The Miami Heat are 24-24 and are trying to move up the playoff seeding, currently sitting with the 7th seed in the Eastern Conference. Making a play for the New Orleans Pelicans’ Anthony Davis may be the move to put the Heat and Davis at the top of the East.
Do the Miami Heat have a chance at Anthony Davis? Before you scream, “I wish,” hear me out.
Where were you when ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski announced a potential Anthony Davis trade situation, via Twitter at 7:09 a.m. EST?
Agent Rich Paul has notified the New Orleans Pelicans that All-NBA forward Anthony Davis has no intention of signing a contract extension if and when presented and that he has requested a trade, Paul told ESPN on Monday.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 28, 2019
I was groggy and at work, but the NBA never sleeps. Although I had just gotten there, I immediately plugged my phone into the power outlet at my desk. I knew my phone was in for a heavy workload today as it went from twitter notification to text message from friends and back again, the least I could do was provide it some much-needed juice.
Anthony Davis’ agent Rich Paul of Klutch Sports notified the New Orleans Pelicans that his client had no intentions of signing an extension (even if it was the supermax worth $240 million) and that he’d like to be traded, via Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, “to a team that allows him the chance to win consistently and compete for a championship.”
The NBA alarms sounded loud and long, blazing a trail for the league-altering news. All I could see on my phone and from co-workers was the Celtics and the Lakers. But what about the dark horse teams? Sure the Heat aren’t considered tier one when it comes to assets to offer, but if Lakers team president Magic Johnson falters in his negotiations with New Orleans, the flood gate to other teams looking to land an all-NBA caliber player may open.
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That’s where we come in.
I want to focus on a trade that will help both the Pelicans and the Miami Heat. In this scenario, I want to see if we can also get under the cap for this season and next season. The Heat have the highest payroll out of any team in the NBA, but the fanbase just celebrated getting back to .500 ball a few nights ago against the New York Knicks in Madison Square Garden. Chairman, Micky Arison, can’t be happy paying that amount of money for a team that’s just breaking even. If a trade for Anthony Davis is possible, a secondary objective for team president Pat Riley should also be to address the salary cap situation.
My next 3 goals will illuminate the steps needed to be taken in order to make the best out of a deal for Davis.