The Miami Heat got the ball rolling before the trade deadline when they sent Chris Andersen to the Memphis Grizzlies while acquiring Brian Roberts from the Charlotte Hornets. The team has been sniffing around at other potential deals involving center Hassan Whiteside and point guard Goran Dragic. With Dwight Howard requesting a move to South Beach, the Heat are not looking to deal with the Houston Rockets.
According to ESPN's Chris Broussard via ProBasketballTalk.com, if Howard is getting traded from the Houston Rockets, he would like to be sent to the Miami Heat or the Atlanta Hawks. Howard's desire to join Atlanta makes sense since it is his hometown, but the Hawks are not looking to acquire the center if it means giving up Al Horford for him. The Heat do not appear interested in a trade simply because they believe Howard is a bad fit for the locker room.
Zach Lowe of ESPN.com is reporting that Heat are questioning the character of Howard after reports that he and his Rockets' teammates had issues with one another. According to Fran Blinebury of NBA.com, Howard and James Harden do not get along with one another and at one point back in 2013, they each tried to get each other traded from the team. That has the Heat worried as the reported swap of Whiteside and Howard will not be happening at the deadline.
Coming out of the All-Star break, the Heat are in contention for the playoffs, but they are not ready to compete with the likes of the Cleveland Cavaliers yet. Chris Bosh is out for the foreseen future as he deals with a blood clot in his calf. According to ESPN, Bosh will not play on Friday against the Atlanta Hawks and right now a return to the team is unknown. Without Bosh, the Heat will have a hard time climbing the ranks of the Eastern Conference.
A trade makes sense for the Miami Heat as they need shooting help. According to ProBasketballTalk.com, the team has valuable assets in players like Tyler Johnson, Josh McRoberts and Udonis Haslem. Getting big trades for players like Whiteside or Dragic might be preferred, but getting the salaries to match for league standards is going to be too difficult by the deadline.
