2019 NBA trade deadline live updates: It was a quiet day for the Miami Heat
3:05 p.m.: The trade deadline has passed and the Miami Heat is done for the day, a league source said. The Heat’s only trade this year was the one it made yesterday, shipping guards Tyler Johnson and Wayne Ellington out to the Phoenix Suns in exchange for post player Ryan Anderson.
The goal of the move made Wednesday was to alleviate some of Miami’s tax burden. The Heat is still above the luxury tax threshold, but cut about $8 million from its tax bill by unloading Ellington’s expiring contract. Both Johnson and Anderson are under contract through next season.
The Heat will head into the homestretch of the season without any significant on-court improvements and without any subtractions big enough to truly tank Miami’s playoff chances.
The Toronto Raptors made the biggest addition of the day, trading for former All-Star center Marc Gasol from the Memphis Grizzlies. Meanwhile, the New Orleans Pelicans will hang on to All-NBA post player Anthony Davis until the offseason. The Los Agneles Lakers will now have to beat out the Boston Celtics in the summer to get some help for superstar forward LeBron James.
2:43 p.m.: Here’s an interesting trade. ESPN is reporting Orlando has made a move to acquire former No. 1 overall pick Markelle Fultz from Philadelphia. The Magic is sending Jonathon Simmons, a first-round pick and a second-round pick to the 76ers as part of the deal.
Fultz needed a fresh start, and he’s getting one.
2:35 p.m.: The trades keep rolling in. Here’s the latest one: The Grizzlies traded guard Shelvin Mack to the Hawks, according to ESPN.
2:29 p.m.: Another move, with the deadline just 30 minutes away. The Clippers sent Mike Muscala to the Lakers for Michael Beasley and Ivica Zubac, according to ESPN.
This move opens up a roster spot for the Lakers. Carmelo Anthony, anyone?
Also, ESPN reported the Kings traded Skal Labissiere to the Trail Blazers for Caleb Swanigan.
1:53 p.m.: It looks like Marc Gasol has a new team, and it’s one that’s already considered a title contender.
Memphis is finalizing a trade to send Gasol to Toronto in exchange for Jonas Valanciunas, Delon Wright, C.J. Miles and a 2024 second-round pick, according to ESPN. The Raptors’ frontcourt now includes Pascal Siakam, Serge Ibaka and Gasol. Pair that with All-Star perimeter players in Kawhi Leonard and Kyle Lowry, and Toronto looks scary good.
With the Bucks and 76ers also upgrading their rosters with trades this week, the Eastern Conference playoffs will be fascinating to watch. Oh, and don’t forget about the Celtics, which haven’t made a big trade yet but still has a bunch of talent on their roster.
In a smaller move, ESPN reported Memphis traded Garrett Temple and JaMychal Green to the Clippers for Avery Bradley.
1:12 p.m.: Another Eastern Conference playoff team has made a move, but this is a really small one. The Indiana Pacers, who currently sit at No. 6 in the East, are trading for point guard Wade Baldwin IV and wing Nik Stauskas just a day after the Houston Rockets acquired them from the Cleveland Cavaliers, ESPN reported.
Both players are bottom-of-the-rotation guards, so the pacers will waive both. Indiana is receiving a second-round pick from the Rockets in the trade.
Baldwin and Stauskas have at least briefly been members of four different teams this week. The day before going to Houston, Baldwin and Stauskas were traded to the Cavaliers from the Portland Trail Blazers.
1:03 p.m.: Another trade has rolled in.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports the Bucks have traded for Nikola Mirotic, which adds another talented piece to the team with the league’s top record. Milwaukee is sending Jason Smith and Stanley Johnson to the Pelicans as part of the deal.
It’s been pretty quiet on the Heat front today, so far.
12:17 p.m.: We have the first trade of the day.
The Athletic’s Shams Charania is reporting that Houston is trading James Ennis to Philadelphia for a 2021 second-round pick. The 76ers have now added Tobias Harris, Boban Marjanovic, Mike Scott and Ennis in trades this week.
11:52 a.m.: And there’s this from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on the Anthony Davis situation.
