Miami Heat: 4 power forwards to target via trade

The Miami Heat organization believes they do not have a starting-caliber power forward currently on the roster. Clutch of Five Reasons Sports Network tweeted on February 1st that Miami was forced to go into the season with the current crop of power forwards because their free-agent targets signed larger contracts with other teams.

Consequently, the Heat are trying to acquire a starting-caliber power forward before the trade deadline on March 25th. But what type of power forward should Miami acquire? A power forward who excels at above the break and catch-and-shoot threes.

How the Miami Heat use power Forwards on offense

Head coach Erik Spoelstra has used power forwards as floor spacers for over a season now. Andre Iguodala, Kelly Olynyk, and Jae Crowder attempted a minimum of 53.4 percent of their shots from behind the arc last season, averaging 2.2, 3.5, and 6.4 per game, respectively. At least 78.1 percent of those attempts were of the catch and shoot variety as they averaged 1.9, 3.1, and 5 per game.

More importantly, A significant portion of their attempts came away from the corner of the floor. Iguodala, Olynyk, and Crowder attempted 1.1, 2.8 and 4.2 above the break threes per game, respectively.

Spoelstra hasn’t changed how he uses power forwards this season as Iguodala and Olynyk have taken over 73 percent of their field goals from three, averaging 3.6 and 6.2 per game, respectively. Catch and shoots have accounted for more than 83 percent of the attempts as they average 3.1 and 5.2 per game, respectively.

Furthermore, they continued to take a substantial amount of their attempts from above the break. Iguodala and Olynyk have averaged 1.6 and 5 above the break threes per game, respectively, in the team’s first 20 outings.

4 power forwards that the Miami Heat should pursue

The Miami Heat would also like to acquire a starting power forward without giving up their most valuable young assets as they are saving those assets to get another star. Consequently, they will probably be willing to give up Olynyk/Iguodala plus Kendrick Nunn or KZ Okpala in a trade. Therefore, the term should be monitoring the market for Davis Bertans, Harrison Barnes, Kevin Love, and Otto Porter Jr.

Harrison Barnes

Barnes has converted 38.3 percent of his catch and shoot threes since the 2013-14 season on 3 attempts per game. He has also made 37 percent of his above the break since the 2013-14 season on 2.4 attempts. More importantly, the team won’t have to give a lot of assets to acquire him. Barnes was traded to the Kings for Zach Randolph and Justin Jackson in February of 2019.

Otto Porter Jr.

Porter has converted 41.8 percent of his catch and shoots since 2013-14 on 3 attempts per game. Furthermore, Porter has shot 39.8 percent on above the break threes since 2013 on 2.3 shots per game.

Unfortunately, Porter dealt with multiple injuries before this season. Porter only appeared in 56 games during the 2018-19 season due to various injuries. For example, he missed the final 11 games with a strained right shoulder.

Porter continued to deal with injuries last season as a broken left foot led to him only playing 14 games. Consequently, the Heat should be able to acquire Porter within their price range if they choose to go that route.

Kevin Love

Jason Dumas of Kron 4 stated on January 25th that the Cleveland Cavaliers were open to moving Andre Drummond and Love before the deadline in exchange for draft picks. Unfortunately for the Cavaliers, Love’s value appears to be extremely low at this point as John Hollinger told Chad Ford in November that teams didn’t want to give up anything of value for him.

Furthermore, Dumas stated that the Brooklyn Nets would only acquire Love if he’s bought out by Cleveland. Therefore,  Love would be an ideal acquisition candidate due to his current value and system fit.

Love has made 36.7 percent of his above the break threes since the 2013-14 season on 4.5 attempts per game. Conversely, he converted 36.4 of his catch and shoot threes on 5 attempts per game.

Davis Bertans

Although Bertans hasn’t been mentioned in trade rumors yet, that can change rather quickly due to the Washington Wizards’ current state. The Wizards currently have a franchise player in Bradley Beal, who is scheduled to be a free agent after the 2021-22 season.

Consequently, the team is under pressure to win games immediately as they want Beal to sign another long term contract with them. Unfortunately, Washington has gotten off to a bad start with 4 wins and 13 losses in the first 17 games, the Eastern Conference’s worst record.

If The Wizards continue to lose, they will be at a crossroads, reshuffle the roster in an attempt to win or pull the plug and start rebuilding. In both cases, Bertans would be a likely trade candidate as he is currently Washington’s third most valuable asset behind Beal and the 2021 first-round pick.

Miami is a team who should be interested in acquiring Bertans if made available as he would be an ideal fit for their offensive system. Bertans converted 40.3 percent of his catch and shoot threes in 288 career appearances on 4.7 attempts per game. Conversely, he has made 36.1 percent of his above the break threes during this span on 5 shots per game.

Even though these aren’t the sexiest names, they are ideal system fits and should be within the Miami Heat’s price range.