Heat interested in trade for Spencer Dinwiddie

SNY reported today that the Miami Heat are interested in a trade for Brooklyn Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie, who is recovering from a partially torn ACL.

Brooklyn has said that Dinwiddie’s return this season is unlikely. He has a $12.3 million player option for the 2021-22 season, so any team that trades for him before the March 25 deadline would likely do so with the intention of signing him to a long-term contract.

At first glance, this potential move seems strange. Why would the Heat surrender valuable assets — that’s what it would take to get Dinwiddie — for a player who probably won’t play at all this season? Miami is clearly in win-now mode; the previous trades for Andre Iguodala and Jae Crowder and now Trevor Ariza confirm that.

Then again, perhaps the Heat view a trade for Dinwiddie perhaps at only coming at the cost of a player who they don’t plan on re-signing. If Kendrick Nunn is the main piece in a Dinwiddie piece, perhaps Pat Riley views it as a move for the future without sacrificing the present. Nunn will be a restricted free agent after this season.

Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald pointed to a hypothetical trade scenario of Avery Bradley, Moe Harkless and either Duncan Robinson or Nunn. The Heat probably wouldn’t need to surrender Robinson in a trade for Dinwiddie, but Miami has a decision to make on the undrafted shooter. The Heat can either trade him now or commit to re-signing him — potentially at a hefty price tag — or risk losing him for nothing in the off-season.