NBA Trade Rumors: Could the Miami Heat emerge as a possible landing spot for Julius Randle?
As the Miami Heat continues to try to find its footing through the first few weeks of the season, the whispers surrounding a possible in-season trade are only going to grow louder and louder. And specifically, if one is going to transpire it will likely be one that answers the team’s questions at the power forward position.
At the moment, the Heat starts Caleb Martin at the 4. As good as a player as Martin is, especially defensively, he’s not a natural 4 and I’m not sure how much the Heat is going to continue with this experiment. Especially if it continues to return uneven results. At 6-7, the Heat needs to right the ship sooner rather than later. Will a trade do that?
Perhaps. And according to one report, a possible option for the Heat leading up to the trade deadline may be New York Knicks forward Julius Randle who has been an uneasy fit in New York after his first season but is still quite productive. And perhaps he could be a better fit for the Heat?
Randle is averaging 21 points, nine rebounds, and three assists on 46 percent shooting from the field and 33 percent shooting from 3-point range so far this season. Again, he’s been productive but hasn’t been the best fit for the Knicks.
The Heat could be an interesting possible landing spot for Randle considering they’re an organization that constantly knows how to get the best out of players, but there could be some concerns from a different standpoint for Miami.
Why Julius Randle may not be a deadline target for the Miami Heat
While Randle may be a worthy gamble for the Heat in terms of productivity, I’m not sure it makes big-picture sense for the Heat. Even after this season, Randle still has three years remaining on his contract (guaranteed two with a player option for a third).
Is that something the Heat wants to commit to? I have a hard time believing that a team with an already huge cap sheet is going to jump into another big contract with Randle.
The experiment would be interesting. I would love to see Randle with arguably the best coaching staff and one of the best developmental systems in the league, but unless the Heat would be getting out from under Kyle Lowry’s and Duncan Robinson’s contracts, I can’t see it.
And it would make little sense for the Knicks to take on both of those contracts in any deal.