The Miami Heat made a pair of minor cost-reducing trades on Thursday, trading rookie forward-center Jarnell Stokes to the New Orleans Pelicans for a conditional second-round draft pick and cash and dealing guard Brian Roberts to the Portland Trail Blazers for a second-round draft choice, according to reports.By trading Stokes and Roberts, the Heat are now under the luxury tax line and have saved $6 million dollars according to Yahoo.Stokes is making a league minimum $845,089 and has a nonguaranteed contract at the league minimum for next season. Trading him helps Miami reduce its luxury tax bill to approximately $2.1 million but the Heat are still above the tax line. Stokes appeared in seven games for the Heat. Miami acquired him from the Memphis Grizzlies in November in a four-player deal that involved point guard Mario Chalmers.Roberts was obtained in Monday's three-team trade with the Charlotte Hornets and Grizzlies. He is averaging 4.8 points and 1.3 assists this season and has averaged 7.4 points in 252 games over four seasons for New Orleans and Charlotte.

With the NBA trade deadline just two days away, the Charlotte Hornets, Memphis Grizzlies and Miami Heat made a reported three-team deal on Tuesday.The Grizzlies sent swingman Courtney Lee to the Hornets in exchange for P.J. Hairston and also obtained Chris Andersen from the Miami Heat for Hornets guard Brian Roberts.Additionally, the Grizzlies receive four second-round draft picks, including two from the Hornets in 2018 and 2019, and two from the Heat. The 30-year-old Lee is expected to give the Hornets some help with scoring and perimeter defense. He is averaging 10 points per game and shooting 37 percent on 3-pointers this season. He also brings playoff experience to the Hornets, who are eighth in the Eastern Conference standings.The Grizzlies, in need of front-line help after a season-ending injury to center Marc Gasol, are hoping to get rebounding and defense from Andersen, a veteran with postseason experience who is in the last year of his contract. Memphis was fifth in the Western Conference standings going into Tuesday's games.Hairston, 22, is in his second year in the league and averaging 6.0 points and 2.7 rebounds this season. Roberts, 30, is averaging 4.8 points and 1.3 assists in 2015-16.

Roberts, in his third NBA season, posted career-low averages of 6.7 points and 2.3 assists while playing in 72 games for Charlotte in 2014-15.

Roberts was never a strong contributor for the Hornets this season, but he was reliable enough to the point where he could be trusted running the point for the team. It appeared as if Roberts was due for an increase in minutes and production once Kemba Walker went down with a knee injury in late-January, and for a small stretch, he did. In eight games following Walker's injury Roberts played an average of 33 minutes per game and posted averages of 10.4 points and 4.1 assists over that time. Unfortunately for Roberts, Charlotte then traded for Timberwolves point guard Mo Williams, and Williams took over the starting point guard role. This pushed Roberts back into fantasy irrelevancy for pretty much the remainder of the regular season. As for next season, Roberts still has one year left on his contract, but with Walker set to return and the chance that Williams is re-signed, Roberts will remain in a backup role for Charlotte.

Roberts scored 23 points (8-19 FG, 5-12 3Pt, 2-2 FT) to go along with five rebounds and three assists in 28 minutes Monday against the Rockets.

Roberts saw increased playing time Monday and has actually played at least 20 minutes in three of his last four games. He's been excellent from behind the arc as he has made 10 three-pointers over his last four games. With nothing left to play for, the Hornets might give Roberts more playing time again in their final game Wednesday against the Raptors.

Roberts scored 12 points (5-8 FG, 2-5 3Pt) with three assists and two rebounds in 22 minutes off the bench Wednesday.

The Hornets' acquisition of Mo Williams has squashed Roberts' fantasy value, as he's averaging just 16.3 minutes a game off the bench in the last three games. Even in deep leagues, if you'd picked Roberts up when Kemba Walker (knee) got hurt, you can safely return him to the waiver wire.

Roberts scored 19 points (4-11 FG, 3-4 3Pt), to go with two rebounds, five assists, and a steal in 40 minutes on Sunday.

Roberts is doing well as a fill in for Kemba Walker. He can offer modest scoring, assist and three-point totals if your team is dealing with injuries or in need of production from the point guard position right now.

Roberts (shoulder) will play in Sunday's game against the Pacers, the Charlotte Observer reports.

Roberts is dealing with some soreness in his right shoulder but it's not apparently severe enough to hold him off the court Sunday. Over his past three games, the 29-year-old is averaging 35.3 minutes on the court.

Roberts is dealing with a sore right shoulder and is considered questionable for Sunday's game against the Pacers.

Roberts is headed for a true game-time decision ahead of tipoff. If he's unable to play, Gary Neal and Lance Stephenson will likely spend significant time at point guard against the Pacers.

Roberts (face) put up 12 points, three rebounds, and five assists in 38 minutes against the Wizards on Thursday.

