Rockets: 3 trades to send Victor Oladipo to the Heat

Houston Rockets trade proposal #3

The first trade proposal is one that is built around Tyler Herro, who the Rockets had discussions about during the James Harden sweepstakes. Herro is Miami’s best young building block, as he’s just in his second season and is only 20-years-old.

The Heat wouldn’t exactly be thrilled about the idea of shipping away Herro for a player in Oladipo, who is already 28. Granted, 28 is far from old, and Oladipo isn’t the normal 28-year-old, as he’s missed a total of 100 games over the previous two seasons combined.

But the Rockets would have to give up a first round pick for Herro, as this trade would have them doing, and it would be worth it. Herro is coming off a 2019-20 season in which he became an instant contributor as a rookie, as the ceiling will only get higher and higher from here on out.

The Rockets wanted a young star in the James Harden deal and didn’t get that, but got a bevy of draft picks instead, which would make it easier to ship one away for Herro. The Heat have reportedly made it known that Herro was available in trade talks, and they’ve reportedly been pursing Bradley Beal from the Wizards, which almost guarantees that Herro would be the centerpiece of a deal for Beal from Miami’s standpoint.

Oladipo is a better all-around player than Beal, as he’s a much better defender and holds higher career rebounding averages, while being a two-time All-Star, much like Beal. In addition, the fact that Oladipo reportedly wants to go to Miami would make it worth it for the Heat to pull the trigger on the deal.

The fact that Miami would also get back a first-round pick would make it easier to send Herro away, as they could bring in another replacement for Herro, who they acquired with the 13th pick of the 2019 NBA Draft. For the Rockets, acquiring a player who would be on a rookie deal through 2022-23 would give them a ton of flexibility from a financial standpoint.

As stated above, the Heat are reportedly shopping Herro already, so it would make sense to bring in a player that wants to join them.

Next: No. 2