Miami Heat Trade Rumors: Fire Sale Makes Hassan Whiteside, Goran Dragic Available To NBA Teams
Miami Heat trade rumors indicate Hassan Whiteside, Goran Dragic, and everyone else on the roster is now available in what could be a huge “fire sale” for the franchise. While previous Heat trade rumors had indicated that the team might be willing to listen to the right offer, there hadn’t been a confirmation that the team would trade star players like Whiteside or Dragic. A new report by NBA analyst Zach Lowe is now getting a lot of attention, as he says that everyone on the roster is available for the right price.
“Up and down the roster, literally every player. Literally no one is untouchable, not even Hassan Whiteside, by a long shot.”
This is a huge deal, as it means team president Pat Riley is ready to completely rebuild a roster that is still trying to recover from the losses of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh. There are still some good pieces playing for the Heat, but the roster has not been playing well as a unit. In the updated NBA standings, Miami has the second-worst record in the entire NBA at 11-28. The only team they are ahead of are the lowly Philadelphia 76ers (8-28), making for a pretty embarrassing NBA season to this point.
There are going to be a lot of additional Miami Heat trade rumors at this point, as starting center Hassan Whiteside is playing at an All-Star level. In 35 games during the 2016-17 NBA season (all starts), Whiteside is averaging 17.2 points, 14.3 rebounds, and 2.2 blocks per game. Those are top-notch numbers that any team would enjoy having, and he is doing it in just 33.8 minutes a night.
Starting point guard Goran Dragic has also been playing well for the Miami Heat this season. In 31 games, he is averaging 19.0 points, 6.6 assists, 3.8 rebounds, and 1.0 steals per game. Dragic is also shooting 40.9 percent from the three-point line, making him a huge weapon on offense. Any team looking for a point guard would benefit from acquiring him.
When it comes to salaries, the front office in Miami would certainly like to cut into the current payroll as the team flounders near the basement of the NBA. The roster is approaching $102 million in salaries this season, It doesn’t help that Bosh is making about $24 million and won’t see an NBA court this season. A lot of that salary won’t count against the bottom line if he officially retires from the league, but Bosh isn’t the only player making a lot of money for the team.
The salary for Hassan Whiteside is the most expensive one among the active players for the Miami Heat. He is under contract through the 2019-20 season, which is why so much interest has been generated in recent NBA trade rumors. Another franchise could acquire a young center who is under contract for three more NBA seasons after the current one ends.
If a team is trying to acquire talent before the NBA trade deadline, this could be the perfect acquisition for a contender. Whiteside is on the books for about $22 million this year, and it increases to about $27 million in year four. It’s an expensive deal, but worth it for a team that needs to improve in the low post on both ends of the floor.
A team like the Portland Trail Blazers is immediately going to get linked to this situation, as the team has two first-round selections in the 2017 NBA Draft. That could be huge in a rebuilding effort by Pat Riley, while helping the Blazers improve at the weakest position on the roster. It might just take both of those picks to get a deal done, but those are the types of Miami Heat trade rumors that fans would like to see if the team is really about to have a complete fire sale.
[Featured Image by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images]
