The Miami Heat recently caught the attention of the NBA world by striking a deal with the Charlotte Hornets for Terry Rozier, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the franchise is done making trades.
With some time remaining before the trade deadline this season, the door is still open for the Heat and other contenders to make improvements.
The Brooklyn Nets have a couple of intriguing pieces in players like Dorian Finney-Smith and Royce O’Neale, and The Athletic’s William Guillory thinks it’s probably safe to assume that the Heat will be putting in calls for players of that nature.
“Along with everyone else in playoff contention, I’m sure they’ll be putting in phone calls to Brooklyn for guys like Dorian Finney-Smith and Royce O’Neale,” wrote Guillory.
Finney-Smith, 30, has what it takes to be a solid 3-and-D piece for a contending team. This season, he’s shooting 37.8 percent from beyond the arc and averaging 8.9 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game.
O’Neale, also 30, is another intriguing 3-and-D option. His shooting clips are down a bit this season, but he’s still shooting 35.6 percent from deep and has a career mark of 38.0 percent from 3. He’s averaging 7.1 points, 4.6 rebounds and 3.0 assists per contest this season.
Players with 3-and-D capabilities are exceptionally important in today’s NBA, and teams can never have too many of them. The Heat haven’t exactly been monsters at executing trades in recent years, but given their deal for Rozier this week, perhaps they’re turning a new leaf.
Miami is 24-19 so far this season, good enough for the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference. It’s common knowledge now that the Heat can never be counted out regardless of their status entering the postseason, but they’d certainly love to avoid the play-in tournament this season if possible.
Meanwhile, the Nets are just 17-26, and while they are still within striking distance of play-in range in the East, they may be better suited to trade some pieces away at the deadline and collect some new assets in the process.
The deadline is set for Feb. 8 this season. There has been plenty of activity around the NBA already this month, but the drama could only be in its early stages depending on how the coming weeks unfold.
