Executive looks at alternatives Miami Heat can explore to move Duncan Robinson
Miami Heat sharpshooter Duncan Robinson is stuck in limbo as trade talks featuring him halt due to his expensive contract. With an Eastern Conference executive referring to it as the “worst contract” in the league, Heavy.com’s Sean Deveney learned of potential alternatives that Miami could explore.
Duncan Robinson was an essential piece in the Miami Heat’s title run in the 2020 playoffs. Having emerged as a sharpshooter with a defensive upside, Robinson was a major contributor for the Heat early in his career.
Following the loss in the Finals, Miami gave Robinson a handsome five-year deal that saw the youngster tied to the team through 2026. While this was met with some positive responses, the Heat hasn’t yielded the most positive results.
Since signing the contract, Robinson has been less than satisfactory as a player. Having fallen upon hard times as a shooter for long stretches of the season, he hasn’t been the most productive element on the Heat roster.
Miami also saw the growth and development of players such as Max Strus, who quickly took over Robinson’s place in the rotation. This presented the necessary scenario in which the Heat would need to trade their sharpshooter.
Unfortunately, facilitating a trade involving Robinson hasn’t been the easiest for Miami.
Sean Deveney recently learned more, from an Eastern Conference executive, on why teams don’t want to absorb Duncan Robinson’s contract. The executive said:
“You can argue that, for its length, he has the worst contract in the league.”
Although the executive highlighted that the contract was one of the worst in the league, they added that some teams would still need shooting guards. In this regard, the exec mentioned a few alternatives that the Heat could explore when considering trade options:
“The only hope they’d have is a rebuilding team like Utah, if you sent them Robinson and a draft pick for a guy like (Malik) Beasley, then Utah could hold onto Robinson until he starts shooting better and look to flip him next year for another draft pick.”
“Indiana could do that with Myles Turner going to Miami as another example. That’s the only hope of trading him.”
The scathing review of Robinson’s contract holds true in many ways. The sharpshooting forward hasn’t lived up to the value placed on him in the slightest. Additionally, he isn’t even playing well enough to attract attention from teams.
Miami continues its attempts to trade Duncan Robinson
The Miami Heat have placed significant emphasis on trading Duncan Robinson. Considering how the forward has been playing as of late, paired with the development of Max Strus and Caleb Martin, the Heat would benefit from moving him.
Miami has repeatedly been linked with the Phoenix Suns in talks for Jae Crowder. However, Phoenix declined Miami’s offer, which included Robinson.
The Miami Heat are primarily in need of a power forward. While Caleb Martin has done a solid job thus far, he isn’t a solid 4. This has seen the Heat target players such as Bojan Bogdanovic and Kyle Kuzma.
While the Heat may pursue talented forwards, they face a tough challenge in facilitating a trade with Duncan Robinson involved.
