The Miami Heat have acquired guard Davion Mitchell in exchange or PJ Tucker, a second-round pick and cash, ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania first reported Thursday, less than four hours until the end of the trade deadline.
By trading Tucker’s $11 million salary and inheriting $6.5 million, the Heat were able to duck under the first apron. Though they are roughly $2.7 million from getting under the luxury tax, according to salary cap expert Brian Goins of Miami Heat Beat.
Mitchell, 26, is set to be a restricted free agent this summer. He is averaging 6.3 points and 4.6 assists on the season, shooting 35.9 percent from 3-point with a 53.6 true-shooting percentage across 44 games (22 starts).
The second-round pick the Heat traded will be a 2026 Lakers second-rounder–the only one they had left after trading its 2031 swap (via Indiana) to Utah on Wednesday.
Mitchell helps the Heat fill their biggest need at the point-of-attack–a hole they have not been able to fill since Dru Smith went down with a season-ending achilles injury in December. According to Basketball Index, he grades in the 88th percentile in ball-screen navigation, 64th in off-ball chase defense, 64th in deflections per 75 possessions, 66th in pickpocket rating and 100th percentile in perimeter isolation defense.
This is an excellent move for Miami, given the cost. A reunion with Tucker would have been cool, but now the Heat land a legitimate rotation guard who’s spry at a much cheaper price while ducking under the first apron. We will see how Smith’s recovery progresses, but they will have a restricted free agent in their own building–at worst–as a backup option, if necessary.
That said, Mitchell is still limited offensively, despite improving as a shotmaker and playmaker. But those are cherries on top–the Heat desperately needed point-of-attack, which is why you acquire Mitchell. He’s a hound with a championship pedigree.
What do you think about this acquisition? Let us know your thoughts!
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We gotta put some respect on Klove’s name.
Throughout this drama he’s been authentic, self aware, kind and funny on his Instagram. Proactively putting himself out there, making sure his teammates going through this for the first time don’t have to hear the burden of media drama.
I mean that. Kevin I think blunted the sports media sharks by being honest on his social media account. Perhaps I just don’t watch enough local and national sports media. But there haven’t been endless articles running about what Bam and Herro think about Jimmy. Trying to magnify every comment, looking for division, looking for a scoop. I don’t think that happens without Kevin providing some much needed perspective.
I imagine with his teammates he’s been a guy everyone has sat and spent a minute getting some perspective. Thanks Kevin!
Absolutely! K Love is a stabilizing force. It’s why he is still here.
He also was once an all star, an excellent player. But, we do need a better player there now as if Bam or Kel’el pick up fouls, there’s a big drop off.
In a bit of funny irony, the player we are getting is exactly the player Cleveland traded to Minnesota to get Kevin Love. Proving what goes around comes around! 😀
Had to read that again. Coz name’s almost like Donovan Mitchell lol. And he’s also a guard.
Meanwhile in Cleveland, they got Hunter! The strong got stronger.
It seems like the Heat has too many rotation caliber players and not enough rotation spots. In addition, it seems like players who could possibly earn a rotation spot prior to the playoffs, may not get a chance to prove they belong. I’m specifically talking about Stevens and Johnson.
Here’s my ranking of the team’s players by tiers:
Tier 1 – Starters
#1 Bam PF
#2 Herro PG
#3 Ware C
#4 Wiggins SG
#5 Jovic SF
Tier 2 – Primary Reserves
#6 Robinson SG/SF
#7 Rozier PG/SG
#8 Jaquez SG/SF
#9 Highsmith SG/SF/PF
#10 Mitchell PG
Tier 3 – Secondary Reserves
#11 Burke SG
#12 Anderson SF
#13 Larsson SG
#14 Love PF/C
#15 Johnson SF/PF
Nice assessment. But, you seem to rank Mitchell pretty low. I think he starts, may get a lot of minutes. His ball handling is really important. Possibly Jovic comes off the bench? BTW, that’s a stronger second team than before.
We basically became early season Golden State. Too many solid players, not enough difference makers.
One more thing, Jimmy definitely lost a step this year.,There were games that Jimmy could not create his own shot, or draw fouls nearly as well as he used to. Some thought he was dogging it but I thought he was trying but wasn’t as good anymore. He is now still a solid A player, but gets injured a lot. Furthermore, he costs so much he hurts other moves. So swapping him out for an A- player in Wiggins, getting Mitchell and a pick, and also a bit of depth in KA, I say we did well.
