NBA trade deadline tracker: Heat acquires Oladipo, Bjelica; Lowry/Heat update
Welcome to trade deadline day!
The Miami Heat remains active as the NBA’s 3 p.m. deadline looms today. We’ll have live updates for you on the Heat’s doings here throughout the day:
3 p.m.: The Heat acquired guard Victor Oladipo just before the trade deadline, adding a player who very much wanted to play here.
The Heat sent Avery Bradley and Kelly Olynyk to Houston for Oladipo, who’s on an expiring contract. The Heat and Rockets reportedly can swap 2022 first-round picks as part of the deal, if Houston chooses.
Oladipo, 28, is averaging 20.8 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.7 assists in 29 games, all starts, for Indiana (nine games) and Houston (20 games since being traded there). But he’s shooting just 41.1 percent from the field and 33.3 percent on three pointers this season.
Oladipo was an All Star in 2018 and 2019, third team All NBA in 2018 and on the All Defensive first team in 2018.
Oladipo’s contract expires after the season and Miami will get his Bird Rights, enabling the Heat to exceed the salary cap to keep him. The sides have not discussed a contract extension.
His career averages: 17.6 points, 4.6 rebounds, 4.0 assists, while shooting 43.8 percent from the field and 34.8 percent on threes.
Meanwhile, Toronto did not trade Kyle Lowry, with the Heat refusing to give up Tyler Herro in the proposed deal.
With Olynyk traded, Miami will move forward with Trevor Ariza, Nmenja Bjelica, KZ Okpala and Andre Iguodala as its power forwards. The Heat is expected to explore adding LaMarcus Aldridge if he’s bought by the Spurs, as expected.
The Heat has two open roster spots and is expected to be active in the buyout market.
2:15 p.m.: According to the Athletic’s Shams Charania, the Raptors are engaged with the Heat and Lakers on a Kyle Lowry trade.
The Heat is offering a trade package centered on Duncan Robinson to the Raptors, according to Charania. The Lakers’ offer is built around Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Dennis Schroder.
Charania said the Raptors are holding out for either Talen Horton-Tucker to be included by the Lakers, or Tyler Herro from the Heat.
The 3 p.m. trade deadline is less than an hour away.
1:40 p.m.: The Philadelphia 76ers acquired guard George Hill from the Oklahoma City Thunder as part of a three-team trade, according to ESPN.
After Philadelphia’s acquisition of Hill, Adrian Wojnarowski reported that the 76ers are out of the Kyle Lowry sweepstakes.
The Heat remains in pursuit of Lowry, and the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers also have engaged, according to a source.
12:45 p.m.: The Heat acquired Sacramento Kings power forward Nemanja Bjelica on Thursday, giving Miami another stretch four and protection in case Kelly Olynyk is dealt before the trade deadline.
Miami traded Moe Harkless and Chris Silva to Sacramento to complete the deal.
Bjelica, 32, is a career 38.8 percent three-point shooter but shooting just 29.3 percent on threes this season (17 for 58) in a limited role.
He averaged 11.5 points and 6.4 rebounds and shot 41.9 percent on threes in 72 games and 67 starts for the Kings last season.
But his role was greatly reduced this season; he’s averaging 7.2 points and 3.8 rebounds in 26 games (one start).
His career averages: 8.0 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 46.6 percent from the field in 367 games, including 160 starts over six seasons (three with Minnesota, three with Sacramento).
In a Miami Herald piece last month, a veteran NBA scout said this about Bjelica: “Bjelica can really shoot, he’s a good passer, high IQ, not a bad rebounder, but unathletic and a defensive liability. He’s sort of like Kelly Olynyk in some ways, but not as physical.”
He’s earning $7.2 million in an expiring contract. Miami gets his Bird Rights should it want to re-sign him.
Harkless, signed to a one-year deal worth $3.6 million in November, played sparingly for Miami this season. He scored 15 points in 11 games.
Silva, undrafted out of South Carolina, made 55 appearances in two seasons for the Heat. He played in just 11 games this season in a limited bench role.
The Heat, which continues efforts to acquire Toronto point guard Kyle Lowry, stands $3.4 million below the luxury tax line.
12:40 p.m.: Aaron Gordon is moving to the Western Conference.
The Magic continued its sell-off by trading Gordon and Gary Clark to the Denver Nuggets to acquire Gary Harris, R.J. Hampton and a first-round pick, according to ESPN.
The Magic has officially begun its rebuild by trading away Nikola Vucevic, Evan Fournier and Gordon today.
12:05 p.m.: Jimmy Butler is questionable for Thursday’s game against Portland with a stomach illness. Goran Dragic and Avery Bradley also are questionable.
The Heat will remain without forwards Udonis Haslem and KZ Okpala on Thursday because both are in the NBA’s health and safety protocols.
12:00 p.m.: The Heat is running third in the competition to trade for Toronto point guard Kyle Lowry, according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst.
Windhorst reported that Lowry is “preparing to be traded to the Sixers.”
The Heat has been reluctant to include Tyler Herro in its offer for Lowry. And while Miami reportedly has included Duncan Robinson in its offer, Philadelphia could offer what’s considered a more appealing package built around a 2021 first-round pick, guard Tyrese Maxey and additional assets.
