The Heat and Jazz would both need to have disappointing playoff finishes for the second straight year.
Speculation of a possible Donovan Mitchell trade to the Miami Heat has grown in recent days. First came a Jan. 12 piece in The Athletic on Dwyane Wade in which Mitchell said that he was “definitely a Heat fan growing up.” (Wade purchased an ownership stake in the Jazz last year.)
And then Greg Sylvander of the 5 Reasons Sports Network tweeted Jan. 14 that if Mitchell were to ever ask out of Utah, Miami would be his first choice.
I believe this is well documented & relatively obvious but…
I can confirm that if Donovan Mitchell were to ever ask out of Utah, it’s believed Miami would be his first choice and New York a more distant second as preferred destinations according to a league source.
— Greg Sylvander (@GregSylvander) January 14, 2022
Mitchell won’t go anywhere before the Feb. 10 trade deadline. The Utah Jazz are 28-14, even after losing four straight games. A potential trade of Mitchell to the Heat would happen over this off-season at the earliest. Such talks could conceivably start if both Utah and Miami have disappointing playoff finishes for the second consecutive year.
The No. 1 seed last year, the Jazz lost to the Los Angeles Clippers in the second round. Another early exit could signal to Mitchell that he and Rudy Gobert are not the one-two punch to compete for championships. (Gobert has a $46.66 million player option in 2025-26, while Mitchell’s contract has a $37.1 million player option in 2025-26.)
As for the Heat, an early exit in the playoffs would be disastrous less than a year removed from giving Jimmy Butler a max extension and signing Kyle Lowry to a three-year deal. That may force Pat Riley to part with multiple players Miami has turned into assets — Tyler Herro, Duncan Robinson and now even Max Strus, Omer Yurtseven and Gabe Vincent — for a bona fide superstar.
For now, enjoy the fact that the Heat are one game out of the first seed in the East and playing so well. Jimmy Butler came back last night and helped seal the win. Bam Adebayo is about to return. If the playoffs disappoint, we’ll revisit this conversation.