Sometimes in life, the best path is not always the easy path. For the Miami Heat, though, they'd be absolutely foolish and would grow to regret a decision not to pursue Trae Young via trade should he suddenly become available on the block.
Young could be described as the Heat's "easiest" path to land a star player, but it's become very clear that Miami would have some very clear reservations about pulling the trigger on a deal.
According to Heat insider Ethan Skolnick, the "word about Young has never been glowing" inside the Heat's organization. Skolnick also added that it would be "hard to see" the Heat emerging as the team that trades for Young, or even takes a shot at him in free agency in the next two years.
All in all, it's a pretty clear strike down of any thought that the Heat could make a move for Young.
Trae Young's fit can't be ignored
But if there was any shift in the Heat's line of thinking, the possibilities could be intriguing. If there's one argument in favor of the Heat pursuing a move for Young, it almost certainly would revolve around the idea that the star guard is a great fit next to Bam Adebayo.
Young and Bam could wreak havoc on opposing defenses if they were at the head of the Heat's offense. Everything aside for the moment, Young would immediately inject a level of excitement for the fan base and, more specificially, Bam.
Bam's never played next to a playmaker as dynamic as Young, and it would immediately make life for him much easier on the offensive end of the floor.
There are legit concerns
All that said, there are some legit concerns surrounding a potential pursuit of Young. For one, he's been wildly inconsistent throughout his career. There's a chance that the Heat just don't believe he has the consistency it takes to be a high-level superstar. And that's OK, and, quite frankly, understandable.
There are also concerns about the fact that he's a one-end-of-the-court star. And the Heat has generally shied away from those types of players. Plus, for as great a fit as Young may be alongside Bam, it's hard to sell the Heat's fan base on a backcourt duo of Young and Trae Young.
But if the Heat is desperate to add a superstar player within the next two seasons, Young could end up being one of the most realistic options. Whether they want to go down that path or not is still very much a question.
However, by refusing to even consider it, the Heat could end up making a rash decision on a very good star player, one that they could end up regretting in a big way.