[Barry Jackson] The Heat’s offer, according to a source, is widely expected to include Ware, Tyler Herro, Terry Rozier’s expiring contract, and another young player or more, as well as first-round picks in 2030 and 2032 and possibly first-round pick swaps in 2026, 2029 and 2031.
The Heat can offer a blue-chip young talent in Kel’el Ware, who is third in the NBA in rebounds per 36 minutes at 14.7 (behind Mitchell Robinson and Andre Drummond) and second among all NBA centers in three-point shooting percentage at 41 percent, behind only Denver superstar Nikola Jokic.
The Heat’s offer, according to a source, is widely expected to include Ware, Tyler Herro, Terry Rozier’s expiring contract, and another young player or more, as well as first-round picks in 2030 and 2032 and possibly first-round pick swaps in 2026, 2029 and 2031.
Teams cannot trade first-round picks more than seven years out, and teams are not permitted to trade a future first-round pick if it leaves them without any first-round pick in consecutive years.
The Heat might need to acquire another first-round pick to sweeten its offer. That can be achieved in several several ways. Among them:
1). Try to find a team that will trade a 2026 or 2027 first-round pick to Miami for Andrew Wiggins.
2). Amend the protections on the first-round pick due Charlotte. That first-rounder is lottery protected in 2027 and unprotected in 2028. If Heat waives the protections and Charlotte agrees to accept an unprotected Heat pick in 2026 or 2028, that would free up a third first-rounder to trade to the Bucks.
3). Say, hypothetically, that the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder does not want to keep all three of its 2027 first-round picks. Miami could offer to take one of those picks in exchange for the Heat offering the Thunder a chance to swap first-round picks with Miami in 2029 and 2031, as well as other assets or financial considerations.