This is when the door is supposed to swing open, especially in a league dominated by free agency.
Because for all those signatures collected over the summer, Dec. 15 is the first day that players signed in the offseason can be dealt (or three months after signing, whichever is later).
It sounds like a juicy and imminent storyline.
It also is more fiction than fact.
For example, for all the dealing Pat Riley has done over his two-plus decades with the Heat, and even dating to the inception of the franchise 31 years ago, the Heat have never made a trade in December. Ever.
Beyond that, the only NBA deal in December last year came before the Dec. 15 lifting of the restriction. That was on Dec. 7, when the Brooklyn Nets dealt Trevor Booker to the Philadelphia 76ers for Jahlil Okafor, Nik Stauskas and a second-round pick. In fact, the first trade after Dec. 15, 2017 did not come until Jan. 29, when the Los Angeles Clippers pulled the blockbuster that sent Blake Griffin, Willie Reed and Brice Johnson to the Detroit Pistons for Tobias Harris, Avery Bradley, Boban Marjanovic, a first-round pick and a second-round pick.
Taken, further, in 2016 there was not a single trade between Nov. 1 and Jan. 6.
And in 2015, the only trade between Nov. 10 and Jan. 12 was the middling Dec. 24 deal that sent Ish Smith from the New Orleans Pelicans to the Philadelphia 76ers for a pair of second-round picks.
In other words, Dec. 15 is not exactly Christmas in the NBA.
While there had been a December trade this year, the Dec. 7 three-way deal between the Milwaukee Bucks, Cleveland Cavaliers and Washington Wizards involving George Hill, Matthew Dellavedova, John Henson, Jason Smith and Sam Dekker did not involve a player, obviously, with a Dec. 15 restriction.
Then came Saturday's deal sending Trevor Ariza from the Phoenix Suns to the Washington Wizards for Kelly Oubre and Austin Rivers, signally a breakthrough, perhaps.
So now, Dec. 15 at least allows for the consideration of a wider net of possibilities.
For the Heat, the biggest move in this time frame last year was replacing the two-way contract of Matt Williams Jr. with the two-way deal of Derrick Jones Jr.
This year, four Heat players are impacted by the Dec. 15 restriction, but only nominally:
_ Wayne Ellington: With Saturday the first day he could have been dealt, because he is on a one-year contract and has Bird Rights, Ellington has the right to veto any trade.
_ Udonis Haslem: As with Ellington, because he is on a one-year contract and has Bird Rights, Haslem has the right to veto any trade despite becoming trade eligible Dec. 15.
_ Derrick Jones Jr.: Jones is in a similar position as Ellington and Haslem, eligible to be dealt starting Dec. 15, because he was signed in the offseason, but in his case with no other restriction because he is on a two-year deal.
_ Dwyane Wade: Wade actually has a Dec. 18 restriction because he did not sign until Sept. 18, and, like Ellington and Haslem, has the right to veto any trade because of his impending Early Bird Rights, which obviously won't be a factor with his impending retirement.
As far as what comes next in advance of the Feb. 7 3 p.m. NBA trading deadline, there are a few other restrictions in place for the Heat.
_ Tyler Johnson and Kelly Olynyk each have trade kickers, further complicating trades working within salary-cap allowances when dealing with another team over the salary cap.
_ Because he begins a three-year extension next season, Justise Winslow has a "poison pill" element in play, meaning a team would acquire him at $10.3 million against the cap, but the Heat could only replace him at his $3.4 million 2018-19 salary.
_ The Heat are unable to trade their 2020 or '22 first-round picks because their 2021 selection is due to Philadelphia (from the 2015 trade for Goran Dragic, with that selection dealt by Phoenix at June's NBA draft).
_ The Heat can send out or acquire up to $5.2 million in cash in trades until June 30, having not touched either of those allotments since the start of the 2018-19 cap calendar.
_ The Heat also hold a $1.3 million trade exception that cannot be aggregated in a deal (from last season's deadline move of Okaro White to the Atlanta Hawks).
