Miami Paid a Pick to Finish Its Tax Escape
Miami traded Brian Roberts and its unprotected 2021 second-round pick to Portland on February 18, 2016, for cash considerations. Roberts had been a member of the Heat for only two days after arriving in the three-team Courtney Lee deal. The move was the final piece of Miami's deadline effort to get below the luxury-tax line. Contemporary reporting estimated that the transaction saved the Heat about $7.6 million in combined salary and tax payments and also kept the franchise out of the repeater tax.
Portland Got a Backup Guard for the Stretch Run
The Trail Blazers used their cap position to take on Roberts while adding future draft capital. Roberts appeared in 21 regular-season games for Portland, averaging 2.9 points in 6.5 minutes, and he also saw limited playoff action during a run to the Western Conference semifinals. He was a short-term reserve rather than a rotation-changing addition, then returned to Charlotte in free agency that summer.
The 2021 Second Became Real Trade Currency
The second-round pick had more lasting usefulness than Roberts. Portland later included Miami's 2021 second, another future second and cash in the 2018 draft-night trade for the rights to Gary Trent Jr. The Miami pick eventually traveled from Sacramento to Atlanta and became No. 48 in 2021, where the Hawks selected Sharife Cooper. Portland did not make that selection itself, but it had already extracted value from the asset by using it in the Trent transaction.
Different Objectives Produced Comparable Value
Portland received a temporary backup guard and a future pick without giving up a basketball asset, while Miami received only cash on the transaction ledger. The Heat's payoff was financial: getting under the tax line protected millions of dollars and preserved flexibility for the rest of the season. Portland's payoff was asset accumulation, with the pick later helping another trade. The canonical C+ grades and Even Trade verdict fit because each side accomplished its immediate objective without creating a decisive standalone return.
Final Verdict
Even Trade — Miami C+, Portland C+. Miami moved Roberts after only two days and used the deal to finish its escape from the luxury tax, a transaction reported to save roughly $7.6 million in salary and tax costs. Portland got 21 regular-season games from Roberts and an unprotected 2021 second-round pick, then later used that pick as part of the package for Gary Trent Jr. The Heat gained major financial relief; the Trail Blazers gained modest player value and a useful asset. Neither side produced enough direct value to separate from the other.