Miami Heat: 3 trade possibilities for Goran Dragic
1. Memphis Grizzlies and Detroit Pistons
In this three-team trade, Miami upgrades at point guard, the Detroit Pistons fully commit to winning now, and the Memphis Grizzlies start their rebuild.
A recent report from ESPN‘s Adrian Wojnarowski stated the Grizzlies are open to moving Mike Conley and/or Marc Gasol, the faces of their franchise. While Gasol’s contract of $24 million for two years is somewhat manageable, Conley is owed $67 million over the next two seasons. Next to no teams are willing to take on such a big deal for player that’s already 31 years old. Miami, however, may be a different story.
Due to the bevy of nearly immovable contracts on their team, the Heat are pretty much locked into this core of players for the foreseeable future. It makes sense to bolster their chances at winning until they can completely rebuild. Conley has been one of the NBA’s best point guards for the last couple of years. He possesses a similar offensive game to Dragic, but with better defense. Although Winslow will see the ball less, the team will undoubtedly be better with Conley’s presence.
Miami also receives young big man Ivan Rabb, who is less important to Memphis’ future due to the emergence of Jaren Jackson Jr. Rabb can try to find himself a role with the Heat as the Grizzlies look to focus their rebuild around Jackson.
The Grizzlies receive Reggie Jackson for salary-matching purposes, as the main pieces in the trade are Josh Richardson, Stanley Johnson and Luke Kennard. Although Kennard and Johnson are a bit unproven, the Grizzlies will get the chance to tap into their potential. Both are just 22 years old. In addition to them, Memphis receives Josh Richardson, one of the better 3-and-D players in the league at only 25 years old.
Despite Conley’s talent, Memphis can’t expect to get too many good young players. Conley’s enormous contract and age decrease his trade value, as teams won’t be looking to part with their valuable young players for an aging point guard making over $30 million per year. Trading for Conley means committing to him for the remainder of his contract, so giving away a potential franchise cornerstone isn’t worth it in the eyes of most teams.
Meanwhile, the Pistons are in need of a talent upgrade, as they are most likely locked into a duo of Blake Griffin and Andre Drummond moving forward. Goran Dragic is an upgrade over Reggie Jackson, and JaMychal Green provides them with more depth in the frontcourt. The Pistons are currently in ninth place in the Eastern Conference, but can improve that standing by swapping Jackson with Dragic.
If the Heat are to orchestrate a trade for Mike Conley, they will most likely have to find a third team to deal Dragic to. The Grizzlies wouldn’t be interested in receiving a player close to Conley’s age, hence a team looking to add talent (like Detroit) might be interested in receiving Dragic at the expense of their young players.