Heat finalizing trade to acquire Iguodala and working to trade for Gallinari

On the eve of the NBA’s trade deadline, the Heat acquired a former All NBA first-team defender and is working on acquiring a high-scoring forward.

The Heat is finalizing a trade that would send Justise Winslow and at least one other player to Memphis for former NBA Finals MVP Andre Iguodala.

Iguodala agreed to a two-year, $30 million extension with Miami, but the 2021-22 season is a team option, allowing Miami to maintain substantial cap space to try to sign a star free agent that 2021 offseason, according to ESPN.

What’s more, according to ESPN, the Heat also is has been working to also acquire Oklahoma City forward Danilo Gallinari. The objective is to add both players in deals before Thursday’s 3 p.m. trade deadline.

“I cannot discuss anything right now,” coach Erik Spoelstra said when asked about the Iguodala report an hour before Wednesday night’s game against the Clippers. “I’m just here to talk about the game. I’m the coach.”

When asked if any players will be held out of Wednesday’s game in Los Angeles besides Tyler Herro (right ankle soreness), Meyers Leonard (left ankle sprain) and Winslow (lower back bone bruise) to protect them for trade purposes, Spoelstra said: “Not that I know of.”

For the Grizzlies, forwards Jae Crowder and Solomon Hill were late scratches in Wednesday’s game against the Mavericks.

A three-time NBA champion and 2014 member of the NBA’s All-Defense first team, Iguodala - who has sat out all of this season to this point - would give the Heat an experienced, savvy defensively-skilled wing player who traditionally has elevated his game in the postseason.

Gallinari, who can play power forward and small forward, is making $22.6 million in an expiring contract. He’s averaging 19.2 points and 5.7 rebounds and shooting 44.1 percent from the field and 41 percent on three pointers.

Iguodala has scored 13,456 career points, Gallinari 9,526.

The Heat is operating under a hard cap of $138.9 million this season and Miami stands about $12,000 below that figure. So the Heat would need to send Memphis salaries equaling or in excess of the $17.2 million that Iguodala is making this season in the final season of his contract.

That could have been achieved by trading some combination of Winslow (who’s in the deal), Dion Waiters ($12.1 million), James Johnson ($15.3 million this season, with another full season left on his contract), Kelly Olynyk (due $12.7 million, with a $13.6 million player option for next season) and Meyers Leonard ($12.2 million in expiring contract; out indefinitely with an ankle injury).

The Heat also could offer Derrick Jones Jr., an impending unrestricted free agent due $1.6 million this season. But as of Wednesday evening, Jones had received no indication that he’s being traded.

There has been some frustration inside the Heat about Winslow’s extended absence with a bone bruise in his lower back. One Heat source said this was partly a pain management issue with Winslow, who has missed 26 of the past 27 games.

Winslow sought a second opinion on his injured back and was advised to rest it, according to a source. There were differences of opinions about how to treat the injury.

Winslow ends his Heat career having averaged 9.0 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.7 assists in 241 games - including 105 starts - over parts of five seasons.

He appeared in just 11 of the Heat’s first 49 games, averaging 11.3 points and 6.6 rebounds. Before the mysterious back injury, he earlier missed nine games while in the NBA’s concussion protocol.

Winslow is due $13 million this season and $13 million next season, with a $13 million team option for 2021-22. By Iguodala agreeing to a team option in 2021-22, the Heat continues to have about $35 million in cap space in 2021, nearly enough to lure a max free agent, with Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo a prime Heat target that offseason.

Meanwhile, Miami continues to work on a deal for Gallinari, 31, has averaged 16.1 points and shot 38 percent on three-pointers in his career. The 6-10 Gallinari was traded from the Clippers to the Thunder in the Paul George trade in July.

To acquire both Iguodala and Gallinari, the Heat would need to send out $39.8 million in salary, which could be achieved with several permutations of the above players, including Leonard, Winslow (already in the deal) and Johnson. Waiters previously played for OKC and the Thunder was open to re-acquiring him last summer, according to the AP.

According to a source, Johnson’s name has come in trade talks, with the Bucks, Thunder, Rockets, Timberwolves, Hawks and Blazers all mentioned.

The Heat is not permitted to trade a future first-round draft pick but does have available second-round picks in 2022 (via Philadelphia and Denver) and 2024.

Iguodala, 36, and the Grizzlies mutually agreed that he would stay away from the team this season after the Warriors traded him to Memphis last summer in a move needed for Golden State to stay below its own hard cap.

Iguodala averaged 5.7 points, 3.7 rebounds and 3.2 assists and 23.2 minutes per game in 68 games for the Warriors last season, including 13 starts, while shooting 50 percent from the field and 33 percent from three-point range.

He played very well for the Warriors each of the past six postseasons, including their three championship runs but also dealt with injuries each of the past two postseasons. Last season, he averaged 9.8 points in 21 playoff games, including 15 starts.

He’s still considered one of the league’s best perimeter defenders. Last season, players he guarded shot 43.4 percent against him in the regular season, 45 percent in the playoffs. He has averaged 1.5 steals per game in his career.