But the Heat continues to make efforts to acquire Lowry.
And John Clark, a sportscaster with the NBC affiliate in Philadelphia, essentially disputed that ESPN report, saying the 76ers haven’t engaged in serious Lowry talks on Thursday.
11:35 a.m.: The Orlando Magic’s sell-off is underway.
Less than an hour after reaching a deal to send superstar center Nikola Vucevic to the Chicago Bulls, the Magic is sending wing Evan Fournier to the Boston Celtics in exchange for two second-round picks, ESPN reported.
Fournier is a career 37.6-percent shooter from three-point range and the Celtics rank in the bottom half of the league in scoring. Boston, like Miami, is struggling a bit after reaching the Eastern Conference finals in 2020 and Fournier provides an infusion of depth the Celtics need to fight back into the top tier of the East.
11:30 a.m.: With so much trade noise surrounding the Heat as the trade deadline approaches, Miami went through its usual morning shootaround session in preparation for Thursday night’s game against the Portland Trail Blazers.
What was that like with the deadline just hours away and how did Heat center Bam Adebayo try to handle it as one of the team’s leaders?
“Business is business. When you come into it, that’s the first thing they tell you,” Adebayo said after Thursday’s morning shootaround. “Business is business. You can’t separate that. But my whole thing is like trying to get their mind off of it. Walk up to them and talk to them like about a random movie or something.
“At the end of the day, we got a job to do. We’re at shootaround for a reason, so we got to pay more attention to that and not worry about everything else. Control what you can control, basically.”
11:05 a.m.: The biggest deal of the day, in all likelihood, is in.
The Orlando Magic are sending superstar center Nikola Vucevic to the Chicago Bulls in exchange for forward Otto Porter, center Wendell Carter Jr. and two first-round picks, according to multiple reports. It’s the first blockbuster deal of the day, sending a two-time All-Star from one of the worst teams in the league to a playoff contender.
Vucevic is putting together an MVP-like season offensively, averaging a career-high 24.5 points per game to go along with 11.8 rebounds and 3.8 assists with 2.7 three-pointers.
The deal likely won’t shift the balance of power in the Eastern Conference, but it could make the Bulls a factor in the race for a top-six seed to avoid a play-in game and certainly makes Chicago a more difficult out in the first round of the NBA playoffs.
The Bulls are officially buyers in this market and are in hot pursuit of New Orleans Pelicans guard Lonzo Ball, ESPN reported. Meanwhile, the Magic is officially in rebuild mode. After dealing Vucevic, Orlando has no reason to hang on to forward Aaron Gordon, who should be dealt by the deadline.
10:10 a.m.: We have our first trade of the morning! And it doesn’t involve the Heat.
The Denver Nuggets are acquiring center JaVale McGee from the Cleveland Cavaliers for Isaiah Hartenstein and two future protected second-round picks, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
9:55 a.m.: So far, things have been relatively quiet this morning.
After potentially his final game with the Raptors on Wednesday night, Lowry said of his future: “I don’t know [what I want to happen]. I wish I could give you [an answer], but at the end of the day, I’m gonna [make] a decision and work it out. If something happens, it happens. If it doesn’t, it doesn’t. Everything happens for a reason. I personally, right now, I don’t really put too much thought into it. My agent is really good at his job and [is having] a lot of decisions, he’ll look at it and help facilitate that decision.”
The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported Thursday morning that the Heat, 76ers and Los Angeles Lakers “are seriously engaged in talks with the Raptors” for Lowry.
9 a.m.: The next six hours leading up to the deadline will be interesting.
The Heat, which has lost four straight and stands at .500 through the first 44 games of the season, has been linked to a long list of players in advance of the deadline. Toronto Raptors guard Kyle Lowry, San Antonio Spurs power forward/center LaMarcus Aldridge, Houston Rockets guard Victor Oladipo and Brooklyn Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie are among those recently rumored to be Heat targets.
But Lowry is the name that has generated the most buzz. The Heat’s interest in trading for Lowry and Lowry’s interest in joining the Heat has been confirmed by multiple league sources.
The Heat and the Philadelphia 76ers have been pegged as the front-runners to land the six-time All-Star.
Lowry played in the Raptors’ win over the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday night, finishing with eight points, five rebounds and nine assists while posting a plus/minus of plus-42 in potentially his final game with Toronto.
Where will Miami draw the line in its pursuit of Lowry? He’s still playing at a high level, but Lowry turns 35 today and will be an unrestricted free agent this upcoming offseason.
Tyler Herro, Duncan Robinson and Precious Achiuwa are three young players who the Heat could throw in a deal for Lowry. But the Heat has been reluctant to include Herro in a potential trade for the veteran guard.
Lowry is on a $30.5 million salary for this season as part of an expiring contract. The Heat would need to send out at least about $24 million in salary to trade for Lowry in accordance with NBA rules.
A trade would likely be contingent on the Heat expecting a long-term commitment from Lowry this summer. Miami would acquire his Bird Rights in a trade, allowing the Heat to surpass the salary cap to sign him this offseason.
Also worth noting entering trade deadline day: The Heat stands about $5.4 million below the luxury-tax line this season. A deal that would bring in $5.4 million or more than Miami sends out would make it a tax team.
This story was originally published March 25, 2021 at 9:01 AM.
