Trading for this 2-way wing is the perfect all-in move for the Miami Heat
Can the Miami Heat use a roster redundancy to address a major area of need?
By Will Salinas
The Miami Heat sit with a record of 26-24, sitting two games over .500 with three days until the trade deadline and under a week and a half until the NBA All-Star break. With the Heat's struggles on both sides of the ball and getting a look at year five with this core, it could be time to move on from Tyler Herro, officially going "all in" with Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo.
Now, who is the player the Heat could go all in on? Truthfully, it was Damian Lillard, but now that the ship is long gone, one player who could be obtainable despite the team's unwillingness to move him at the moment is Mikal Bridges of the Brooklyn Nets.
To preface the decision to go all in and move Herro, it must be stated that Herro is a talented player who provides more positives than negatives on the court. However, the decision to move him is rooted in the need to eliminate redundancies within the makeup of this core.
Balancing out the roster
It's important to address the redundancies in the backcourt before getting to Bridges. Both Terry Rozier and Herro are great players, but Herro would be on the move due to the value of both players. Herro is younger, on a contract that can help land a bigger contract player, and is a winning player despite the criticisms. The guy works religiously in the offseason to get better, and it's shown, but his skillset gets muddled with the skillset of other players to the point where if Herro doesn't have the ball, how else is he contributing?
If you want an offensive-minded lead guard, you have one now. Rozier can be your lead guard, and even though it's been a tough stretch, there have been flashes, and there are some things he provides that are quite sustainable, such as his dribble penetration, isolation work, and court vision. Three areas in which Rozier is arguably better than Herro.
If Rozier, at 6-foot-1, is your point guard, then you need a bigger and more athletic shooting guard. Mikal Bridges would be an excellent fit for the Heat. He's a wing at 6-foot-6 who can play the two-guard spot, shoot the three and create his own shot.