3 Players the Heat could trade for with Damian Lillard off the table

Yesterday, we explored the Miami Heat’s three options in the event that they couldn’t complete a trade for Damian Lillard. Since then, Lillard was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks. Bummer. You can read more about that here. 

But in that piece, option No. 3 was to pivot. Here’s what I wrote then:

"Pivot and admit that after two years of trying and failing to trade for a star, it isn’t going to happen. Instead, the Heat can finally dust off their assets and make minor moves to improve the roster around Jimmy Butler and Adebayo. Allow Tyler Herro to grow into a complementary scorer, trade a pick for a long-term answer at power forward and hope that internal development and more Butler postseason heroics can carry them to another Finals appearance. If the Heat can’t win a championship in the next two years, then at least they can set themselves up for a future built around Bam, Herro, Jovic and Jaquez."

If the Heat decide to pivot to trading for another player, the next obvious question is: to whom?

Let’s take a look at three players the Heat could trade for between now and the deadline that could help augment Erik Spoelstra’s roster around Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo.

1. Jrue Holiday, MIL

Two things are happening in Milwaukee that could result in Jrue Holiday playing for a new team; (1) Holiday, 33, becomes eligible to sign an extension starting Jan. 23 and (2) Giannis Antetokounmpo recently challenged the Bucks to build a longterm contender before he signs an extension. If the Bucks decide they need to trade Holiday to get younger and deeper, the Heat could come into play.

Holiday has a lot of characteristics the Heat typically look for. Tough, defensive-minded, experienced. He’d be an instant starter at point guard. Plus, can you imagine trying to score on Holiday, Butler and Bam? Frightening!

The problem with Holiday is that, again, he’s 33 and up for an extension. This would be a win-now move in the hopes of lifting the trophy at some point in the next two seasons.  He’s also an inconsistent scorer who shot just 40% in last year’s playoff upset against the Heat. He doesn’t exactly solve Miami’s problems scoring in the half-court.

But it’s worth exploring. A package starting with Milwaukee-native Tyler Herro and Caleb Martin could offer the Bucks enough scoring, youth and depth to negotiate.