Can the Miami Heat trade for a disgruntled John Wall?

The discontent of John Wall could open the way for a Miami Heat move.

Déjà vu is about to hit the Miami Heat in the worse way. To most that would mean the portion of the schedule where reunions go down with LeBron James in Cleveland and Dwyane Wade in Chicago. More importantly, though, is the return of the talk of Pat Riley potentially poaching a disgruntled player. The Washington Wizards’ John Wall to be exact.

A sit down with CSN’s Chris Miller over the summer gave birth to the revelation of a shaky discord between the point guard and backcourt mate Bradley Beal (“I think a lot of times we have a tendency to dislike each other on the court”). Four months later, Wall found himself once again in front of the media–this time calling out his teammates after squandering his 52-point performance against the Orlando Magic.

Old habits suggest this is the perfect type of circumstance for the Heat’s president to make one of the big moves that has defined his tenure in Miami. Unfortunately a deal to bring in Wall appears harder to do than rescuing Tim Hardaway, Shaquille O’Neal, Alonzo Mourning and Goran Dragic.

Jan 3, 2016; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Wizards guard John Wall (2) dribbles the ball around the screen of Wizards center Marcin Gortat (13) as Miami Heat guard Goran Dragic (7) defends in the second quarter at Verizon Center. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

A trip to ESPN’s trade machine shows that a Wall for Dragic deal would work, financially, for both teams, however the Sun Sentinel’s Ira Winderman points out why it would not be a talent match:

“Most, if not all, NBA talent scouts, would have Wall, based on ability and potential, rated significantly ahead of Dragic, and it’s not as if the Heat are in any position to throw in draft picks to sweeten such a deal, with a pair of first-rounders still owed for Dragic.”

For starters, Wall is four years younger than the Heat point guard and plays at a better statistical pace than him–101.1 to 96.8. And although he only averages six more points and three more assists, the Wizards leading man has more field goal attempts–120 to 79–and a better percentage–61.7 to 55.7–in a restricted area that Dragic specializes in getting to.

So a one-on-one trade would look like a downgrade for Washington, even if it brings a chemistry boost.

Some may ask, why not just toss in the 2017 draft pick to sweeten the pot? Especially if Riley could get a chance to pry Blake Griffin away, in the offseason, from a Los Angeles Clippers team who could look to shake up the core if they fail at getting over the hump again.

The answer is, even if the Wizards wanted to agree, NBA rules prohibit the Heat from trading future first-round picks two years in a row. Meaning next summer’s pick cannot be moved because their 2018 selection was sent to the Phoenix Suns in order to acquire Dragic. Which amps up the difficultly of bringing Wall to Biscayne Bay.

The Heat would have to toss in one of its young players–Justise Winslow, Josh Richardson or Tyler Johnson–to build a deal worth taking for the Wizards. The Heat, already short of young players and assets, may not be eager to do that.

Everyone knows that Riley specializes in pulling off the impossible, but this time the speculation looks too hard to pull off.