The Miami Heat have traded Jimmy Butler to the Golden State Warriors, ending a tumultuous saga and adding multiple role players to a roster that has won four of their last six games.
The Heat acquired Andrew Wiggins, Kyle Anderson and PJ Tucker, along with a first-round pick, adding helpful role players to their rotation.
Let’s take a look at how this trade impacts the Heat’s projected depth chart.
G: Tyler Herro / Terry Rozier
G: Duncan Robinson / Haywood Highsmith
F: Andrew Wiggins / Jaime Jaquez Jr. / Kyle Anderson
F: Bam Adebayo / Nikola Jovic
C: Kel’el Ware
Additional reserves: Alec Burks, Pelle Larsson, Kevin Love, Tucker
This starting five features a two-big frontline that will benefit from Wiggins’ spacing. Wiggins is shooting 38% on nearly six 3-point attempts per game this season.
There’s no questioning Herro, Wiggins, Adebayo and Ware’s spots in the starting five. Wiggins also projects to be written in pen for the closing lineup, alongside Adebayo and Herro, regardless of matchups.
As for the bench, Rozier and Jaquez will continue to check in as offensive spark plugs and Jovic remains as the third big capable of playing alongside either Adebayo or Ware. Tucker’s return is a good story, but he’s no longer the nightly rotation player he was during Miami’s 2022 run.
The wild card here is Anderson, who the Heat may have planned to flip in this deal and may not have had a plan for. He’s a veteran player who can play either forward spot and provide experience and professionalism when he checks into the game. He’s got decent touch in the paint and is a game defender. He’ll help unlock smaller lineups.
The Heat can now go small, with Adebayo at center, Wiggins and Anderson at forward, and Herro and a fifth player in the backcourt.
While this team doesn’t have high-wattage star power, it does have real depth. It’s that depth the coach Erik Spoelstra will lean on for the second half of the season.