Give the 2025-26 NBA season a little more time to breathe, and the trade market should come to life. In fact, the rumor mill is already rustling. And that has to be of particular interest to the Miami Heat, who have so far been unable to address their superstar void.
You might think, then, they'd be keeping close tabs on the Atlanta Hawks, who, one Eastern Conference executive opined, will "at least pick up the phone and listen" if teams come calling about star guard Trae Young, per ESPN's Tim Bontemps. Given Miami's lack of a primary playmaker and general need for perimeter scoring, Young sort of feels like a natural for this franchise.
Or rather, that would have been the case had the Heat not radically reshaped their offensive focus. Because if you're talking about possible fits for Young, a team that is deliberately moving away from pick-and-rolls and still leaning most heavily on its defensive identity is about as brutal of a basketball match as you can find.
Miami might need a star, but it doesn't need Trae Young.
It's been a solid start to the new season and one that, from the Heat's perspective, should get better with time, but nothing that has taken place so far suggests this club is any closer to filling its star void.
And if the Heat want to re-enter the highest levels of hoops competition, that's a problem that will have to be addressed at some point.
Making a move for Young just isn't the way to do that. And that'd be clear even if he was healthy (he's out with a knee sprain) and had his future all figured out (this is the last guaranteed season on his contract).
Unless the Heat (and Hawks) had interest in a Tyler Herro-for-Young trade, the defensive fit for the two guards was always bound to be rough. And while each is capable of spending time off the ball on offense, doing so also prevents them from doing what they do best. So, Miami would've been exposed to the players' biggest weaknesses while being unable to maximize their strengths.
The new offense, meanwhile, should have taken even fleeting thoughts of a Young pursuit off the table. Miami's pace might be its most notable change (first this season, 27th last season, per NBA.com), but it's also empowering multiple ball-handlers and relying on off-ball activity to generate scoring chances. Young, a pick-and-roll maestro, would be stripped of his superpowers in a system like this.
Now, could he study enough Stephen Curry film to rebrand himself as this off-ball net-shredder? In theory, sure. In reality, though, you don't acquire a 27-year-old with four All-Star appearances on his resume and immediately task them with changing their core identity.
Young is who he is, and that's a very good player, but just not one that makes any sense for Miami anymore.