The Celtics have to be happy about this because this would allow them to get in on the AD sweepstakes this offseason when it’s eligible to add him July 1. Because of a rule in the CBA, Boston can’t add AD right now because it’s already traded for Kyrie Irving and teams are forbidden from trading for two players with designated player contracts.
10:41 a.m.: It’s been a quiet start to deadline day. So let’s discuss something that will be a topic of conversation when we speak with the Heat this afternoon after the team’s practice in Sacramento. With Tyler Johnson and Wayne Ellington off the roster, who will be Miami’s starting shooting guard?
Dion Waiters and Dwyane Wade are the top options for the spot. But remember Rodney McGruder also started at the position for most of the season before falling out of the rotation recently.
Waiters seems like the logical option, especially since he was the Heat’s starting shooting guard before undergoing ankle surgery last January. By moving Waiters into the starting lineup, it allows Wade to remain in his sixth man role.
9:27 a.m.: By the way, the Pelicans’ social media team is really milking the Anthony Davis situation on trade deadline day ...
It’s looking more and more likely the Pelicans will wait until the offseason to deal Davis, with the reports coming out of New Orleans. But who knows, we still have over five hours remaining before the deadline. That’s more than enough time for things to change.
8:56 a.m.: If the Heat is set on getting beneath the luxury-tax threshold, the easiest path would probably be dealing Rodney McGruder without getting a player back in return. But even that wouldn’t be a clean solution because the Heat would still have to add a player to get its roster to the league-wide minimum of 14. In this scenario, Miami’s luxury-tax fate could just come down to whether Kelly Olynyk gets his $1 million bonus or not for playing 1,700 regular-season minutes.
Remember, though, there is no ownership mandate to get below the tax line.
McGruder started the year off as a pleasant surprise, although his minutes have slipped in the past month after he started 42 of the Heat’s first 43 games this season. He’s a restricted free agent after this season, due $1.5 million this year.
Two playoff contenders landed small forwards Tuesday as the Sacramento Kings dealt for forward Harrison Barnes from the Dallas Mavericks, then sent wing Iman Shumpert to the Houston Rockets in a three-team deal. McGruder is the sort of three-and-D player who can help fill out the bottom of a rotation for a playoff team.
7:59 a.m.: A few of the moves made already could affect the Miami Heat’s playoff hunt this season, particularly in Washington. The Washington Wizards spent Wednesday trying to get under the luxury tax, shipping forward Otto Porter to the Chicago Bulls and sending post player Markieff Morris down to the New Orleans Pelicans.
These two moves come a day after the Wizards announced star point guard John Wall had surgery to repair a torn Achilles tendon, which could knock him out through the end of next season. Washington entered Wednesday in 10th place in the Eastern Conference, four games back of eighth-place Miami. While the Wizards had insisted they wouldn’t blow up their roster, they do have one of the most attractive trade chips available with All-Star shooting guard Bradley Beal.
Also in the East, the Philadelphia 76ers dealt for star forward Tobias Harris to gear up for a run to the NBA Finals — the 76ers enter Wednesday in fifth in the conference — and last Thursday, of course, the New York Knicks stunningly traded away post player Kristaps Porzingis to try to make a free-agency splash in the offseason. The Knicks already have the worst record in the league, so the tank is on in New York.
7 a.m.: Welcome to the NBA trade deadline.
Although it seems like most of the moves have been made already with a flurry of trades going down around the league over the past week, there’s sure to be more before today’s 3 p.m. deadline.
The Heat even got in on the action Wednesday afternoon, trading Wayne Ellington and Tyler Johnson to the Suns for Ryan Anderson in a move that cut Miami’s luxury tax bill from $9.7 million to $1.8 million. The Heat is now just $1.2 million over the luxury tax threshold.
Miami has until the end of the regular season to make moves to get completely below the line to avoid paying the penalty.
Will there be more Heat trades before the today’s deadline to avoid the luxury tax completely? Will it be another busy day around the league?
We will provide live updates on this page with news throughout the league as it happens. Stay tuned ...
This story was originally published February 7, 2019 at 7:00 AM.
