Miami Heat sharpshooter Duncan Robinson has been involved in trade rumors for months.
The rumor mills are swirling even more now, given that the 28-year-old has been supplanted in the rotation by other players. In an interesting new twist, an Eastern Conference executive recently linked Robinson to the Chicago Bulls.
“I don’t know if they would get another big guy, with [Andre] Drummond there, but finding a way to make a deal for Richaun Holmes in Sacramento might be a way to give them some rim protection,” the executive told Heavy.com’s Sean Deveney. “The problem is, it is a tough fit with their salary structure, making the match, I don’t think you’d give up a Coby White for a guy riding pine in Sacramento.
“I think they’d do well with a volume 3-point shooter, a Buddy Hield or Luke Kennard or even Duncan Robinson, if they could figure out a way to make that deal. But again, the contracts are not really there for that kind of deal.”
The undrafted wing from the University of Michigan has performed rather disappointingly after signing a five-year, $90 million deal with the Heat in the 2021 offseason. His shooting efficiency from the field, which was primarily what made him a commodity in the NBA, has significantly regressed.
In the 2021-22 campaign, Robinson shot just 39.9 percent from the field and converted just 37.2 percent of his 3-point attempts. The numbers were a far cry from his production during the two seasons prior, where he registered shooting splits of 45.4 percent from the field and 42.7 percent from 3-point land.
It’s unclear what caused his shooting to tail off, although some might attribute it to opponents finally learning what defensive game plans work to disrupt plays involving Robinson. Because Robinson lacks great ball-handling abilities, there’s not much else he can do on offense when defenders are constantly by his hip.
If Robinson were a better defender, maybe he could stay on the court for more minutes even if his shots weren’t falling. But, he unfortunately doesn’t have the quickness to stay in front of most opponents, making him a liability on that end of the court.
Heat played the Sixers four times during the regular season. According to the NBA's matchup data, the Sixers shot 15-of-24 with Duncan Robinson as the primary defender.
Tobias Harris shot 7-of-11. Was tough for Robinson to stay in front of him. pic.twitter.com/dMbkkYmGUG
— Steph Noh (@StephNoh) May 10, 2022
It remains to be seen if Robinson will be with Miami by the end of the season. If the front office can find a package where it can land more impactful players in exchange for the fifth-year veteran, it might pull the trigger immediately.
As for Robinson, perhaps a change of scenery is necessary for him to recover his shooting touch.
That’s surely one of the reasons why the Heat sniper was removed from the rotation during the 2022 playoffs.