Miami Heat: In retrospect, was trading Justise Winslow a mistake?

Looking back, and with the remainder of the 2019-20 NBA season in jeopardy, was trading Justise Winslow a mistake for the Miami Heat?

Before the suspension of the season, the verdict was still out on the Miami Heat‘s trade deadline move in which they swapped Justise Winslow, James Johnson, and Dion Waiters for Andre Iguodala, Jae Crowder, and Solomon Hill with the Memphis Grizzlies.

In the small sample size since the move, though, the evidence wasn’t promising.

Since the NBA’s All-Star break, the Heat were just 6-5 and continued to leak on the defensive end, something they hoped the combination of Iguodala and Crowder would help stop. Though, that wasn’t abundantly clear.

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While Crowder was a pleasant surprise, let’s remember that the centerpiece of this deal for Miami revolved around Iguodala. So much so that the Heat extended him (with a team option) after he was acquired from the Grizzlies.

In the 14 games that Iguodala has played in for the Heat, he’s only averaging four points, four rebounds, and two assists per game. Perhaps the most concerning stat, though, is the fact that the Heat was 0-5 in games which he played over 20 minutes in. Overall, the team was 7-7 in the 14 games since the trade.

While that could be seen as an extremely small sample size, it’s something that you can’t help but weigh when discussing whether or not the trade will be viewed as a success or failure. Even more so now that the season could be in jeopardy.

With that said, Iguodala was brought in to make a difference in the playoffs – and not necessarily during the regular season’s stretch run. While Iguodala has not been impressive during his 14 games with the club, it was going to take time for a veteran player to get back into playing shape and back into the swing of things.

The last time Iguodala was playing meaningful basketball, Kevin Durant was still a member of the Golden State Warriors. For a 36-year-old player, it was never realistic for the Heat – of any other team for that matter – to trade for Iguodala and simply expect him to be able to effectively impact the game without a bit of learning – and conditioning – curve.

However, as we currently sit in late-March, there’s a growing chance that the 2019-20 NBA season will not resume. That’s not exactly ground-breaking, and it’s simple fact. The NBA will be in hiatus for at least 30 days, but could very well be more than that. Is there a chance that the league returns in June or July? Absolutely.

At the same rate, there’s also a chance that the NBA decides to cancel the season altogether and simply move forward with the normal offseason routine (with the NBA Draft and free agency in June and July).

With the season potentially in doubt, you can’t help but wonder if the Heat might’ve made a mistake in trading Justise Winslow for a player that might not even help them. Iguodala will be on the team next season and has a team option for 2021-22. Still, at 36, who knows what he’ll look like with another seven months of playing no meaningful basketball.

Jae Crowder is a free agent in the offseason and there’s probably a good chance he gets a richer offer than what the Heat can pay him on the open market.

Hopefully, the NBA will be able to resume the 2019-20 season and the Miami Heat will get playoff Andre Iguodala. Though, in the current state that the NBA is in, you can’t help but wonder if they gave up on Justise Winslow too quickly. In retrospect, it’s looking more and more like they did.