Q: Saw the Desmond Bane trade for Memphis rebuilding with multiple first-round draft picks. As Tyler Herro is similar talent as a borderline All-Star player, would the Heat consider a similar trade, to trade Herro to rebuild? – Fred, Royal Palm Bach.
A: First there are some subtle differences. Foremost, Desmond Bane was no more than a third wheel for the Grizzlies, behind Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr., with ample options currently on Memphis’ roster to compensate for the dealing of Bane. With the Heat, by contrast, Tyler Herro is the clear number-one scoring option on a team that doesn’t necessarily have a number two. So for Memphis, it was a matter of amassing draft picks while still maintaining a quality one-two punch. Make a similar deal for Heat and the Heat potentially not only drop out of the play-in tier but potentially also behind lottery teams in the East. Now, if you see no future, or no way to augment Tyler and Bam Adebayo, then it could be considered. For now, it is why the Heat are part of the Kevin Durant process, to see if Herro-Adebayo-Durant could be a core – before tearing it all down. Could a teardown come? Certainly, and might have to. But not until you exhaust the options that can account for both current competitiveness and future growth.
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Q: I hope Adam Silver can appreciate that small-market teams are very valuable as both the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Indiana Pacers are putting on a show as this has turned out to be a classic NBA Finals. – Rodney, Miami.
A: I think the market-size argument is overstated and a non-issue. What Adam Silver, or any commissioner, should want is a competitive playing field where all teams believe that, if properly managed and financed, they have an equal playing field. The Pacers and Thunder are showing just that. What these Finals show is that quality management can trump all, and that cash can’t always secure championships. With the NBA’s new national mega television deal providing an equal, NFL-like payoff for all teams, market size hardly stands as the issue it once was. It’s almost more like the NFL model, where all franchises are stocked for the moment in national-television money and also assured for the future with these latest remarkable team valuations (and therefore the available massive lines of credit).
Q: When is Kevin Durant going to make up his mind? – Sara.
A: This never was about Kevin Durant forcing a hand. This was about the Phoenix Suns coming to a realization that their current mix does not work and that this (and potentially February’s NBA trading deadline) is a last chance to get anything of value ahead of Kevin’s potential free agency next summer.
