NBA trade deadline tracker: No Heat trade on deadline day, and news from around the league
Happy trade deadline day! The Miami Heat already made a move on Wednesday. Will the Heat make another deal before the NBA’s 3 p.m. deadline today? We’ll have live updates for you on the Heat’s doings here throughout the day:
3:05 p.m.: The Heat did not make a move on trade deadline day.
The Heat’s only trade came on the eve of the deadline, when it opened another roster spot, added flexibility under the luxury tax and unlocked additional first-round picks to deal by sending seldom-used forward KZ Okpala to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday in exchange for a 2026 second-round pick.
Just because the trade deadline has passed, though, doesn’t mean the Heat is done adding to its roster. The Heat is now expected to turn its attention to the buyout market to fill out its 15-man roster.
Wednesday’s trade with Oklahoma City left Miami with 13 players signed to standard contracts, two fewer than the league-maximum of 15 players. The Heat is expected to fill one of its two open roster spots by converting Caleb Martin’s two-way deal into a standard contract to make him eligible for the playoffs.
3 p.m.: The Athletic reported that the Boston Celtics traded Dennis Schroder to the Houston Rockets in exchange for Daniel Theis.
2:40 PM: Spencer Dinwiddie - who snagged a three-year, $60 million with the Washington Wizards last summer - and Davis Bertans are headed to the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for Kristaps Porzingis and a second-round pick.
Dinwiddie averaged 12.6 points while shooting 37.6 percent from the field and 31 percent on threes, 4.7 rebounds and 5.8 assists in 44 games with the Wizards this season.
Porzingis averaged 19.2 points, 7.7 rebounds and 1.7 blocks in 34 games with the Mavericks this season. He spent the last two-plus seasons in Dallas.
The Wizards, which have dropped eight of their last nine games, have now traded away Montrezl Harrell, Aaron Holiday, Bertans and Dinwiddie on trade deadline day.
2:25 PM: Former University School and Duke standout Vernon Carey Jr., son of the former Dolphins and Hurricanes offensive lineman Vernon Carey, is on the move. Carey and guard Ish Smith are heading from Charlotte to Washington for veteran center Montrezl Harrell.
Carey, in his second year in the league, has appeared in only four games this season after appearing in 19 as a rookie.
The Wizards also traded guard Aaron Holiday to Phoenix. And speaking of Phoenix...
2 PM: The Suns - who have the best record in the league - acquired experienced depth in forward Torrey Craig. In return, Indiana gets young forward Jalen Smith and a second-round pick.
Craig - who is averaging 6.5 points and 3.8 rebounds - has the distinction of playing for both NBA Finals teams last season: Milwaukee and Phoenix. The Bucks traded him to the Suns last March.
1:50 PM: Josh Richardson - one of the Heat’s great second-round stories - is now headed to his fifth team in three seasons.
The Celtics are trading Richardson and Romeo Langford to San Antonio for Derrick White.
The Heat traded Richardson to Philadelphia in the Jimmy Butler sign-and-trade before the 2020-21 season. He subsequently was traded to Dallas, then dealt to Boston - where he signed a one-year, $12 million contract extension - and now he has been dealt to the Spurs.
Richardson, a skilled defender, is averaging 9.7 points on 39.7 percent three-point shooting in 44 games this season, all off the bench.
White, a shooting guard, is averaging 14.4 points this season but shooting just 31.4 percent on threes.
1:30 p.m.: The Eastern Conference landscape is changing.
ESPN reported that the Brooklyn Nets traded James Harden and Paul Millsap to the Philadelphia 76ers for Ben Simmons, Seth Curry, Andre Drummond and two first-round picks.
Harden now joins All-Star center Joel Embiid to form an elite guard-center duo in Philadelphia. And Simmons joins Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving to form a very intriguing trio in Brooklyn.
The 76ers entered Thursday with the fifth-best record in the Eastern Conference, 2.5 games behind the first-place Heat. The Nets are in eighth-place in the East, 5.5 games behind the Heat.
Incidentally, the Heat hosts the Nets on Saturday night. It’s not clear when Simmons will make his Nets debut and Durant has not played since Jan. 15 because of a left knee injury.
1:10 p.m.: Serge Ibaka and Thaddeus Young were once considered buyout candidates who could interest the Heat, but they are both now unlikely to hit the buyout market after being traded on Thursday. Ibaka was dealt to the Milwaukee Bucks and Young was moved to the Toronto Raptors.
With uncertainty surrounding Markieff Morris’ status for the rest of the season and KZ Okpala moved to the Thunder, adding depth at power forward would make sense for the Heat.
