Miami Heat: With Contract Lock Lifting, Time For Pat Riley To Make A Trade?
It is no secret that the Miami Heat have had their fair share of injuries in the early stages of the 2021-22 season. Can a mid-season trade help right the ship and get them back on top of the Eastern Conference?
The All-Star duo of Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo are banged up, with the latter recovering from mid-season thumb surgery and the former already missing substantial time. That goes for key role players too, with Markieff Morris and Caleb Martin currently sidelined with neck and NBA Health and Safety protocol issues, respectively.
With all of these injuries racking up for the Miami Heat, fans have to be wondering why Pat Riley and the front office have not made any moves to acquire a healthier roster. This lack of movement could partially be because of a freeze that is placed on player contracts once they sign an off-season free-agent deal.
Players that signed a free agent contract, of any kind, cannot be traded for three months. This essentially has put trade negotiations at a standstill around the league.
Because the Heat recruited quite a number of players in the off-season, most of their roster has been locked out from the trade market. Well, for now.
The Miami Heat are contenders and with the free-agent contract lock lifting December 15, the NBA is sure to see rising trade winds. Is it striking time?
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This freeze on free-agent contracts is set to lift on Wednesday, December 15. This means that nearly every player who signed an off-season contract can hit the open market for general managers around the league.
Pat Riley, who is known for making in-season trades, must be licking his lips at the prospect of slightly reshaping a Miami roster that is void of healthy rotation players at the moment.
A few teams have already expressed an interest in participating in Wednesday’s anticipated trading frenzy. They include the Indiana Pacers and the Memphis Grizzlies.
Superstar names like Damian Lillard and Ben Simmons have also continued to stay at the top of minds and wishlists, but they are not expected to be moved right away, if at all.
With the entire league abuzz with the excitement over a potential trading fever, a few questions remain for the Heat’s front office. Is the current roster enough to compete for a championship?
How valuable are current assets and future draft picks? Can you bring in another superstar without forfeiting the future?
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All of these questions are sure to be answerable starting on December 15, when nearly half of the players in the league become targets on the open trade market.