NBA salary cap expert Yossi Gozlan recently named three potential trade targets at the point guard position for the Miami Heat, who are in a tie for the second-best record in the Eastern Conference right now at 10-5 after a slow start to the season.
“The Heat’s roster still has flaws, particularly inconsistency at point guard,” Gozlan wrote. “If Miami is going to make one more move, it would be to bring in a player who can bring stability to the position long-term. They don’t need an All-Star, and there are several guards who should be attainable, such as Tyus Jones, Malcolm Brogdon, and Spencer Dinwiddie. Perhaps there’s a scenario where they upgrade at point guard while significantly reducing their luxury tax penalty or avoiding the tax completely.”
Starting with Brogdon, he is enjoying a very productive season in his first season with the Portland Trail Blazers. In 10 appearances and five starts for Portland so far this season, he is averaging 17.7 points, 4.3 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game while shooting 42.4 percent from the field and 36.8 percent from behind the 3-point line.
He also won the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year award a season ago when he was a member of the Boston Celtics. The Celtics traded him along with big man Robert Williams III to the Trail Blazers before the start of the 2023-24 regular season in exchange for Jrue Holiday.
Jones, meanwhile, has long been a solid playmaker, and this season has been no different. He is averaging 4.9 assists per game with the Washington Wizards this season — his first season with the team — compared to just 0.7 turnovers per game, which equates to an impressive assist-to-turnover ratio of 6.8.
Plus the 27-year-old is averaging 10.6 points per game and scoring the ball with great efficiency from the field, seeing as how he’s shooting 49.2 percent from the field and 37.2 percent from 3-point range.
The Wizards landed Jones in the offseason as part of a multi-team trade that landed the Memphis Grizzlies Marcus Smart and Celtics star big man Kristaps Porzingis.
Finally, Dinwiddie has served as a solid starting point guard for the Brooklyn Nets so far this season. Across 13 games played, he is averaging 13.3 points, 3.7 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game.
Any of Jones, Dinwiddie or Brogdon would be a worthwhile addition to a Heat team that is lacking depth at the point guard spot. Perhaps one of them will join the Heat before the NBA trade deadline rolls around on Feb. 8.