Finally, Golden State better do well this year in the playoffs because I wonder if Golden State is going to enjoy Jimmy’s next two seasons.
Besides the remaining portion of his $48 million this season, he now has two more years after that at an average of $56 million. I’m glad that contract is not with the Heat!
Exactly.
I couldn’t tell if it was getting used to the “new offense”, him testing Pat and Spo, him conserving himself, or him just not quite having that just enough first step explosiveness.
Despite that, we know he’s gonna take his game up in the playoffs. It’s a loss of a great player. And we didn’t get nearly enough back from Golden State–we should have asked for one of their solid and younger players instead of Schroeder or whomever.
It’s the loss of a unique player who went out of his way to torpedo any value he had in the market. We were hours away from getting nothing for him and being saddled with a huge salary and no production. Instead, we got a starter who can ably fill the sf position, a pg who is an elite poa defender, a serviceable backup sf/pf, and a first round pick. Under the circumstances, that is a solid return. Had we traded him last February, or in the offseason, we definitely would have received considerably more. That is on management.
A pick in a stacked draft *
😉
There was a lot of debate about how much Butler would bring back in the trade. I remember that I disagree with you.
I m not saying I was completely right back then but it turns out that only two teams in the league were willing to give him his extension, and that is a reason, that his trade value was low in any case, not just because of his behaviour.
I m saying, that even in case, that Butler would behave as he should, the trade value wouldn’t be much higher. Still probably only two teams interested, one of them blocked with that Beal contract.
Well, my friend, we continue to disagree. There were not only 2 teams interested. He and his agent let several teams know that Butler did not want to play for them and/or would not sign an extension.
I have been suggesting for over a year that we could trade him. At that time, Butler was coming off the miraculous run from the play-in to the finals. His value would have been greater.
Well, my friend, we will never know. And after Luka trade (and Gobert one) I fell there is no way to predict anything.
It was the wildest trading period I have ever seen. Luka, Davis, Fox, Butler, Ingram, LaVine, Hunter and many others.
I am pleased. This is my team assessment…
I think we are a better team than we were yesterday. Next year we can get a big name, and we can do it from a position of strength, both personnel wise and financially speaking. Our footing seems more solid than before.
This year, I would try for a big in the buyout market, someone better than Love. We also could use some depth at the point, but perhaps Rozier and Burks will be adequate (we should use Burks more).
This year we are right where hfl says, 12-16 in team strength. It’s good enough to enjoy the rest of the season. We get a real upgrade on Love in the buyout and we could move up a couple spots in strength, maybe even reach the second round.
Our future looks better, as several good things have happened with player growth. Number one is Ware, number two is Tyler, and number three is Jovic (very impressed with Jovic’s growth). We will need to get rid of some players, hopefully getting other players with less skillset redundancy. At least one of Dunc, JJJ, or even Pelle, and definitely Love, have to go. I would rather keep Pelle of all of them as he is a surprising athlete. But, all of them, except Love, are valuable and could bring something back. HH may also be upgraded on, with KAnderson and Alec Burks also possible to upgrade on.
All the rest should be our core and with that one whale like player, we could be right there. Things are looking up!
Since all roster spots are filled, someone would have to be bought out before you can add anyone. That probably wouldn’t be Love because he is on a 2 year, $8 million contract. The only real choice then, imo, would be Burks, who is on a one year contract at a reasonable price. If that was the case, I wish the Heat would have traded him before the deadline. We possibly could have gotten a second round pick, and we wouldn’t be responsible for the amount of the buyout. However, if the right player comes along, then the Heat may have to sacrifice a little money. Fortunately, because of the Butler trade, the Heat have more flexibility salary wise. The only big I’ve seen so far getting bought out of any note is Bagley. I would pass on Theiss.
Testify, Bout30. You also get one “Neil, GOD!” for your post. 😉
I think we might be hosed in buyout as we will be limited in what we can offer since Anderson is still on the team. I don’t think we need PG now with Davion “Heat Lifer” Mitchell in the fold. 😛 So I checked potential buy out bigs and this is who they think might be bought out. Larry Nance Jr (I would take), Taj Gibson (blech), Kelly O (been there, done that), Theis (would consider), and Chris Boucher (Lots of teams will be after him).
Nance or especially Boucher would be an upgrade. Love being our backup center is the weakest part of our team. We can three man rotate with Bam, Kel el and Nico, but that isn’t ideal.
Thanks for the acknowledgement.
