3 Trade deadline moves that would boost the Miami Heat, 2 they must avoid

Avoid: Dejounte Murray, Atlanta Hawks

Murray has a lot of fans in Miami, both amongst the fanbase and on the team, but he’s not the answer to the Heat’s problems.

Let’s start here: Murray is a good player. A lot of teams would be lucky to have him. He makes sense on the Lakers or other contenders.

But the Heat’s needs are more specific. Murray looks good on paper, but watch the games and he’s not exactly what the Heat need. 

He’s a good scorer, but the Heat don’t merely need “good scorers.” They need players who can get to the rim, put pressure on the defense and draw fouls. Murray doesn’t do those things. Rather, he does most of his damage in the mid-range or non-restricted paint area. Miami already has too players who prefer that area (Jimmy Butler, Tyler Herro, Bam Adebayo) and don’t need more taking shots from the most inefficient area of the court.

Defensively, he’s not the all-league defender he was in San Antonio, although he should be better if dropped into a defensive-minded organization like the Heat. Still, he’s not often used as Atlanta’s primary point-of-attack defender and it’s fair to wonder if he’s still capable of playing that role after tearing his ACL in 2018.

The biggest reason the Heat should avoid Murray, though, is because of the cost. If it takes a first-round pick and a swap to get Murray, that might be too rich for the Heat, who may prefer to hold onto their assets to chase a superstar this summer.