Why This Trade Makes Sense For The Miami Heat
The Miami Heat’s overall lack of depth on the wing has hurt them tremendously this year as not having Jae Crowder as a consistent option has left a void in the second-unit for this team. As a result, filling this void with a consistent, veteran player like Rudy Gay makes a ton of sense.
Gay is in the final year of his contract and is owed $14M this year, making this a little complicated for Miami in terms of how to get him on their roster. They could offer up either Kelly Olynyk or Andre Iguodala for Gay, the only questions are what would the Spurs want in return and if they are even willing to trade their veteran forward since they are currently in the playoff picture out West.
This is Rudy Gay’s 15th NBA season and for the 15th consecutive year, he is averaging double-digit scoring. Throughout the course of his career, the 34-year old forward has been a very consistent offensive threat and is exactly the kind of player the Miami Heat need in their second-unit.
He knows what it takes to win games and with him shooting 36.6% from three-point range this year, Rudy Gay could be the x-factor for this Miami Heat team this year, much like Jae Crowder was for them last year.
At 34-years old now, Rudy Gay knows his role as a veteran bench player and with the Miami Heat, he could be a lot like Shane Battier during the Heat’s championship runs in 2012 and 2013, but better. Not only would he be one of the first guys off-the-bench for the Heat, but he is more than capable of playing 20+ minutes per game still.
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If this team is going to have any shot of making it back to the NBA Finals, they are going to have to improve their overall depth and add some more consistent scoring options, something they do not currently have. Jimmy Butler can only carry this team so far, which is why he will need help from some other experienced players who are more than capable of pulling their weight on the offensive end of the court.
Out of all the low-cost, high-reward players the Heat could target this season, Rudy Gay is definitely at the top of the list and is the best bench player they could add to their roster. He is a leader, a proven scorer and a veteran who is more than capable of pulling his weight on a championship caliber team.