Damn Wiggins won’t be able to play until Monday vs Boston. Not the game I wanted him to debut in. Was hoping we could get him vs Nets to start the process of integrating him.
I know. I’m really looking forward to seeing the new guys play.
dallas has made so many deals its crazy the big one that got away was brunson few years ago to the hated knicks.looking at our team right now we are little better but in the hierarchy see us as 12 -16th.this off season pat needs to add a ss (kd)to compete vs the big boys
kyle anderson half chinese avg 7 pts his career 47% 34%
Was supposed to be rerouted to Toronto but they reneged on the deal. I know of him, but not familiar with how good he is.
maybe 8 9 type player,hes soft 6 9 pf/sf. poor poor mans chris bosh.dandre hunter would have been nice get,that cleve team gonna be tough to beat.max strus made a wise decision
Say what you want but slow-mo is a useful player, he’s 6’9, 250 soft, with 7’3 wingspan. He’s a versatile defender that can switch 1-4, has a defensive rating of 110. he helped the wolves when they went to wcf, helps with ball handling duties, jack of all trades, shooting almost 37 percent from 3. I’ll take a poor poor man’s bosh at the 8th, 9th, or 10th rotation spot. At 31, He still has a few decent years left.
Preach! Testify! Preach & Testify!
HFL eyes aren’t what they used to be so you have to forgive him 😉
in the hierarchy of heat forwards i got bam wiggins jovic jjj hh all better than kyle
Kyle’s career has been significantly better than what JJJ or HH has shown so far. Now I’ll give you JJJ moving forward, but up until now it’s not even close. Anderson has a career win share of 38. Highsmith so far is at 5 and JJJ at 5.7.
Also, all those guys won’t be available or playing well every night. Having him as depth is a positive.
LOL just had to give him some clarity 😉
i watched games with him over the years never said to myself that guys a good player .hes a below average player.eyes dont lie lol
I watched him for years too, he’s better than you think. He’s an average player, not below average. Could even run an XXL lineup with jovic, Wiggins, Kyle, bam, ware .
He played with the China team and saw him vs our Philippine team. Plays in slomo but easily guarded. In NBA I think he’s better.
Miami needs a good point guard. Maybe under Spoelstra’s tutelage, Mitchell will blossom into the ball distributor that we need.
is anderson a heater or a raptor.personally hope hes a raptor
Why? He can play really good defense and is a useful player. It wouldn’t be that bad other than missing on a potential buyout guy. Not that they usually move the needle, but you never know.
need help at pg shcroeder would have been nice.rather give pt to wiggins jovic jjj u have bam ware.need backup center andersons soft
Mitchell is a pg:
But Thursday the Heat sent Tucker to Toronto for guard Davion Mitchell — a grand-theft level steal for Miami, and financially good, too. Mitchell is a demon on defense
i hope your right rc .we got the swedish demon also
Yeah, that quote was from the Miami Herald
From Allucanheat:
Mitchell could help recreate that form and value in the latter regard. He’s widely regarded as one of the best defensive perimeter players in the NBA, and he’s continued to keep opponents in check in 2024-25 despite playing for a struggling team in the Toronto Raptors.
Offensively, Mitchell has quietly emerged as a respectable playmaker. Thus far in 2024-25, he’s producing averages of 9.3 points, 6.8 assists, 2.8 rebounds, 1.0 steal, and 1.4 three-point field goals made per 36 minutes on .434/.359/.676 shooting.
Yeah a guy who is a beast on D and can assist. Exactly what we need at PG position
Schroeder is awful just stop. Chucker and wild
when your traded for old worn out pajamas and your young what does that say about mitchell,schroeder is reggie jackson can score but defense not a strong suit.averaged 14 pts 43% ,schroeders below average .davion mitchell not on hfls radar will be soon
At this moment, he is on our team
So I guess we’re keeping Slo-mo?
Things haven’t been finalized yet. Word was Heat was trying for minor trade at the deadline. No official notice that they’re done yet.
They can only continue if in real talks with another team, so if the NBA offices is letting them continue, I wonder who the other team is?
As of now, no Heat beat reporters have been told that Miami is done, which is traditionally what the front office has communicated in the past when they were done. Who knows? Maybe Riley nodded out.
slo mo being?dunc.hes not that slow just cant defend
NBA Trade Tracker: Every Deal Made at the DeadlineUpdated Feb 06, 2025 at 3:10 PM EST
https://www.newsweek.com/sports/nba/nba-trade-tracker-every-deal-made-deadline-2027386
Marcus Smart to Wizards
Love this headline “Environment around Suns toxic after potential Jimmy Butler, Kevin Durant trades” Yeah, no s**t!
