Trade no. 4
In this trade idea, the Miami Heat would be sending a huge package to Memphis that includes Josh Richardson, Tyler Johnson, Wayne Ellington and a 2023 unprotected first round pick in return for Mike Conley and Omri Casspi.
I really tried to fit Chandler Parsons in this deal to make it more worthwhile for Memphis so Miami would not have to add a first round pick in here, but none of those moves looked great. As for what Miami gives up to Memphis, they send one of the most improved players of the year in Josh Richardson, as well as cap fillers in Tyler Johnson and Wayne Ellington to the Grizzlies for Conley’s talents.
If I am Riley, the only way I make this deal is if Goran Dragic can come back healthy at one point this season, the backcourt of Conley and Dragic would be one of the more savvy duos in the league and could potentially lead this Heat team to a home-advantage seed in the 2019 postseason. Moreover, Dragic played off-the-ball a lot in Phoenix when he won the 2013 Most Improved Player of the Year award next to Eric Bledsoe, so this could work in the favor for “The Dragon.”
And while losing Richardson would be a huge hit on this team for the foreseeable future, I think a lot of Heat nation believes that trading J-Rich for Jimmy Butler earlier in the season would have been a good idea, and I do not see a huge difference in the talents of Butler and Conley at this point in their careers (imagine if Conley played in the East for his whole career like Butler).
Our final deal is a blockbuster one that somehow makes sense for both teams.