Miami Heat: Breakdown of assets that could move by the trade deadline

James Johnson

JJ has been a Heat-favorite since signing his $4 million deal with Miami in the summer of 2016, as he ended up losing close to 30 pounds and helped create the current, “culture,” the Heat have. Johnson has been such a important piece to a Heat team that has prided themselves in not having superstars, being built with grit and hustle guys, no one mirrors that type of player more than Johnson.

However, with JJ signing that huge $52 million deal that has a player option going into the 2020-21 season that he will 100 percent sign, that has left Miami with a decision to make with their swiss army knife forward that a few playoff teams could utilize immediately. What Miami doesn’t want to happen, is if Johnson gets injured next season or just falls out of the rotation, he becomes a Ryan Anderson-type contract that is immovable.

Ultimately, Johnson, more so than any player in this column, could be the immediate trade in mind for Riley.

Kelly Olynyk

The surfer-looking stretch-5 has been a fun asset for the Heat, who weren’t necessarily sold on signing him two summers ago, but were almost forced to once they lost the Gordon Hayward race with the Boston Celtics.

With Olynyk being a versatile asset in modern-day basketball, he becomes an easier piece to move, as a lot of teams could immediately use his tools, fitting seamlessly in any roster. But just like another Heat player will get too soon, Olynyk was signed to a 4-year $44 million deal with a player option in the last year, that he will definitely extend. And while Olynyk’s body will definitely still be fresh by 2020-21, Olynyk and Dragic are two of the easiest players to trade without hesitation besides the young trio.

Ultimately, the Heat decided to make this deal for Olynyk and might stick with it, as they are currently sticking with the other guy they signed to the same contract once Hayward decided to go elsewhere.