Will Miami Heat Offer the Houston Rockets a Trade-in Deal for James Harden?

As James Harden continues to search for his next franchise, all eyes are on the Miami Heat, the league’s most popular squad for high-value acquisitions. Head coach Erik Spoelstra recently made an interesting comment stating the team owes it to its very own superstar Jimmy Butler to perform without dragging the situation down the line.

Now whether that means developing their core team to perform at an even higher level or signaling at acquiring their next superstar is unclear. But that is a possibility considering the Heat’s history. Plus, with/ Giannis Antetokounmpo deciding to renew his contract with the Milwaukee Bucks for another year, the Heats are looking to rope in a replacement at the earliest.

Balancing the Offer for a Fair Trade-in

Of course, Harden won’t be an easy acquisition for the squad and it remains to be seen what sort of package Miami Heat will be willing to offer. For starters, the franchise would have to put together at least $33 million in salaries for legal trade. The team needs to include Andre Iguodala and Kelly Olynyk with a combined salary of $28.6 million in the trade package.

While the contract isn’t team-friendly by a long shot, the only reason Houston might accept the deal is both players have one term remaining at Miami. While Olynyk’s contract expires at the end of 2020/21, Iguodala serves until 2021/22. With that being said, Miami would have to add a lot more to their offer if it wishes to lure Houston for a trade.

That means, the Heats could potentially throw in Tyler Herro in the Harden deal and with a package of just $3.8 million till 2023/24, the potential All-Star candidate will be a steal for the Rockets. An offer they cannot refuse!

Plus, when you consider Adebayo’s untouchable status, Herro is Miami’s Ace of Spades in the Harden negotiations. And it’s unlikely the Rockets will accept any offer that excludes the 20-year-old 2-guard. However, the package with Herro, Olynyk, and Iguodala only equals $32.4 million, which is still short of the $33 million-mark required for the deal to be legal.

Throw in Duncan Robinson too?

Miami Heat might resort to a salary filler to make up for the balance sum. And the fact that Houston currently has just nine guaranteed salaries might be the Heats’ bargaining chip as the Rockets will be able to induct lot more players into the squad by simply trading in Harden.

This brings us to sharpshooter Duncan Robinson, who came into the limelight during the 2019/20 season with his amazing shooting skills. Robinson is making just $1.9 million through the next season, making him ludicrously cheap for the level of performance he offers.

Would the Rockets accept any trade-in deal that doesn’t include Herro and Robinson? Probably not! But only time will tell.

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