The Miami Heat should be keeping a close eye on Ja Morant's situation with the Memphis Grizzlies, waiting for the right opportunity to embark on an all-out trade pursuit for the All-Star guard. And if one proposed offer is all it would take to land Morant, it's hard to envision a world where the Heat doesn't pull the trigger.
In a proposed deal from Bleacher Report, the Heat would send Tyler Herro and Simone Fontecchio to the Grizzlies for Morant. No picks. No swaps. That's it. Again, if this is all it would take for the Heat to land Morant, they should jump at the opportunity to make this offer.
With Morant's trade value at perhaps an all-time low, this is the type of deal that has Heat president Pat Riley written all over it.
In theory, Morant would represent a superstar talent that the Heat desperately needs, even if it comes with a reclamation period. Talent is talent, and Riley has built his career on acquiring the talent and figuring out the rest later. It's what he does, and what he excels at.
But, ultimately, this deal would come down to whether the Heat would feel comfortable in, essentially, trading Herro for Morant.
Would the Heat trade Tyler Herro for Ja Morant?
The Heat clearly loves Herro; I don't think there are any real arguments against that. But, at the same time, when you can upgrade at the star position in the NBA, you almost always have to pull the trigger.
It's something the Heat has understood in the past, and quite consistently done. Herro is a very good player. Factually, he's an All-Star-level guard. However, I don't think Herro's ceiling can come even close to Morant's ceiling.
Because of that, the Heat would have to happily make this swap if this is the type of deal that it would take to get something done. I could even see Miami willingly including a future first-round pick to put some icing on this offer.
Sure, there's a level of risk that would come in trading for Morant, especially with the way he's performed so far this season. However, the reward outweighs the risk in this situation tremendously. And this could be one of those gambles that pays off significantly.
Recent reporting does seem to suggest that the Grizzlies still intend to build around Morant, but that could dramatically change if the team continues to turn in uneven results between now and the trade deadline. And if all it would take is Herro and Fontecchio for the Heat to land a superstar-potential player like Morant, I can't see why Miami wouldn't strongly consider pulling the trigger.