Look at Jimmy helping bleep up another locker room. 😉 That owner is an idiot, too.
Messing up locker rooms is one of Jimmy’s specialties, along with making overpriced coffee.
Spurs have Hawks unprotected 2025 pick. If they win the lottery and get Flagg, hfl will fly to San Antonio and Secaucus to investigate.
Hawks did it to themselves with incompetent front office, I also think spurs have a mole within hawks franchise.
traded trae for luka
This makes it seem like Terry is on his way out, because we want Jaime and Jovic taking on more ball handling duties, and if Mitchell can play D he’s gonna be on the court.
Bad take here
Bogdan Bogdanovic to the Clippers. Hawks tanking.
Very exciting day. Hate to lose anyone off the roster, but don’t weaken us by taking away the wrong players. Especially not Terry. The guy still has enough good games and has skills no one else has. Why not trade Duncan or give away Love. Or take away our GLeaguers. K Anderson is a B player, better than some we have on our roster, about even with HH (HH better defense, KAnderson better offense), but HH still has upside, so let Anderson go if you have to.
Anyway, whatever we do, we have fully recovered with Wiggins and Mitchell. We now have a competitive team, there is life post Jimmy.
Great move getting mitchell, I wanted him when he came out of the draft, has a dog mentality, and perfect for heat culture. He still only 26, and spo will turn him into a POA beast. Went to raptors blog and a lot of them wanted to keep him. Just not enough money to go around. This defense funna go crazy. Also stop sleeping on the godfather, he still got something left in the tank, while pushing 80.
Yes, I am one who deserves to be eating appropriate crow, and am now giving the old man his props. He did quite well in a difficult situation.
Ha! We’ve all tasted crow at various times. It comes with sports fandom.
Yes sir, and it’s ok…Riley has his faults, but he’s did as good as we could hope for. We got younger, and don’t think we’re done yet making moves. I would like to see him trade away dunc and rozier If possible, but I think they will be here for at least 1 more season..lastly I think Riley is doing well retooling. he will probably make one last run at a championship before retirement. The key is the 2026 free agency.
In Riley We Trust. He didn’t turn this into one of the premiere franchises by accident. 😉
DeAndre Hunter to the Cavs
Good for them, but I don’t like that since it makes them better 😉
But I prefer the Cavs doing well in playoffs over the like of Boston or New York.
Wow that team looks even more scary. I guess hawks got another incoming rebuild.
A little over an hour left. If a team is in the middle of negotiations and inform the front office and they can go past 3.
wrong mitchell close but no cigars
Our defense is going to be sickness. Teams will really hate playing us. Muahahaha!
Windy just reported now that when Miami asked for Durant, Suns made a “massive request, picks, young players.” Suns now taking calls on Durant from others who might be more willing to give up farm.
This has been the wildest trading period ever, as far as I can remember.
adam silver trying to trump the super bowl
So many previous trade periods where very little happened, real snoozers. This has been crazy. As for sb, not a fan of either team, but I do hope KC loses.
Love this move. Exactly what this team needs off the bench and opens up buyout market. Spo will get the best out of him.
I totally agree! To explore the buyout market, they still need to move players as we have no available roster spots. I’ve seen Anderson, Highsmith, and Rozier mentioned. Two hours to go! But as of now, the return of Wiggins, Mitchell, Anderson, and a first round pick (though we sent out 2 second rounders too) is as much or more than we could have hoped for.
Yeah I keep forgetting Anderson got stuck in Miami. That will blow thing sup a bit, though he is a useful player. Not good, not bad, but can play minutes if needed.
They call him slow mo for a reason, another decent ball handler, and jack of all trades player. Also holds teammates accountable.
Yes, a point guard, very good defender. To replace Hayward in starting lineup?
Wiggins is replacing Hayward in the starting lineup, hopefully mitchell can be pg, so ty can slide to sg.
a point guard?
Yes, he is and poa defender.
yes, starting caliber based on track record no.i remember him from sac didnt really notice him to much.terry is such a mystery been a good player his whole career gets down here been pretty bad few good games way many more clunkersthe way pelle defended maxey was so impressive .think he might be a brunson maxey stopper.that block of maxey going to the rim was beautiful
We have some young studs. They just need playing time. This season is going towards the development of Ware and JJJ. Get them in a playoff series. Will be JJJ’s second which builds that confidence they need