Miami Heat: Trading Omer Yurtseven is the best pathway to improvement
By Jack Simone
Every year, contending teams look to be active on the trade market to try to improve their team before the playoffs. This year, the Miami Heat will be no different.
Last season, Miami traded for Victor Oladipo at the deadline. While that move hasn’t worked out yet, that sort of mindset is one that Miami will likely have again this year.
The only issue is that they don’t have a ton of assets to work with. If they want to make trades, they obviously have to be willing to send something out in return.
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Omer Yurtseven is the best trade asset the Miami Heat have
With the players currently on their roster, one player, in particular, stands out as their most tradable asset – and his name is not Tyler Herro.
Miami just signed Omer Yurtseven to a two-year contract. Despite this, he is likely the most valuable, and expendable, trade asset they have to work with this year.
Herro is far too valuable to the future of this team to trade away now. However, since Miami has Bam Adebayo as their long-term starting center, Yurtseven is pretty expendable.
In addition, they have Dewayne Dedmon to run backup center for them this season. Yurtseven might end up thriving on a team where he can see some big-time minutes at the five.
Finding a young, up-and-coming team to give them a valuable veteran in return for Yurtseven could be in their best interest. Teams such as the Thunder, Cavaliers, and Pistons all come to mind in that regard.
Each of those teams has cheap veterans on their roster who they could be willing to part ways with in return for Yurtseven. While Yurtseven has the potential to be great, he does not play a position of need for Miami.
Players such as Kenrich Williams of OKC, Larry Nance of Cleveland, and Rodney McGruder of Detroit could all play larger roles if given the chance.
None of them have the youth and potential of Yurtseven, but they all could help with depth. Miami has a severe lack of wing depth at the moment.
All of this is not to say that Yurtseven can’t be a valuable piece for Miami. He could very well come out and earn the full-time backup center role.
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However, if the Miami Heat are looking to make a trade at the deadline this year in order to improve, dealing Yurtseven is the most logical option.