What will it take for the Miami Heat to return to the playoffs after the Jimmy Butler trade? While they still snuck into the postseason this year, which marked their sixth consecutive playoff appearance, they were bounced from the first round for the second year in a row.
Surely, the Heat will want to find another star to help replace Butler, though for some teams, that process takes several years. Miami hopes to avoid that same fate. But who would they target?
Recently, Yahoo’s Eddie Bitar had a Heat trade proposal that could help Miami lead a quick and drastic turnaround in time for the 2026 season to tip off. His idea? Trade for Ja Morant.
While there’s been no indication that the Memphis Grizzlies have actually made Morant available via trade, some wonder if they’ll use him as a trade chip to reshape their team.
In Bitar’s proposal, the Heat land Morant by trading Andrew Wiggins, Kel’el Ware, the Warriors’ 2025 first-round pick (No. 20), and Miami’s first-round pick in 2031. Is that enough for the Grizzlies to bite? Without getting a lottery pick in return, that may not move the needle in Memphis.
Meanwhile, the Heat would likely leap at almost any offer that brings Morant to Miami.
