifying himself as a legitimate force in the league. Averaging 17.0 points, 14.1 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game in 77 games, Whiteside established himself as a legitimate two-way player.

Another member of the Heat who had a career year last season was guard Tyler Johnson. Also signed to a four-year contract extension last summer, Johnson entrenched himself as one of the premier performers off the bench throughout the league.

Coming off the bench for all 73 games, Johnson posted 13.7 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.2 assists in 29.8 minutes per game – all career highs. With the ability to switch between both spots ion the backcourt, Johnson flourished as the season progressed, and has only recently turned 25.

Unlike Whiteside and Johnson, forward Justise Winslow had a nightmare season last year, playing just 18 games in his second year after coming out of Duke. But now fully recovered from season ending shoulder surgery, Winslow will be ultra-keen to re-establish himself as one of the premier perimeter defenders in the league.

So while the trio of Whiteside , Johnson and Winslow still have tremendous upside, team president Pat Riley is always on the lookout for more. In his words, to land “a whale.”

And across the league, there aren’t too many bigger whales than Anthony Davis of the New Orleans Pelicans. Davis recently completed his fifth season in the league and will enter next season still at age 24. The No. 1 overall; pick in 2012, Davis averaged 28.0 points, 11.8 rebounds and 2.5 blocks in 36.1 minutes per game.

Possibly the most heartening aspect of Davis’ season was completing 75 regular season games, comfortably a career high. Having been plagued by various injury concerns in previous years, Davis managed to demonstrate a level of durability previously lacking.

While Davis demonstrated a great proficiency playing with newly acquired All-Star DeMarcus Cousins, how this pairing fares moving forward is anyones guess.

But with Cousins’s versatility consisting an increasing affinity for shooting from the perimeter (he averaged 5.0 three-points attempts per game last season), pairing him Whiteside could prove to be a lethal combination. Furthermore, the addition of Johnson would give the Pelicans the elite sixth man they are lacking to back up starting guards Jrue Holiday and Rajon Rondo.

Of course, the main contention with Johnson is that after this coming season, he will be owed $38.4 million over the remaining two years of his deal. While losing Johnson is a blow to the roster, it would be a very prudent move financially on the part of the Heat.

Furthermore, from the Heat’s perspective, Davis is simply a transcendent talent who was selected to the All-NBA First Team for the second time last season. Surrounded by the likes of Goran Dragic, Dion Waiters and James Johnson, Davis clearly represents a player who could take the Heat to the next level and beyond.

The remaining players involved in the deal are simply the cost of doing business. One cost involves taking aboard Omer Asik and the three years and $33.9 million remaining on his contract. On top of this, the Heat would be parting ways with their 2017 lottery selection, Bam Adebyao. An explosive front-court player, Adebayo generated a great deal of excitement with his performances in the recent NBA Summer League.

Acquiring a marquee player such as Davis is certainly easier said than done. But this deal improves considerably the quality of depth on the Pelicans’ roster, while delivering Riley the legitimate franchise player he has sought since the breakup of the Big Three.