It’s not as big a name as they might have wanted, but the Miami Heat have made an addition ahead of the NBA trade deadline. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Miami is finalizing a deal to get forward Nemanja Bjelica from the Sacramento Kings.
According to Woj, Moe Harkless and Chris Silva are going from Miami to Sacramento in the deal.
In 26 games (one start) for the Kings this season, Bjelic averaged 7.2 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game over just shy of 17 minutes per contest. With the playing time drop-off (27.9 minutes a game last year), coincidentally or not, his 3-point percentage has fallen to below 30 percent so far this season. Bjelica had the best year of his career last year (11.5 points and 6.4 rebounds per game; 41.9 percent from 3-point range).
In each of the three seasons prior to this one, Bjelica was at least a 40 percent shooter from beyond the arc. He’s a career 38.8 percent shooter from 3-point range. So this year looks like a blip that’s ripe for correction.
The Heat were tied to Bjelica less than two weeks ago, as his $7.2 million salary for this year would have fit nicely into their $7.5 million trade exception. That trade exception expired earlier this week. However, the 2-for-1 deal to get Bjelica keeps Miami below the tax line and opens up a roster spot. Harkless and Silva’s combined money comes in very close to Bjelica’s.
The Heat are a bad combination from beyond the arc this year. They average the 10th-most attempts per game (36.5), but they are third-worst in 3-point percentage (34.3 percent). That’s where Bjelica will help the most, as no less than a prominent bench player.
Miami entered deadline day as the No. 5 seed in the East with a 22-22 record. Trading for Bjelica is not a headline-making move. But they have a place for him in their rotation, and they didn’t give up anything of note to get him.