Paul Millsap and Mike Muscala are among the potential buyout candidates who could help the Heat fill that need.
Noon: Goran Dragic is on the move.
The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported that the Toronto Raptors traded Dragic to the San Antonio Spurs in exchange for Thaddeus Young.
Both are names that could interest the Heat if they agree to buyouts. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that Dragic is expected to negotiate a buyout with the Spurs.
Because the Heat traded Dragic during this year’s NBA calendar, he would only be eligible to sign with Miami this season if he now agrees to a buyout with the Spurs. Wojnarowski added that the Dallas Mavericks, Milwaukee Bucks, Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Clippers are expected to be interested in Dragic if he becomes a free agent.
Chris Haynes from Yahoo Sports labed the Mavericks as the favorites to land Dragic.
As of Thursday afternoon, the Heat had not expressed interest to Dragic’s camp in bringing him back this season, according to a league source.
In addition, Wojnarowski reported a four-team trade between the Sacramento Kings, Bucks, Clippers and Detroit Pistons.
As part of the deal, the Kings received Donte DiVincenzo, Trey Lyles and Josh Jackson, the Bucks received Serge Ibaka, two future second-round picks and cash, the Clippers received Rodney Hood and Semi Ojele, and the Pistons received Marvin Bagley Jr.
Ibaka was a buyout candidate who would have likely been on the Heat’s radar, but it now looks like he’ll be sticking with the Bucks for the rest of the season.
10:40 a.m.: It’s unclear whether forward KZ Okpala will stay with the Thunder.
“We’re gonna let the dust settle,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said to The Oklahoman when asked if the team plans to keep Okpala. “After the deadline we’ll have a much better idea on any stuff like that. Obviously, things are fluid this time of year
Okpala, 22, has been sidelined since late December because of a wrist injury. He’s on a $1.8 million salary in the final year of his rookie contract.
10 a.m.: There is one potential blockbuster trade that would impact the Heat if it’s agreed to before the deadline: The Brooklyn Nets and Philadelphia 76ers’ swap of stars James Harden and Ben Simmons.
Multiple reports have the Nets and 76ers discussing this trade, which would also involve other pieces.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported Thursday morning that even though Harden wants to be traded to the 76ers, “he has resisted making that formal request out of fear of the public backlash that would come with asking out of a second franchise in consecutive seasons.”
The 76ers entered Thursday with the fifth-best record in the East at 32-33 and the Nets began the day with the eight-best record in the East at 29-25.
Pairing Harden with All-Star center Joel Embiid would make the 76ers one of the favorites to win the East, and it would be intriguing to see how Simmons would fit alongside Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving with the Nets.
9 a.m.: The Heat enters trade deadline day with the top record in the Eastern Conference 35-20. So a major move isn’t expected, but smaller trades shouldn’t be ruled out.
The Heat agreed to such a deal on Wednesday, when it sent forward KZ Okpala to the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for a 2026 second-round pick.
As part of the trade, the Heat opened another roster spot, added flexibility under the luxury tax and unlocked additional first-round picks to include in a future deal.
There’s still time for the Heat to make another trade in the coming hours before the deadline. But even if Miami doesn’t strike another deal, it’s now in position to add to its roster via the buyout market following the deadline.
After trading Okpala to the Thunder, the Heat has 13 players signed to standard contracts, two fewer than the league-maximum of 15 players. NBA teams can only carry 13 players on standard contracts for up to two weeks before rules force a 14th player to be added.
Without Okpala’s $1.8 million salary on the books, the Heat went from just a little more $100,000 away from the luxury tax to $1.9 million under the luxury tax line.
This provides the Heat with enough room to immediately fill both of its empty roster spots with players at the NBA minimum salary while still avoiding the luxury tax.
The Heat is expected to fill one of its open roster spots by converting Caleb Martin’s two-way deal into a standard contract to make him eligible for the playoffs. Miami can make that move as late as the final day of the regular season and still have Martin eligible for the postseason.
And by dealing Okpala, the Heat has another opening on its 15-man roster to bring in a player through the buyout market.
Potential buyout candidates include Gary Harris, Thaddeus Young, Tristan Thompson, Goran Dragic, Serge Ibaka and Paul Millsap. Dragic would only be eligible to sign with the Heat this season if the Toronto Raptors trade him to another team and he then agrees to a buyout with his new team.
So even if it ends up being a quiet day for the Heat, another roster addition is expected in the coming weeks.
This story was originally published February 10, 2022 at 9:07 AM.
