Heat Trade Joel Anthony In 3 Team Deal
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – A three-team trade involving the NBA Champion Miami Heat, Golden State Warriors, and Boston Celtics has been agreed upon, according to Yahoo! Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski.
The trade sends Celtics guards Jordan Crawford to the Golden State Warriors. The Warriors in turn sent Toney Douglas to the Heat. The Heat then sent center Joel Anthony, a projected first-round pick, and a future second-round pick, all according to Wojnarowski.
The Heat's picks would be from Philadelphia and if the 76ers don't make the playoffs this year or next year, the first-round pick turns into two second-round picks.
Anthony is a hard-working 6'9" undersized center who made his name being physical on both ends of the floor and was a shot-blocking menace. But he was extremely limited offensively and when Chris Andersen arrived last year, Anthony's place in the rotation was almost completely eliminated.
Douglas is a 6'2" guard who played roughly 11 minutes per game for the Warriors this season while averaging 3.7 points and 0.8 assists per game.
One big difference between the two players is Douglas' $1.6 million contract expires at the end of this season and he becomes an unrestricted free agent. Anthony has a $3.8 million player option for next season that would have limited the Heat's options next season.
Miami will save up to $8 million against the luxury tax this season with Anthony not on the roster and potentially even more next season.
The big question, literally and figuratively, is will the Heat now pursue center Andrew Bynum who was released last week. Bynum has a bad reputation in the NBA right now, but like the team did with Michael Beasley and to a degree, Chris Andersen, Miami has a history of turning projects into productive players.
If Miami releases Douglas, Bynum could be in play for the Heat quickly.
