The Miami Heat take on the Golden State Warriors as they look to turn around their luck after two losses to the Utah Jazz and an under-manned Los Angeles Clippers team. After these two losses, Heat fans have been clamoring for a trade to improve the team and according to one network, the Heat are interested in just that.
According to Five Reasons Sports Network, the Miami Heat are interested in a trade for San Antonio Spurs forward Rudy Gay. The 34-year-forward has averaged 11.2 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 1.5 assists in 22.0 minutes off of the bench for the Spurs.
The Heat trading for Gay would solve their situation at power forward, as he is 6 feet and 8 inches, with great defensive play. On the flip side, how Gay would help Miami’s offense is a big question.
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How would Rudy Gay help the Miami Heat on offense and defense?
Rudy Gay has been pretty good defensively this season, but the offense is where it is lacking. Gay is shooting 41.9% from the field and 36.6% from beyond the arc. That would the lowest field goal percentage for Gay since the 2012-2013 season.
That would not be something the Miami Heat would like considering they need significant help on offense most nights. If this was their only move of the trade deadline, maybe they could solely focus on the defensive end and try to make do on offennse the rest of the season.
Gay has been good on defense in the 22.0 minutes he has played per game this season. Gay has a 98.7 defensive rating, which would rank as the best rating on the Heat this season, even over superstar Jimmy Butler. While Gay hasn’t played that much compared to Butler, it’s still notable to point out.
Gay also has a defended field goal percentage of 42.8, which is the same as his Spurs teammate Patty Mills. For comparison, Butler has a defended field goal percentage of 39.4%. When you look at it, the Heat would definitely bring in Gay because of his tremendous defensive abilities.
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What would the Miami Heat need to trade for Rudy Gay?
Rudy Gay is on an expiring contract with a $14.0 million salary for the rest of the 2021 season. There is a good chance that Kelly Olynyk could be included in a deal due to his salary matching up with Gay at around $12.0 million. That’s an idea situation for the Miami Heat.
The Heat could send Olynyk, KZ Okpala, and a 2022 second-round pick to the Spurs for Gay straight up, and call it a good deal. The Spurs would most likely want some compensation for Gay and it’s clear that Olynyk and a second-round pick aren’t enough, unless there are no other offers.
The deal can be done without Okpala, but if there are other teams involved, it would look to be okay to have him included. Maybe, the Heat don’t feel the same way, but that’s what makes sense from an outside viewpoint when you are looking at the trade.
It’s clear the Miami Heat need some help at the power forward position, which is what I touched on in a previous piece, so it would make sense that the team is looking at Gay or possibly his teammate LaMarcus Aldridge.
There are still many hurdles because Gay isn’t going to fix the team. The Heat will need to be active on the trade market and buyout market if they want to truly contend this season. If the Heat would truly be interested in Andre Drummond if he was bought out, that would be one of the biggest pickups they can make.
The Heat also need another scorer, which Victor Oladipo could solve. Oladipo has eyed Miami for years now and it’s clear that he would love to be here. It’s up to the Heat to make moves and not stand pat if they want to really compete for another NBA Finals this season.
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