Pat Riley and the rest of the Miami Heat's front office may have made up significantly for their inactivity through the first two weeks of the NBA offseason with a colossal move for Norman Powell. In what will be remembered as arguably the best Heat trade in years, this is a team that probably isn't done yet.
It's quite clear after the move for Powell that another move could be on the way. In all likelihood, all signs do point to Andrew Wiggins being on the chopping block next. Powell does help the Heat from a basketball standpoint, but does little to clarify this team's future from a roster perspective. Wiggins is probably one player who will find himself on the outside looking in.
Why Wiggins is likely to be traded
For a second, let's forget about the fact that Wiggins doesn't fit the "youth movement" that the Heat may be moving toward. From a basketball perspective, the addition of Powell does make Wiggins an expendable player. And if the Heat could get a future first-round pick in exchange for him on the trade market, there's little value in keeping him on the roster.
Not to mention that a big part in Miami creating ultimate financial flexibility heading into next summer revolves around trading Wiggins at some point between now and the 2026 NBA Trade Deadline. And, to be quite honest, if the Heat wants to get as much value as they can for Wiggins on the trade market, trading him before the start of the season makes the most sense.
Even though the franchise may never admit it, the Heat probably never viewed Wiggins as a long-term piece. That was more of the team making the most of the circumstance.
Why the Heat aren't dont yet
Another big reason why the Heat aren't clearly done making moves revolves around the fact that they're currently slightly over the tax ($1.3 million). I can't imagine the Heat will want to be a tax team against this season, so that's something they'll have to address. A two-for-one trade likely accomplishes that for Miami.
The inclusion of Wiggins (and his contract) will only make that much easier. Wiggins has the contract and is probably one of the only players left on the Heat's contract that they'd be open to moving between now and training camp.
There's no much that Heat fans have had to cheer about through the first two weeks plus of the NBA offseason. However, with the trade for Powell, some of that changed. Considering what the Heat had to give up for a player who was a borderline All-Star last year, it was a no-brainer.
The Heat won the deal, and I'm not sure there would be much pushback with that statement.
However, the Heat's work is far from over. While there's still room to debate what direction the franchise is taking or whether or not they should gear up for another star pursuit, it's pretty clear that Wiggins is almost certainly going to be the next player on the move. At this point, there's no denying that anymore.