Miami Heat: Best trade ever done with the Cleveland Cavaliers

Miami Heat trade history with the Cleveland Cavaliers

The most recent trade the Miami Heat have made with the Cleveland Cavaliers was back in 2018. Miami traded a 2024 second-round pick in exchange for Dwyane Wade.

At this point, Wade was nearing the end of his career, but the deal allowed him to spend his final seasons in South Beach. Since the pick hasn’t been made yet, this was a huge win for the Heat

This was technically a sign-and-trade, but it was a trade nonetheless. While LeBron James chose to sign with the Miami Heat, they also sent back some picks in exchange.

The funniest part about this is that the Cavaliers didn’t hit on any of the picks they got in return. This was very obviously a whopping victory for the Miami Heat.

This is the first trade of the bunch that the Miami Heat actually lost. Darnell Jackson would go on to play a full season with the Cavs, despite averaging less than two points per game.

The only reason Miami lost this deal is that Robert Dozier never even suited up for an NBA team. So, while the Heat technically lost, this trade was a dud all around.

Three-team trades are pretty rare because of how intricate they can get. In this deal, the Miami Heat sent out two players in exchange for Chris Gatling.

Gatling would only play 54 games for the Heat, meanwhile, Ricky Davis would go on to have a very successful trade with the Cavs. The Heat, unfortunately, lost this deal.

Here we have another three-team trade involving the Heat and the Cavaliers. In a weird twist of events, this deal involves Chris Gatling, too, meaning he swapped teams twice in two years.

The Heat got a good return in this deal because they got Brian Grant. He would go on to play just over 300 games in Miami, averaging over 26 minutes per game.

Heat trade Harold Miner, Donny Marshall for George Banks

This trade was back in 1995 and is one that the Miami Heat definitely lost. Harold Miner had previously played just under 200 games for the Heat when they dealt him.

The team traded him and Donny Marshal in return for George Banks, who would never even suit up for the team. The fact that Banks never even played an NBA game makes this trade an absolute dud for the Heat.

This trade was a fairly minimal deal for both sides. In 1988, the Heat dealt Darnell Valentine to the Cavaliers in exchange for Steve Bardo, who wouldn’t play in the NBA until three years later.

Valentine was definitely a much more productive NBA player than Bardo. Since Bardo never even played for Miami, the Cavs got the better end of this trade.

So, now that we know about every trade that these two teams have done, it’s time to decide which was the best trade from the perspective of the Miami Heat.