By: Greg Sylvander

The Miami HEAT (2-7, 1-4 at home) are in the midst of a five-game losing streak, and it only gets harder from here.

A rocky start will be compounded by a challenging road schedule. Miami plays half of its next 26 games away to close out 2016 before beginning 2017 on a West Coast road trip. Combine that with the team clearly leaning in the direction of a rebuilding year, trade talks centering around HEAT point guard Goran Dragic have begun to amplify.

Pat Riley made comments publicly last week that he will attempt to acquire an additional draft pick in the upcoming 2017 NBA Draft.

We have a pick this year. I have intentions, if it’s possible, to try and get another pick. And then we will have room. And so from that standpoint, you start making a plan and formulating what it looks like down the road, but you’re going to have to get some breakthroughs—from Hassan, from Justise, from Tyler, from Josh. And then you’ll see where you go from there. — Pat Riley to David Aldridge (NBA.com)

I’m told that quietly the Miami HEAT are making Goran Dragic available to teams in an attempt to add a young player and/or stockpile an additional first-round draft pick in the 2017 NBA Draft.

The HEAT are willing to trade Dragic and would prefer to do so well in advance of the NBA Trade Deadline on Feb. 23, per sources.

Conversations within the organization inspired about the risks of waiting until February to move the 30-year-old guard after Dragic’s recent ankle injury, and the possibility of not being able to trade him in the event he suffers a more severe injury.

The HEAT are fully committed to strengthening their position in the upcoming NBA Draft and realize Dragic is their best and most expendable asset to do so. There’s also been considerable dialogue about the market shrinking for a player of Dragic’s caliber as the season progresses, and teams fall out of playoff contention and shift their focus to the future.

While ideally, the HEAT would like to receive a 2017 first-rounder in any trade involving their top point guard, Miami is open to the idea of acquiring a future first-round pick if a young player can be added to its already established young core. This willingness to accept a future draft pick has increased the number of teams inquiring with offers for Dragic now as opposed to later in the season.

There are plenty of potential suitors circulating, including the San Antonio Spurs, Philadelphia 76ers, Sacramento Kings, Houston Rockets, Minnesota Timberwolves and New Orleans Pelicans.

Although logistically unlikely, rumblings also persist that the HEAT will dangle Hassan Whiteside in trade proposals between late December and February in an effort to explore all options to acquire a franchise centerpiece. Such a scenario would potentially speed up the rebuilding process in Miami.

Follow @miaheatbeat for any further developments as they become available.