Miami Heat: 3 game-changing trade propositions for the offseason

Miami Heat trade proposal 1. Malcolm Brogdon, Indiana Pacers

There were a bevy of issues at hand throughout the horrendous first-round sweep at the hands of the Milwaukee Bucks. Near the top of the tree of these problems was the lack of a reliable, consistent ball handler outside the leading duo of Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo.

Given the enormous demands on this duo on both ends of the floor, and the continuing unreliability of veteran Goran Dragic, a very viable option is Malcolm Brogdon of the Indiana Pacers. Since being named Rookie of the Year in 2017 after being the second round, Brogdon has made gradual improvements in each of his five seasons in the league.

Last season, his second with the Pacers, the 28-year-old Brogdon averaged 21.2 points and 5.3 rebounds in 34.3 minutes per game, all representing a career-high. And while his assists dropped from 7.1 to 5.9 per game due to the offense being placed more into the hands of All-Star Domantis Sabonis, Brogdon still managed 15 games of eight or more assists, with his 2.86 assist-to-turnover ratio ranking fourth in the league among the 50 players in 2020-21 who averaged at least 25 minutes per game with a 25 percent usage rate or higher.

A terrific standstill shooter, here’s Brogdon’s returns among a variety of 3-point statistical departments:

• Catch and shoot: 44.4 percent
• Wide-open: 40.8 percent
• Zero dribbles: 43.7 percent
• One dribble: 40.0 percent

With the Pacers always striving to earn a spot in the postseason, their front office is unlikely to unload a player such as Brogdon unless they were receiving sufficient reinforcements in return.

In the proposed three-team deal, which works out financially on the FanSpo NBA Trade Machine, the Heat would be forced to sacrifice an emerging backcourt star in Tyler Herro, who along with Myles Turner would be headed to the Portland Trail Blazers. The Heat would also be including veteran Andre Iguodala in the deal by way of picking up the team option on the final year of his deal.

In return, the Blazers will send an elite scorer in CJ McCollum to take Brogdon’s place in the backcourt, as well as developing wing Nassir Little. With the Blazers having been knocked out of the playoffs in the first round in four of the last five seasons, adding the versatility of Turner in the frontcourt in addition to Herro’s potential represents a worthwhile gamble.

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For the Pacers, while Brogdon has been terrific in his two seasons with the team, and Turner continues to be one of the elite rim-protectors in the league, the chance to land a legitimate stud in McCollum while also receiving future draft capital, is a move that makes sense on my levels. Furthermore, it creates even more space in the frontcourt for Sabonis, who could develop a truly elite two-man game with McCollum.

And while they will also be forced to forego a future first-round draft selection, the move solidifies the Heat in the backcourt for the years to come. Although heavily favored to also land veteran point guard Kyle Lowry in free agency, Brogdon’s presence would only provide even further additional options for head coach Erik Spoelstra, in what will be his 14th season at the helm.

In all, which each move mentioned has its pros and cons, a solidifying presence such as Malcolm Brogdon would be a terrific move to take off much of the burden from Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo.