New Blockbuster Three-Team Trade Proposal Sends Keegan Murray + DeMar DeRozan to Heat, Kings Get Wiggins

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 make another star acquisition to complement Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro.

That player could be Sacramento Kings forward Keegan Murray. Murray would be the perfect fifth starter for the Heat due to his defensive versatility and ability to stretch the floor. He's an expiring contract this year and the Kings might not want to extend him due to his relatively low ceiling. Given that the Kings have stalled out in the Western Conference around their trio of DeMar DeRozan, Domantas Sabonis and Zach LaVine, there's reason to think it would be a good time to embark on a rebuild to build a team capable of competing at the highest levels of the Western Conference.

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: Keshad Johnson

Heat Receive: DeMar DeRozan, Malik Monk, Keegan Murray

Kings Receive: Andrew Wiggins, Terry Rozier, Jaime Jaquez Jr, 2026 1st-round pick swap, 2029 1st-round pick (via MIA), 2030 1st-round pick swap (via MIA), 2032 1st-round pick (top-8 protected, via MIA)

Why the Hawks would do this deal: The box score production wasn't necessarily impressive for the former Arizona wing this summer, who has turned into one of the more intriguing prospects for the Heat. In his five Summer League outings, Johnson averaged 12 points, five rebounds and 2.6 assists per game while shooting 50% from the field and 26.3%) from deep. However, he took on a role as the leader for a young Summer League squad and his rookie season finale saw him drop 17 points and grab eight rebounds. It's a minimal price to pay for a cost-controlled wing that has some potential.

Why the Hawks would not do this deal: Johnson isn't compelling enough at this stage to elevate him to significant rotation minutes and he's 24 years old. If he doesn't break into the Hawks' crowded wing rotation quickly, there may not be much upside for this deal.

Why the Heat would do this deal: Last season, DeRozan posted 22.2 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 4.4 assists per game on 47.7/32.8/85.7 shooting splits. The efficiency could be better, but he shot 49% on midrange attempts (85th percentile last season) and he's an excellent option in the clutch. Furthermore, he's very durable despite his age, playing in 77 games this past season and continuing a four-year streak of playing 74+ games. Considering that the Heat placed a ton of offensive responsibilities on Tyler Herro's plate last season, it might help to have an experienced scorer like DeRozan slide in as a secondary option who can even act as the primary scorer on nights where he's on a hot streak. The real upside of this deal is the inclusion of Murray. He doesn't consistently play at the level of elite perimeter defenders like Alex Caruso, Amen Thompson or Jalen Williams, but the Sacramento wing is one of the only players that finished 85th percentile or better in both rim protection and perimeter isolation defense per BBall Index. Combining Murray and Bam on defense would give Miami one of the most versatile defenses in basketball. Murray also shot 41% from deep on 6.3 attempts per game as a rookie, so it would help the Heat's spacing to add him. The combination of Powell and Monk, possibly off the bench, would be a face-lift for a Heat offense that struggled quite a bit last season in the playoffs. Monk had a down shooting season last year (32.5% from deep on 6.6 attempts a night), but he posted career highs in PPG (17.2) and assists per game (5.6).

Why the Heat would not do this deal: They are giving up most of their future draft capital for a non All-Star level player. While the Magic did this for Desmond Bane, they already have a strong defense and ideal situation for Bane to step into. It's possible Miami does not have a similar set-up. The skillsets of Monk and Powell are also fairly redundant.

Why the Kings would do this deal: The Kings would likely need a competent replacement for Murray in any deal that sends him out. Wiggins can be that. Even though he wasn't a perfect fit in Miami, he still averaged 19 points, 4 rebounds and 3.3 assists on 45.8/36/73.1% shooting splits. Jaquez is also an intriguing development project for Sacramento to take on. 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. Rozier's legal situation is yet to be resolved, but his deal is a great expiring contract that could either get flipped at the deadline or expire without any long-term risk to Sacramento's books. They are also getting two first-round picks and an intriguing pick swap in 2030.

Why the Kings would not do this deal: Jaquez may have some potential, but he's already on the older side and it's highly unlikely he has much more upside to tap into. Rozier's acquisition could also be a mistake if his legal situation does not get resolved. Furthermore, Miami's picks are rarely excellent due to their consistent record of making the playoffs.

More Atlanta Hawks News:

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ESPN: Hawks Trade For Dejounte Murray Is One Of The Worst NBA Mistakes Of This Decade

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