New Blockbuster Three-Team Trade Idea Sends Domantas Sabonis to Heat, Kings Get Tyler Herro

Although it's always difficult to predict exactly how the offseason will affect the upcoming NBA season, it seems clear that the Eastern Conference is going to be up for grabs. The Indiana Pacers won the conference last year in one of the most surprising championship runs in recent memory, but they are going to be without Tyrese Haliburton for the year. The Boston Celtics have always been a force in the Eastern Conference, but Jayson Tatum went down with an Achilles injury in the second round and will miss the upcoming season. The Bucks made a big move to add Myles Turner, but they had to cut Damian Lillard to do it. In short, the only three teams that seem to be locks for postseason returns are the New York Knicks, Orlando Magic and the Cleveland Cavaliers. That leaves an opportunity for several teams to take advantage.

The Atlanta Hawks are certainly doing their best to seize that opportunity. After trading for Celtics big man Kristaps Porzingis and drafting Georgia power forward Asa Newell, Atlanta reached a pair of huge free agent signings. The Hawks signed a marquee free agent in Wolves guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker to a four-year, $62 million deal in a sign and trade that sent a 2027 2nd-round pick (via CLE) to the Wolves. Then, the Hawks signed free agent guard Luke Kennard to a one-year, $11 million deal. They also got an unprotected first-round pick from the New Orleans Pelicans in a draft-night trade. Given the massive injuries in the Eastern Conference next season, it seems that the Atlanta Hawks are going for it and making moves to put themselves in position to contend. One area they could still use some depth is at small forward or another ball-handler.

Outside of essentially getting Norman Powell from the Clippers for free, the Miami Heat haven't made a ton of significant moves in free agency. They snuck into the playoffs last year after eliminating the Hawks from the play-in tournament, but there's reason to believe things will be harder this year even with the expected declines from the Celtics and Pacers. Miami got completely out-classed by Cleveland in the first round of the 2025 playoffs - they need to add more scoring and two-way contributors that can survive in the playoffs if they want to make it back to the NBA Finals after their run in 2023. They've struggled to acclimate to the departure of Jimmy Butler and it may be time to consider making some tough decisions about Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro. If they were to trade either one of them, it's likely that Herro would be the more likely of the two to go. He's younger, hasn't signed a third extension yet and just had his first All-Star season.

Even though Miami appears to have lost some ground in the Eastern Conference, it'd be interesting to consider the possibility of them replacing Herro with Kings big man Domantas Sabonis. While it may not seem like the Heat need a center considering they have Adebayo, Sabonis does not play like a traditional center and the two may have more complementary skillsets than initially indicated. Sacramento could be interested in moving on from him if they are prepared to enter a true rebuild and get an appropriate offer from Miami. It makes sense for Herro to be part of that return - he'd be able to take over some of Sabonis' facilitation while creating enough offense for the Kings to play a talented defender like Devin Carter at point guard. They're also rumored to be in the market for Russell Westbrook - this would be a much more effective solution for their backcourt.

So how about a trade where each of these teams tries to fill a need?

It should be noted that this is just a speculative and fun exercise to see what kind of moves can be made, not what I think the Hawks or any other teams should do or will do. That is all.

Hawks Receive: Jaime Jaquez Jr

Heat Receive: Domantas Sabonis, Malik Monk, 2027 1st-round pick (via SAC, top-5 protected), 2031 1st-round pick (via MIN, unprotected), 2031 2nd-round pick (via ATL/HOU)

Kings Receive: Tyler Herro, Terry Rozier, Ke'el Ware

Why the Hawks would do this deal: Jaquez took a step back from his rookie season, where he made the All-Rookie First Team, in 2024-25. As a rookie, he earned extensive playing time as part of Miami's rotation due to his excellent cutting and ability to shoulder scoring responsibilities. His shooting from deep remains a work in progress (career 31.8% shooter from deep), but he took small steps forward as a rebounder (11.7% TRB% up from 7.6% as a rookie) and upped his STL% to 2.2%, indicating some defensive growth. He struggled with injuries throughout the second half of his rookie season and for much of his sophomore season, so it's possible that those might have held him back. Even so, the Hawks could be getting a rotation player for a pretty negligible price who is at his best as an off-ball player. If he works out, Jaquez could be a younger version of what Caris LeVert gave the Hawks last season.

Why the Hawks would not do this deal: Jaquez's drop in play from his rookie season to his sophomore season is worrying and it may be hard for him to get minutes given that the Hawks have added a lot of young talent to their wing core. Zaccharie Risacher, Jalen Johnson, Dyson Daniels and Asa Newell all are much more intriguing options than Jaquez at this stage and he'll need to at least compete with Newell to show he's a part of Atlanta's long-term plans.

Why the Heat would do this deal: Sabonis is a good fit specifically for the Heat because they can deploy him on offense while having a rim protector to cover up for his defensive liabilities. Playing Bam Adebayo as a roaming help defender and rim protector behind Sabonis would allow them to unleas his passing and scoring abilities. He averaged 19.1 points, 13.1 rebounds and 6.0 rebounds last season on 59/41.7/75.4% shooting splits, putting up the production to justify his reputation as an offensive hub He took strides as a shooter from deep this season (career-best 40% on 2.2 attempts per game) and had the best rebounding season of his career (career-best 13.9 rebounds per game on a league-leading TRBE% of 22.4%). He isn't a true floor spacing center, but his playmaking, rebounding and ability to create offense for himself allow him to become a primary or secondary source of offense for the Heat. They'd be able to support Sabonis and Bam with two shooters in Malik Monk and Norman Powell while also having solid defenders in Andrew Wiggins and Davion Mitchell. Furthermore, the Heat get to dump a cumbersome Terry Rozier contract and sell high on Ke'el Ware after questions about his motor emerged this offseason. They also get out of paying Tyler Herro a hefty third contract and receive two intriguing first-rounders from the Kings.

Why the Heat would not do this deal: Sabonis has a checkered postseason history and his defensive concerns are a significant problem for a team trying to compete in the Eastern Conference. Furthermore, Miami's defense is a key component of their success and Sabonis doesn't fit that archetype.

Why the Kings would do this deal: Herro just had the best season of his career in 2024-25, averaging 23.9 points, 5.5 assists and 5.2 rebounds on 47.2/37.5/87.8 shooting splits. Considering that Sacramento has been looking for backcourt help, Herro would be able to neatly slide into a big role for them. His shooting should pair with Zach LaVine and give them a good pathway towards moving off DeMar DeRozan. If he gets cleared, Rozier would be a nice gamble for the Kings to take on. When he got traded to Miami, he was averaging a career-best 23.2 points per game along with 3.9 rebounds, 6.6 assists and 1.1 steals per game. He hasn't played anything like that since being acquired by the Heat, but there's a chance he gets back to his Charlotte form in a new environment. Ke'el Ware might be the most intriguing acquistion out of all of them - he had a great rookie season for the Heat, but drew the ire of head coach Erik Spoelstra for inconsistent effort during Summer League. There's a very small chance Ware ever approaches the heights of someone like Sabonis, but it's still an intriguing development project for the Kings to take on.

Why the Kings would not do this deal: Sabonis is their best player and they aren't recieving any picks for dealing him. Furthermore, they might have to turn around and give Herro a big contract extension, which lowers the benefits of clearing Sabonis' deal.

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