The Miami Heat are in an interesting spot right now. The team seemed poised to tank due to a bevy of injuries, including a season-ending one to Justise Winslow. But suddenly, they’ve won eight games in a row, thanks in part to heroics from Dion Waiters.
The Heat have placed themselves in a position to continue competing for the Eastern Conference’s eighth seed. Regardless, their team does not seem sustainable to compete for anything bigger and that’s why Pat Riley may still choose to rebuild with young pieces.
One of those pieces could be Okaro White, a first-year forward having a decent stretch in limited minutes for Miami. White has appeared in seven games for Miami, scoring 4.6 points and grabbing 2.9 rebounds per game while shooting 52.6 percent from the field and 45.5 percent from behind the arc.
But White’s second 10-day contract expired on Sunday and if the Heat want to add him for the remainder of the season and above, they would need to clear a roster spot.
Enter Derrick Williams. The veteran journeyman has only played 15.4 minutes per game in 24 contests, while averaging 6.1 points and three rebounds per game with significantly worse shooting splits than White.
According to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald, the Heat have explored trades in which they could send Williams to another team without bringing back another player. That would open up the roster spot needed to sign White (or perhaps another young talent) for the rest of the season or more.
Jackson reports that the Washington Wizards, desperate for depth as they make a monumental run into the postseason, are interested in the combo forward. However, with reports that Miami could just waive Williams outright to open up the roster spot, it would be somewhat surprising if the Wizards made this trade.
The only possibility would be a worry that someone else could trade for him first or that a team higher in the waiver order could claim him. That’s a distinct possibility as teams such as the Nets and 76ers attempt to reach the salary floor in order to save some money. Even in that case, however, those teams would eventually waive the forward, allowing the Wizards to swoop in if they are still interested.
This could all be a moot point, anyway. Okaro White’s time with the Heat is at least momentarily over; if they didn’t rush to open up a spot to sign him before then, it’s difficult to envision them doing so now. On the other end, Derrick Williams isn’t moving the needle for anyone.
Nevertheless, it’s trade season and trade rumors gonna fly.
