Sacramento Kings small forward Rudy Gay. (Photo : Getty Images)
The Miami Heat entered this season with only one goal: to contend for the Eastern Conference title. But after 52 regular-season games, the Heat still don't look like a team poised to push the Cleveland Cavaliers in the playoffs.
At 29-23, the Heat are sitting at 4th spot in the East, although only three wins separated them from the 9th-placed Charlotte Hornets.
All-Stars Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh are showing consistent basketball for the first time in two years, while last year's revelation Hassan Whiteside are putting up great numbers in his second season with the team.
Unfortunately, keeping everybody healthy has been the problem for the Heat all season long. To make it worse, backup combo guard Tyler Johnson is questionable to play again this season after undergoing surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff (Miami Herald).
The Heat can still fix these issues if they can pull off a significant deal at the trade deadline. And based on the latest rumors, Pat Riley is unto something big on February 18.
Heat Inquires Rudy Gay's availability: Miami is trying to address their mediocre three-point shooting (32 percent in the season) by looking for an established swingman on the trading block.
According to Steve Kyler of Basketball Insider via Hoops Hype, he heard that the Heat showed interest in Rudy Gay, who is averaging 17.8 points and 6.8 rebounds and a career 34 percent shooter from three-point territory.
There's no detail which player the Heat would send in exchange for Gay, but there are rumors that it could be Luol Deng, who is playing in the final year of a two-year deal he signed in 2014.
Buy it or Sell it: The Heat, despite their inconsistency through the first-half of the season, are on a win-now mode. Wade will hit the free-agency market again next season and he could consider leaving if he feels the team is small-balling him again in contract negotiation.
So yes I buy this one. The Heat will pursue for a game-changing small forward in Gay with Deng likely the trade chip. ESPN trade machine confirms that there's no financial roadblock for this deal to happen.
Rockets targeting Goran Dragic again: ESPN Insider writer Kevin Pelton pointed out that Rockets GM Daryl Morey is still intrigued of placing a playmaker outside James Harden.
The Rockets tried to trade for Dragic in last season's trade deadline, but the Heat outbid them for the Slovenian. Still, Pelton thinks the Rockets remain interested in bringing Dragic this time as the leader of the second unit.
"A second playmaker to go with James Harden remains Houston GM Daryl Morey's white whale. The Rockets hoped Ty Lawson would fill that role, but the offseason trade for Lawson has backfired because he has been ineffective both playing with Harden and as a lead ballhandler.
Though playing Dragic with Harden would create some of the same issues Dragic currently faces next to Dwyane Wade with the Miami Heat, his up-tempo style would be ideal for the team's second unit."
Buy it or Sell it: It's unlikely the Heat will give up Dragic after signing him to a five-year, $90 million deal last summer. However, crazy things had happened on the final day of trade window the past few years. Basically, the Rockets don't have anyone outside James Harden and Dwight Howard that would please the Heat, unless the big man is on the table. I sell it.
