Josh McRoberts Focused on Health, Not Trade Deadline

With the NBA Trade Deadline looming and on an expiring contract, Josh McRoberts is focused on getting healthy, not the deadline.

Back in 2014, Josh McRoberts signed a four-year deal with the Miami Heat coming off a season in Charlotte where he started 78 games and logged over 30 minutes a night.

Three years into his contract with the Heat, McRoberts had broken his foot three times and only appeared in 81 games with two of the seasons appearing in 22 games or less.

Back over the summer, in an effort to shed cap space, Miami traded McRoberts to the Dallas Mavericks. Still not completely healthy at the time, McRoberts came to Dallas as an expiring contract veteran looking to get healthy.

“Coming here, it was all about getting healthy,” McRoberts said as I chatted with him after the loss to the Portland Trail Blazers at home.

“I think for me at this point, having some tough injuries in Miami, it is just a chance to get healthy. That has been the focus for me and the medical staff here. Just getting me healthy so I have a chance to kind of play here down the stretch and hopefully into the future,” McRoberts said.

It was just a few years ago that McRoberts was a budding starter in the league. Now, in Dallas, he didn’t appear in a game until January 9th due to his continuous rehabbing.

“My mindset has been good. It has been a good situation here to get healthy and get back on the right track. They got a great staff here. Trying to get me back and get me going back on the right track health wise,” McRoberts said on his mindset this season not playing.

Headlined by Casey Smith, Dallas’ medical staff is one of the best in the league and their investment in getting McRoberts healthy hasn’t gone unnoticed by the veteran. On if he is completely healthy now, it is still in process for McRoberts.

“Yeah, I am getting there. It is a process. Always trying to get more and more healthy. Trying to get my foot right. I feel like I am on the right track,” McRoberts said.

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The NBA Trade Deadline is under two weeks away and for a veteran like McRoberts that has been in the league for 10 years, it’s not something he is really thinking about.

“Not for me. It is not something I think about because I have been around and been a lot of different places. Seen a lot of different things. It is not something I worry about,” McRoberts said.

McRoberts is on the books for $6 million this season and is set to hit unrestricted free agency this summer. In a league full of teams looking to clear cap space, the expiring contract of McRoberts could be coveted this trade deadline.

After being traded three times already in his career, McRoberts knows the business side of the league. On if he thinks he will be in Dallas past the deadline, he doesn’t know.

“I don’t know man. It is not something really talked about or discussed. I plan on being here but you never know in the NBA,” McRoberts said.

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For McRoberts, health is the only thing on his mind at the moment and frankly, all season. Whether it is with Dallas or another team, he looks to play some down the stretch before an important free agency this summer.

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