The Miami Heat currently have the eighth-best record in the Eastern Conference at 22-30 (tied with the Charlotte Hornets, but they are just a game ahead of the eighth-place Brooklyn Nets (21-31), and 1.5 games ahead of the Boston Celtics (20-31). Further down the standings, four teams – the Nets, Celtics, Detroit Pistons (21-33), and Indiana Pacers (21-33) – are within three games of the Heat in the loss column, which fans, players and media begin to track more closely every season around this time. And with the Milwaukee Bucks sitting comfortably in the sixth spot in the East with a record of 30-23, it appears the six teams mentioned above, including the Heat, will be competing for the final two playoff berths in the Eastern Conference. With the playoffs within reach, the Heat (and every other team except the Celtics, who are more interested in compiling draft picks rather than players) will almost certainly be buyers as the February 19th NBA trade deadline approaches. Some of those teams, including the Hornets, have already made noise (Charlotte traded for point guard Mo Williams from the Minnesota Timberwolves). Buyers can generally only make trades with sellers – teams that have no hope of making the postseason and are therefore likely to move players for assets they hope will pay off down the line. Let’s take a look at five players that may be dealt away by their current teams and how they might find themselves wearing a Miami Heat (or other) jersey in the next week or so. 1. Arron Afflalo (Denver Nuggets) As discussed here a few weeks ago, Arron Afflalo will be among the most pursued players in the trade market. Afflalo is an athletic 6’5" shooting guard whose versatility and ball-handling skills allow him to play nearly every position on the floor. He is also a better-than-average defender and would be a valuable addition to the Heat, who will be without the services of star guard Dwyane Wade (right hamstring injury) at least through the All-Star break. The 7-year veteran out of UCLA is averaging 14.5 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game this season. Denver may be motivated to move Afflalo before the trade deadline since the Nuggets talented roster has vastly underachieved under coach Brian Shaw and currently sport a 20-33 record. Next Page: Jordan Hill (Los Angeles Lakers) [xyz-ihs snippet="Responsive-Ad"] 2. Jordan Hill (Los Angeles Lakers) Lakers center Jordan Hill is having his best season as a pro, averaging 12.3 points and 8.0 rebounds per game, while also shooting .760 from the free throw line – all career-highs. Granted, he is making those numbers on a dreadful Lakers team, but he has been L.A.’s most consistent performer this season. He is currently sidelined with a hip flexor and will not return to action until after the All-Star break. At 6’10," Hill is slightly undersized at the center position, but what he lacks in size he makes up for in hustle. The Lakers rarely run plays for or through him, so he picks up most of his points on tips, dunks and offensive put-backs. The five-year veteran out of Arizona also has a deceptively accurate and effective jump shot from 15-feet and in. Hill signed a two-year, $18-million dollar contract last summer, but the Lakers hold the team option for his second year, which means a team like the Heat can take a gamble on Hill for the stretch run and let him walk after the season if things don’t work out. The Heat have a fairly strong front court with Chris Bosh, Chris Andersen and Hassan Whiteside. But all three players have missed significant time due to injuries this season, and Hill could step in should one of them go down again. Hill could also be an attractive target for playoff-bound teams in both conferences who are looking to shore up their front lines and acquire the hardworking and under-appreciated Hill as an insurance policy in case a regular contributor is forced to miss time for any reason. Next: Reggie Jackson (Oklahoma City Thunder) [xyz-ihs snippet="Responsive-Ad"] 3. Reggie Jackson (Oklahoma City Thunder) Like Jordan Hill, 6’3" point guard Reggie Jackson is having the best season of his career since being drafted out of Boston College by the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2011 NBA draft. With superstar forward Kevin Durant and point guard Russell Westbrook missing a combined 41 games this season, Reggie Jackson has stepped in and stepped up to the fill the void for the Thunder on the offensive end. Jackson is averaging 12.9 points, 4.3 assists and 4.0 rebounds per game and kept the Thunder in the hunt for the playoffs in the competitive Western Conference while Durant and Westbrook missed action early in the season. The Thunder traded for mercurial Cleveland Cavaliers shooting guard Dion Waiters in early January, and he has provided fairly steady offensive production in a starting role off the bench since joining the team. Now, OKC’s backcourt is talented but crowded, which may mean Jackson is the odd man out. While Waiters has been shuffled in and out of the starting lineup, Jackson has again been relegated to backup duties behind Westbrook. As long as Westbrook plays for the Thunder, Jackson will have to get used to that role. Jackson is making approximately $2.4 million dollars for the 2014-2015 season and will be a restricted free agent this summer. The Thunder could conceivably match any offer sheet that is presented to Jackson after the season, but why would they? Westbrook is the starting point guard for the Thunder until further notice. Waiters is a shooting guard, but he is both taller and more athletic than Jackson is still on his rookie contract and locked in through next season. Jackson will command a high salary (if not quite max dollars) in the open market, and he will almost certainly be looking to start. In fact, he may prioritize starting over money this summer. The Thunder, who traded away James Harden and Jeff Green before they hit restricted free agency and already have two max-contract players on the payroll, are not likely to make Jackson the highest-paid backup point guard in the NBA. In a point guard-driven league, having an effective play-caller in the backcourt is critical to a team’s success. The Heat managed to finesse the issue over the last four seasons, with LeBron James and Wade running the show. Mario Chalmers and Norris Cole were solid complementary players in that system, but the three-headed