Grade the Trade: Heat grab Trae Young in shocking proposal
By Tyler Watts
Would the Miami Heat accept this trade for Trae Young?
Young is one of the league’s best playmakers and offensive creators. Over the last four seasons combined, he averages 27.4 points, 9.7 assists, 3.7 rebounds, and 1.0 steal in 34.7 minutes per game. Ice Trae would get Miami’s offensive rolling and create plenty of open looks. Things slowed in the playoffs, but Young would be an instant fix to those issues.
Can the Heat survive defensively with Trae Young? They finished ninth in defensive rating last season, and the Hawks were 22nd. Young struggles to defend on the ball, and the undersized 6’1 point guard cannot switch onto larger players.
He is a man without a position on the defensive end of the floor, and his team has to try to hide him on a lesser scoring option. The Heat do this with Tyler Herro and playing the two together would be disastrous.
Trading the aging Kyle Lowry for a prime Young would certainly improve the Heat’s title odds. It would hurt to lose Caleb Martin and Nikola Jovic, but those are the prices for acquiring another star player.
Grade: B+
The Miami Heat would instantly have a Big 3, but can Trae Young get them over the hump? He led the Hawks to the conference finals in 2021 and the 25-year-old is still improving. Jimmy Butler raises his game in the playoffs, and Bam Adebayo is one of the best centers in the NBA. Give them an elite point guard and the sky is the limit.
The Heat would need to trade Tyler Herro for this to work. The two cannot share the floor, and Herro won’t be happy playing 20 minutes per game. Miami could use the return for Herro to further improve their roster around their new Big 3.
Young’s defense makes this deal a B-plus, but it is a cheap price to pay for a two-time All-Star just entering his prime. The Heat may just make this trade if they cannot acquire Damian Lillard. Pat Riley is looking for a star, but which one will he find?
