The NBA trade deadline is near, leaving teams like the Miami Heat with a limited amount of time to make some noise before the clock runs out.
Last month, the Heat made a splash by trading for veteran guard Terry Rozier, but sports analyst Bill Simmons is intrigued by the idea of Miami making another deal — one with the Chicago Bulls.
Simmons wants to see the Heat acquire DeMar DeRozan and Alex Caruso in exchange for a package featuring Tyler Herro and an unprotected first-round pick.
It would be a risky move for the Heat, as they’d be trading away a 24-year-old with plenty of club control for two veterans with significantly less club control.
Herro is signed through the 2026-27 season. Meanwhile, DeRozan is set to become a free agent this coming offseason, and Caruso is scheduled to become a free agent in the 2025 offseason.
However, teams sometimes need to take big swings in order to get over the hump, and it may be time for the Heat to do just that.
This season, DeRozan is averaging 22.3 points, 4.1 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game while shooting 46.4 percent from the field and 32.8 percent from deep.
Caruso, for his part, is having one of the best 3-point shooting seasons of his career, as he’s knocking down 40.4 percent of his triples. He’s also playing exceptional defense, making him a very valuable 3-and-D piece.
The Heat are currently in seventh place in the Eastern Conference with a 27-24 record, meaning they’d land in the play-in tournament if the regular season ended today. Miami showed last season that play-in teams are entirely capable of doing damage in the playoffs, but the squad would likely prefer to earn a higher seed by the end of the regular season.
Herro, who has spent his entire career with the Heat, is no stranger to trade rumors. But to his credit, he has always done a nice job of staying focused throughout the buzz, and fans can expect more of the same from him as the deadline for the 2023-24 season inches closer.