Roberts suffered an injury to his face earlier in the week but seems to be in the clear moving forward after Thursday's successful outing. He's expected to be the starter for the remainder of Kemba Walker's (knee) stay on the bench, although Roberts is only averaging 11.0 points, 2.8 rebounds, 4.6 assists, 0.8 steals, and 0.2 blocks on 33.0 minutes over his last five games.

Roberts suffered a cheek contusion in the first half Thursday against the Wizards but returned midway through the second quarter.

Roberts took a hard hit on a pick near halfcourt in the waning seconds of the first quarter. However, after some time in the trainer's room, he was soon seen icing his left cheek on the bench, before returning at the 5:28 mark of the second quarter. Because he played the rest of the half, the ailment doesn't figure to hinder his availability going forward.

Roberts scored 18 points (6-10 FG, 1-3 3Pt, 5-5 FT) to go along with one rebound and three assists in 34 minutes Monday against the Wizards.

Roberts has played at least 33 minutes in three of his last four games and he's going to continue to see plenty of minutes until Kemba Walker (knee) returns. He hasn't been spectacular, but he has been useful as he has averaged 10.8 points, 4.5 assists and 1.0 three-pointers over his last four games.

Roberts had a rough outing Saturday as he was held scoreless on 0-for-7 shooting. He finished with six assists and four rebounds in 23 minutes on the floor.

Roberts' struggles continued Saturday, but it seems as though he'll remain the starting point guard until Kemba Walker returns. Even if he continues to start, he carries a low ceiling and an even lower floor.

Roberts started against the Spurs on Wednesday and put up eight points (3-11 FG, 2-7 3Pt), three rebounds, six assists, and three steals in 37 minutes of action.

Roberts will be in the starting lineup for the foreseeable future as Kemba Walker (knee) has been ruled out for a minimum of six weeks. That means that Roberts should find a roster across all formats despite his poor shooting performance against the Spurs on Wednesday.

Roberts is likely to fill in as the Hornets' starting point guard with Kemba Walker (knee) set to undergo surgery.

The team has not provided a recovery timetable for Walker, but the point guard is expected to miss around six weeks. Roberts, who started Saturday's win over the Knicks, has logged three starts in Walker's absence at various times this season, and he's currently the only other true point guard on the roster. His value should be on the rise in the short-term, though there have already been rumblings suggesting Charlotte is looking to acquire another point guard to vill the void until Walker returns.

Roberts scored 17 points (5-9 FG, 1-2 3Pt, 6-6 FT) with three rebounds, three assists and one block in 33 minutes, starting for the injured Kemba Walker (knee).

Roberts has been steady in the three recent starts he has had in place of Walker, but unless Walker sits for a prolonged period, Roberts isn't worthy of consideration outside of deep, deep leagues.

Roberts will draw the start at point guard Saturday against the Knicks with the absence of Kemba Walker (knee), the Charlotte Observer reports.

Roberts has filled in at point guard twice in the month of January for Walker. In those two starts, Roberts averaged 33.5 minutes on the court to go along with 11.0 points and 4.5 assists. Obviously his production isn't comparable to that of Walker, but Roberts can be serviceable in daily formats because of his low price tag.

Roberts started for Kemba Walker (knee) and provided six points (2-12 FG, 2-2 FT) and four assists in 40 minutes in the win over the Pacers on Saturday.

The 6-1 Roberts is not much of an offensive performer, but he is a nice backup point guard who can change the pace of a game. He had a particularly poor shooting game in the overtime win, but could be of use in deeper leagues if Walker remains out.

Roberts will start in place of Kemba Walker (knee) at point guard against the Pacers on Saturday, the Charlotte Observer reports.

Roberts is a great option in daily games Friday since he'll almost certainly play big minutes while donning a low price tag. When playing at least 21 minutes this season, Roberts has scored in double-digits in all but two of eight games. Looking ahead, it's still unclear how severe Walker's injury is, so it might be wise to monitor the normal starter's situation to see if Roberts is worth the add in seasonal leagues.

Roberts (elbow) put up four points (2-4 FG, 0-1 3Pt) and two assists during his 13 minutes off the bench against the Spurs on Wednesday.

Roberts was dealing with an elbow injury ahead of Wednesday's game but decided to play on despite whatever aggravation he may have been dealing with. The 29-year-old is averaging 16.4 minutes per game this season so his 13-minute performance against the Spurs seems to denote that he'll be available in his normal fashion moving forward.

Roberts will play through a sore elbow Wednesday against the Spurs, Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer reports.

This is the first we're hearing of the injury, which Roberts likely suffered in practice over the last few days. He hasn't missed a game this season, and the elbow issue likely isn't something that will be a problem going forward. Expect the veteran to play his usual complement of 15-20 minutes, though he could see some extra time with Gary Neal (hamstring) ruled out.