It turns out the Indiana Pacers weren't the only Eastern Conference contender interested in trading for then-Philadelphia 76ers swingman Evan Turner during the NBA trade deadline in February. According to reports, the Miami Heat were as well.
Per Dan Le Batard of the Miami Herald, the Heat would've sent veteran power forward Udonis Haslem to the Sixers for Turner. However, Miami decided not to deal the 34-year-old due to his relationship with Dwyane Wade and the veteran presence that helps keep the Heat locker room together.
"And do what you will with this: The Heat was offered Evan Turner before Indiana. All they had to give up was Haslem, who wasn’t even playing. Haslem, like Danny Granger, has spent his basketball life with only one team, and he talks a lot about the Heat way and family. The Heat didn’t make the trade at least in part because it didn’t like how the message contradicted what it was selling James when it met him, or what it might do to the locker room," Le Batard writes.
The Heat, I'd say, made a very smart move. You could see very easily that the Pacers trying to upgrade their roster during the middle of the season hurt them.
Since signing Andrew Bynum and acquiring Evan Turner, they've gone under .500 and were very near losing the No. 1 seed in the East. Luckily for the Pacers, they just need to win the last game of the season to clinch the first overall spot.
But besides that, Larry Bird probably had to feel at least somewhat regretful for trading away Granger, who had a Udonis Haslem-like impact on Indiana—maybe even a lot more since he was the best player and leader of the team until he went down last season and Paul George took his place.
The Pacers didn't have a great reaction to the trade, and the starters struggled because of this. Reports even came out that Turner was being a "selfish" player on the Pacers., ruining the team's chemistry.
As of right now, the Heat looked like they have made the right decision while the Pacers made a regrettable one. However, we'll see how both teams turn out in the postseason.
