The best word to describe the Miami Heat at the moment would be ‘stagnant’. It certainly feels like the franchise have stood still while others around them have sprinted ahead this offseason. The Philadelphia 76ers signed Paul George. The New York Knicks added Mikal Bridges. The Boston Celtics are the defending champions.
As for the Heat, their most significant addition this offseason has been Alec Burks. Do not get us wrong, the 33-year-old is a solid player. But is he a game-changer who will turn them into contenders? Definitely not. In fact, the Heat roster is probably weaker now, having seen Caleb Martin leave for the 76ers this summer. So, it is clear that the Heat need to make something happen.
They are not the only ones on that boat though. The Denver Nuggets, against whom the Heat lost the NBA Finals in 2023, find themselves in a similar situation just a year after winning their first-ever ring. They have seen some key players from their Championship-winning side move on recently while plenty of other teams seem to have moved ahead of them in the NBA pecking order. Could it all lead to them considering a blockbuster trade to shake things up? On FadeAway World, Ishaan Bhattacharya proposed a three-team trade that would see the Heat receive Jamal Murray, Kelly Olynyk and Julian Strawther. The Nuggets would get Tyler Herro, Nikola Jovic, Josh Richardson and 2029 First-Round Pick (MIA).
The Toronto Raptors would acquire Duncan Robinson, 2026 Second-Round Pick (LAL) and 2031 Second-Round Pick (DEN). Regarding the trade, Bhattacharya wrote: “The likelihood of the Nuggets breaking up the Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray duo is nearly zero, but it’s interesting to see what the Nuggets could try to fetch in hypothetical deals made by fans. This deal gets the Nuggets robust rotational depth while adding a pick, with the Heat adding multiple win-now pieces in a deal also featuring the Raptors.” Of course, that is an ambitious trade suggestion, to say the least, and it is more than likely that the Nuggets would try to stick with the duo of Jokic and Murray, a player who they drafted in 2016 with the 7th overall pick.