monster of Chalmers, Cole and rookie Shabazz Napier has been inconsistent at best this season. Jackson could provide immediate stability at the point guard position for the Heat, and as he has demonstrated in Oklahoma City, he can help carry a team down a couple of superstars. With Wade’s nagging hamstring and Bosh’s calf issues, Jackson could help orchestrate the Heat’s offense with Luol Deng, while Chalmers, Cole and Napier might contribute more effectively when they are assuming a more reasonable and talent-appropriate workload. The Heat’s backcourt as currently constructed might push Miami across the finish line and into the playoffs, but they have very little chance to carry the team in a playoff series against the likes of Derrick Rose, Kyrie Irving, John Wall or Kyle Lowry. Next: Lance Stephenson (Charlotte Hornets) [xyz-ihs snippet="Responsive-Ad"] 4. Lance Stephenson (Charlotte Hornets) After four up-and-down seasons with the Indiana Pacers, shooting guard Lance Stephenson signed a three-year, $27 million dollar contract with the Charlotte Hornets last summer. It is safe to say Stephenson has been a total disappointment in Charlotte. He has not lived up to his contract, or for that matter, to his uneven play in Indiana. Although his rebounding and assist numbers are up over his career averages, he is shooting 37% from the field – his lowest since his rookie season – and averaging 9.0 points per game, a significant drop off from his final year in Indianapolis, when he scored nearly 14 points per contest. His .592 percentage from the free throw line is the second-worst of his career. But… Stephenson is only 24 years old and his contract is user-friendly. He is guaranteed only (!) $9 million this season and next because the Hornets hold the team option for the third year. Though Stephenson was offered more overall dollars by the Pacers last summer, the fifth year player out of Cincinnati bet on himself and signed for less money and fewer years in opting to move to Charlotte. The Hornets were a surprise last season, winning 43 games and making the playoffs, only to be eliminated by the Heat. But with a young and talented core of center Al Jefferson, point guard Kemba Walker and forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, the future looked bright for Michael Jordan’s team. The addition of Stephenson seemed to be a solid move designed to build on last season’s success. Instead, the experiment has been a complete flop. Stephenson is still young and his talent that has made him both a solid contributor in the past has also made him a source of frustration to his coaches and teammates (along with his temperament and personality). Maybe he can find it with a change of scenery. Miami does not at first seem to be a likely destination. Stephenson and several current and former Heat players, most notably LeBron James, have scuffled over the years during the regular season and in competitive postseason battles. But those Heat teams no longer exist, and Miami could use a player like Stephenson whose hybrid size and game still make him a matchup problem for opposing teams. While he is not an athletic player – there seems to be a plodding, herky-jerky rhythm to his game – he is an effective ball-handler, playmaker and scorer (at least in the past). He is a latter-day Charles Oakley/Anthony Mason-type player who does a little bit of everything in an unorthodox way. The Heat could use him as a reserve forward, behind Deng or Andersen, and he could eventually earn starters minutes, if not a starting role, and play alongside Bosh, Wade, Whiteside and Deng. When healthy and locked in mentally, Stephenson is as crafty and versatile as any player in the game. However, the Hornets and the Heat are fighting over the final two playoff spots in the East, and it seems unlikely the two teams would execute a deal that might help the other. But stranger things have happened… Even if a deal between the Heat and Hornets does not happen, Charlotte may still shop Stephenson to other teams in the East and West who could use his considerable but maddening talents. Next: Jeremy Lin (Los Angeles Lakers) [xyz-ihs snippet="Responsive-Ad"] 5. Jeremy Lin (Los Angeles Lakers) Point guard Jeremy Lin had one of the most spectacular coming-out parties in the history of the NBA in the winter and spring of 2012. Filling in for several New York Knicks point guards who were either traded away or injured, Lin put on a show at Madison Square Garden, averaging over 14 points and six assists in 35 games with New York that season. Lin left the Knicks as a restricted free agent for the Houston Rockets, where he struggled as a starter and was eventually replaced by the less expensive and more effective Patrick Beverley. Traded to Los Angeles last offseason, Lin has still been unable to recapture the magic that swept up the basketball world four years ago. With the Lakers season lost, Byron Scott has replaced the veteran point guard in the starting lineup with rookie Jordan Clarkson. But Lin is a rangy point guard who can break down defenses and create openings on the perimeter for his teammates. He is second on the team to the injured Kobe Bryant in assists with 4.6 a game, and he can still score, averaging over 10 points per game. But in the West, where nearly every team has a sensational starting point guard (and sometimes two or three point guards, like the Phoenix Suns), Lin is not likely to find a starting role. Nor would he necessarily find starters minutes in the East. But he could certainly be an effective reserve on a team such as the Heat, who use a platoon system with Chalmers, Cole and Napier. Lin might be a very sensible addition to that rotation and offer a more natural and dynamic presence to the Heat’s point guard position. Lin’s backloaded contract, which pays him over $14.8 million dollars in 2014-2015, expires at the end of the season. Like several of the players mentioned above, that makes him a tempting risk – both in terms of talent and finances – to take for a number of teams, since both parties can go their separate ways in the summer. At the same time, both parties could win, with Lin auditioning for his next contract while helping the team he is potentially traded to succeed. The trade deadline is February 19th, just seven days away. Let’s see how the NBA playing field is altered by the moves teams make before then. [xyz-ihs snippet="Responsive-Ad"]
