Amid news that forward Chris Bosh will be out for an indefinite amount of time to treat a blood clot in his leg, the Miami Heat have continued to find ways to get under the NBA luxury tax line.
Earlier today the Heat took part in a three-team trade with the Charlotte Hornets and Memphis Grizzlies which will send center Chris Andersen and two second round picks, one heavily protected, to Memphis and getting back Hornets guard Brian Roberts. The Grizzlies will send guard Courtney Lee to Charlotte, who will send guard/forward PJ Hairston in return.
Andersen, 37, made an immediate impact for Miami when he signed during the 2013-14 NBA season after being waived by the Denver Nuggets and helped the team win the second championship of the LeBron James era. Since then he has played a limited role on the Heat roster due to his age and the emergence of center Hassan Whiteside. Miami has been trying to move Andersen’s $5+ million contract to reduce their luxury tax hit. In taking Roberts, who will make $2.85 million this season, the Heat will save almost $6 million in luxury taxes which the league calculates for teams over the salary cap at the end of each season.
This is the second time the Heat and Grizzlies have done a trade this season. The first one was done last November 10 with Miami sending guard Mario Chalmers and forward James Ennis to Memphis in exchange for guard Beno Udrih and forward Jarnell Stokes.
The NBA trade deadline is at 3 p.m. EST on Thursday.