Miami Heat center (Photo : Getty Images)
The NBA trade rumors continue and the Miami Heat will have big questions to face.
The Miami Heat has challenges in both the long and short term. They are a team that should be able to win now as they have two core players, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, who are quickly losing their peak years (some would say Wade's time has already passed but he is still a worthy All-Star).
Their salary situation dictates that they should go all-in on to compete this season. The Heat are paying the luxury tax and no owner wants to foot an enormous bill on a team that can't win. However, because of their stars' age, team President Pat Riley should also have one eye looking out for the future.
Unfortunately for them, their future would probably not include Hassan Whiteside because of the Heat's salary situation (huge long-term contracts for Goran Dragic, Chris Bosh) and the lack of Bird Rights, so there is pressure for Riley to convert him to assets without compromising their chances this season.
In an ESPN NBA Insider feature, one intriguing scenario has the Heat trading Whiteside but still getting veteran pieces for a solid playoff run.
"The Lakers get Whiteside, Deng and filler in advance of throwing max money at the Miami center in a few months," ESPN Insider Bradford Doolittle wrote. "The Heat get a replacement rim-protector for 15 to 20 minutes per game and an explosive bench scorer in Williams who fits with both Wade and Dragic."
The Lakers are rumored to be shopping their veterans, as per Today's Fastbreak and they are also poised to pursue Whiteside in the off season. This could be the Heat's way of getting assets rather than lose their starting center for nothing.
Roy Hibbert has been a Miami Heat nemesis in their Eastern Conference Wars and while he is deemed a step slow in today's small-ball craze, there is still room in the playoffs for an old school big man. Lou Williams also fits a need for the Heat-that of a go-to shooter of the bench. Williams is a recent Sixth Man of the Year awardee and he knows how to play the role as well as any.
Hibbert is an expiring contract so the he won't get in the way of the Heat if they decide to pursue Kevin Durant at season's end.
