The Miami Heat are hesitant to surrender valuable assets for Ja Morant, citing his injury concerns and inconsistent play, despite recent flashes of brilliance.
As the trade deadline approaches, there appears to be a hold on the business side of basketball. Given the uncertainty of Giannis Antetokounmpo's situation with the Milwaukee Bucks, teams are holding onto their most valuable assets, including the Miami Heat. Despite being linked to two-time All-Star Ja Morant, they're unlikely to offer a glamorous package for the 26-year-old guard.
It was reported on Tuesday that the most the Heat would sacrifice is Terry Rozier and a filler, likely to be Simone Fontecchio.
Morant is coming off a strong performance in London, England, against the Orlando Magic: 24 points, 13 assists, five rebounds, and a steal in 28 minutes. However, the former All-NBA guard has missed 22 games due to lower leg injuries.
The value of the athletic guard has dipped tremendously, given the lack of production. Morant is averaging 19.3 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 7.8 assists while shooting 40.7 percent from the field, 23.5 percent from three-point range in 19 games.
Rozier is currently away from the league due to an ongoing case involving illegal sports betting. On Dec. 8th, 2025, the 31-year-old pleaded not guilty on two charges: conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. He will follow up in court on March 3rd.
The Heat fully-guaranteed Rozier's $26.64 million salary with hopes of trading him, despite the lack of clarity from the league.
Fontecchio dealt with a difficult stretch of games without serious offensive production, but that's changed in the last three games, averaging 13.7 points and 6.7 rebounds while shooting 48.3 percent from the field, 45 percent from three-point range, and playing 21.1 minutes.
The 30-year-old provides size, listed at 6-7, with the ability to space the floor.
The Heat has a few tradable first-round picks, but Morant's injury history and offensive regression would make it difficult to crack one. The organization doesn't shy away from star hunting, but they're careful about what assets would require being sacrificed.
Given the Bucks' lack of winning, currently with an 18-24 record, 11th in the Eastern Conference standings, Antetokounmpo remains the biggest prize if made available before the trade deadline.
The Heat have a tremendous amount of young talent in Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kel'el Ware, Nikola Jovic, and Pelle Larsson. They also have a couple of valuable expiring contracts in Norman Powell, who's on an All-Star trajectory, and Andrew Wiggins.
The trade deadline closes on Feb. 5th at 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
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