Why This Trade Makes Sense For The Miami Heat

The Miami Heat are not a bad team, but something is wrong with the overall moral of this team. It almost seems like that they were content with getting to the NBA Finals last year and now this year, they are not playing with the same sense of urgency. 

Jimmy Butler is a fantastic overall player and has continued to show that he is one of the top players in the league, but outside of him, this team has seen a lot of inconsistency this year. Bam Adebayo has been reliable at times, as has Tyler Herro and Duncan Robinson, but all three of these young players do have moments where they struggle. 

This team does not really have much depth in terms of offensive production outside of Butler and Adebayo, which is why adding Thaddeus Young and Garrett Temple makes a lot of sense in the Heat’s attempts to make another postseason run. 

We mentioned the impact Young could have, but Garrett Temple is also putting together a solid season in Chicago. In 31 games with Chicago, Temple is averaging 8.8 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.0 assists and is shooting 36% from three-point range. With the Heat playing a “small-ball” lineup at times with Butler playing the power-forward position, Miami does not have much depth on the wing, which is why Temple could be an impactful player for them. 

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Miami’s bench ranks 20th in the league in points per game and if they do not add more scoring depth, then they will have a hard time making the playoffs at this rate. Other teams like the Knicks, Hawks, Bulls and Hornets have begun closing the gap in the Eastern Conference Playoff Picture and if the Heat do not do anything to improve their overall depth, they could be in danger of missing the playoffs. 

Parting ways with Goran Dragic to add Thaddeus Young and Garrett Temple could ultimately be the right move for the Heat in their efforts to make it back to the playoffs and contend for a championship.