Heat Trade Scenario Would Add Donovan Mitchell & $90 Million Wing

Getty Donovan Mitchell

The Miami Heat have to think about their long-term future. They could run it back, but Jimmy Butler is not getting any younger. If they believe some changes are in order, someone like Donovan Mitchell could appeal to them.

Mitchell is younger and fits Bam Adebayo’s timeline. If the Heat believe Mitchell would be the better option than Butler going forward, Bleacher Report’s Eric Pincus proposed a trade between the Heat, Philadelphia 76ers, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Washington Wizards that would send them Mitchell and another asset.

Heat get: Mitchell, Kyle Kuzma, $13.4 million Jimmy Butler TPE, $2.5 million Nikola Jovic TPE, $2.3 million Tyler Herro TPE

Cavaliers get: Tyler Herro, No. 15 pick, Suns second-round pick (via Washington), 2028 Clippers first-round pick, 2030 Heat first-round pick, $6.4 million Donovan Mitchell TPE, $2.6 million Ty Jerome TPE

Wizards get: Paul Reed, Nikola Jovic, Ty Jerome, No. 16 pick, 2026 Sixers first-round pick, $23.5 million Kyle Kuzma TPE

Sixers get: Butler

Pincus explained in his May 7 story why the Heat and Mitchell would fit with one another. He even added Mitchell’s interest in joining the Heat.

“Of all the NBA guards, Mitchell may be the closest to Heat legend and Hall-of-Famer Dwyane Wade. He will be 28 before next season (seven years younger than Butler). He has a strong relationship with Bam Adebayo and is said (by multiple NBA insiders) to have Miami high on his list of destinations.”

Since starting his career in 2017, Mitchell has made five All-Star teams and one All-NBA team. The furthest he has gone in the postseason is the conference semifinals. However, before he joined the Heat, the conference semifinals were the furthest Butler went. Perhaps having a better supporting cast would

Pincus Explained Why Kuzma Appeals to Miami

Pincus also explained why Kuzma would also fit into the equation for the Heat by citing his experience and adding how Miami could help him.

“Kuzma is a talented scorer who has shown he can play championship basketball with the Los Angeles Lakers (beating Miami in 2020). If lack of discipline (on offense and defense) was an issue in Washington, it wouldn’t be with the stricter Heat culture.”

He then previewed what the Heat’s rotation could potentially look like by adding Mitchell and Kuzma.

“Miami can field a starting lineup with Terry Rozier, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Adebayo, Mitchell and Kuzma. The team would presumably re-sign Haywood Highsmith and Delon Wright, rounding out the bench with players such as Duncan Robinson, Kevin Love, and Josh Richardson.”

The Heat would get younger from this trade. At this point, they may be better off with more youthful players than they are now.

Heat Has Interest in Donovan Mitchell: Report

NBA Insider Marc Stein reported that the Heat had interest in Mitchell during the 2024 NBA Trade Deadline.

“The Miami Heat, league sources say, continue to have bona fide interest in Mitchell despite Cleveland’s don’t-even-call-us approach and could well choose to test that resolve with Mitchell proposals after Miami’s trade pursuits of Bradley Beal and Damian Lillard over the summer ended with neither player landing on South Beach,” Stein wrote in a January 10 story.

The Cavaliers could re-visit their approach if they don’t make a substantial playoff run. If they do, they must keep in mind that Mitchell will enter the fourth year of a five-year, $163 million contract and that Kuzma will enter the second year of a four-year, $90 million contract.

Acquiring them both would requires major shakeups, as Pincus outlined, but it is feasible.