Miami Heat Named 'Best Landing Spot' For $158 Million Forward

Anthony Pasciolla | Sep 16, 2024

Mar 4, 2023; Miami, Florida, USA; Miami Heat president Pat Riley applauds Chris Bosh during a brief ceremony during the game between the Miami Heat and Atlanta Hawks at Miami-Dade Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images / Jim Rassol-Imagn Images

Every player on the Miami Heat is considered movable except for All-Star center Bam Adebayo.

The Heat are preparing for the possibility of veteran star Jimmy Butler departing at either the trade deadline or next offseason, opening a few options for the front office. One of which is trading Butler to a championship contender for a younger forward like New Orleans Pelicans' Brandon Ingram.

Bleacher Report pitched the Heat as the best landing spot for Ingram, but made note Heat team president Pat Riley could build around Adebayo, Tyler Herro, and Jaime Jaquez Jr.

"On the other hand, there may be value in taking some pressure off those three, and Brandon Ingram's mid-range game and playmaking skills could make him sort of a Butler facsimile," B/R's Andy Bailey wrote. "Of course, he's not quite on the same talent tier, so having Ingram as a potential Butler replacement would require steps up from Herro and Jaquez, but Miami might be stylistically consistent."

As Bailey mentioned, it's impossible to place Butle and Ingram on the same tier considering their differences in the postseason alone. The 35-year-old is regarded as one of the NBA's top playoff risers while Ingram's saw a significant drop last year. He averaged 20.8 points on 49.2 percent shooting in the regular season compared to just 14.3 points on 34.5 percent shooting in their Round 1 series.

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Anthony Pasciolla works as a contributing writer to Miami Heat On SI. He can be reached at ampasciolla@gmail.com or follow him on X @AnthonyPasci.