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 five, we looked at a trade with the Spurs. In part six, we dial up the New York Knicks.
For a portion of this offseason, the New York Knicks let it be known that emerging star Kristaps Porzingis was available at the right price.
But of course, this was under the direction of their now-departed team president, Phil Jackson. With Jackson in the rear vision mirror, the Knicks have now moved forward under the presumption that the team will look to rebuild around Porzingis, assuming in the meantime they can’t find a suitable trade scenario for their other resident star, Carmelo Anthony..
However, a couple of recent reports have thrown a further question mark around the native Latvian’s future in the Big Apple, despite Jackson’s departure.
When outlining potential trade options for Kyrie Irving of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN explained that the Cavaliers could potentially be on the lookout for a young star to fill the void, and not a necessarily a proven veteran All-Star. The reasoning, as Wojnarowski explained, is the Cavaliers’ uncertainty surrounding the future of LeBron James.
Therefore, the reasoning is that if the Cavaliers at least brought back a future stud into the fold, this could help offset the possible future loss of James, if that eventuates. Which leads us to Porzingis.
In his piece, Wojnarowski stated that on top of the Cavaliers expressing a desire for Porzingis, there was further reason for a possible move:
"There continues to be distance between Porzingis and the organization, and how the Knicks truly value Porzingis’ future could become clearer once they’re together to begin the season."
This should be music to the ears of the Miami Heat front office. Team president Pat Riley has been searching for, in his words, “a whale” since James departed in 2014. And while Porzingis has played just two seasons, and is yet to even make an All-Star team, his potential is limitless.
Further demonstrating the possibility of acquiring Porzingis was outlined in a recent piece by noted Knicks beat writer, Frank Isola of the New York Daily News. In the midst of an article addressing the future of the Knicks’ head coach Jeff Hornacek, Isola noted:
"That begins with Hornacek repairing his relationship with Kristaps Porzingis, who did not connect with the head coach last season and ultimately skipped his exit meeting with Jackson, Hornacek and Mills in April."
While the Heat don’t possess an Irving-level talent to offer the Knicks, they nonetheless have a collection of intriguing pieces that could lead to some serious discussions.
Prior to selecting Porzingis at No. 4 overall in 2015, the Knicks have been completely bereft of owning their own high-end lottery selections. But with this proposal, the Knicks would be receiving Winslow (No. 10, 2015), Adebayo (No. 14, 2017) and a future first-round selection.
They would also be receiving one of the league’s most dominant centers in Hassan Whiteside. Having just posted a career-year, Whiteside is still just 28 and seemingly improving by the day.
Furthermore, the Knicks will be removing themselves from the disastrous Joakim Noah contract, which still has three-years and $55.6 million remaining. Also, the three-years and $36.8 million remaining on guard Courtney Lee’s deal would be coming the Heat’s way.
In essence, the Heat are sacrificing key young pieces and future salary cap flexibility in order to obtain one of the more transcendent talents in the league.
Porzingis is a 7-foot-3, 21-year-old, multi-dimensional stretch 4/5 whose skill set is almost incomparable across the league. Paired with key Heat pieces such as Goran Dragic, Dion Waiters and James Johnson, Porzingis’s ability to perform at both ends of the floor would fit in seemlessly with the methods used by head coach Erik Spoelstra.
While some additional moves would need to be made to address the team’s future cap situation, this sort of deal can set the Heat up for the next decade. And when taking into considerations the comments made by some highly esteemed reporters, the Heat could do a lot worse than to pick up the phone and have a conversation with the Knicks’ front office.