The Heat – after agreeing to send Josh Richardson to the 76ers in a sign-and-trade for a maxed-out Jimmy Butler, having the Mavericks fall through as the third team in the deal, roping in the Trail Blazers – will add the Clippers as the fourth team in a deal that hopefully each side understands.
Miami will still get Butler, still send Richardson to Philadelphia. Portland will still get Hassan Whiteside for Maurice Harkless and Meyers Leonard. But Harkless will now go to L.A. with a first-round pick attached from Miami as a sweetener for taking his $11,511,234 salary.
Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN:
Jimmy Butler deal is complete with Heat -- with Clippers added as a fourth-team in trade that also includes Philadelphia and Portland, league sources tell @ZachLowe_NBA and me.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 1, 2019
Maurice Harkless is on his way to Clippers in the deal, league source tells ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 1, 2019
Miami is also sending a future first-round pick to the Clippers, league sources tell ESPN. https://t.co/q4cip3sR0X
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 1, 2019
This is a very different trade than the ones (plural!) Miami and Dallas agreed to. The Heat will seemingly keep Goran Dragic, Kelly Olynyk and Derrick Jones Jr. – three players who can help around Butler.
Instead, Miami downgrades from Whiteside to Leonard and surrenders a first-rounder. Bam Adebayo can step into a larger role at center. The protections on that first-round pick will be highly important, especially as the Heat continue with this older, capped-out team.
The Heat could still make other moves to trim salary. If they don’t, they’ll likely stretch Ryan Anderson. That’d add a $5,214,583 cap hit each of the next three seasons – another cost of this new trade structure.
This could be a nice windfall for the Clippers, again depending on the pick protections. Harkless can play, and there’s plenty of upside with Miami picks. Importantly, L.A. preserves max cap space for Kawhi Leonard. The Clippers surely hoped to lure better complementary players than Harkless, but with the market drying up quickly, Harkless doesn’t look so bad. And the pick could be a valuable long-term asset.