Some of the teams with interest in Goran Dragic retreated from the idea of trading for him at the deadline because they felt the Heat had him essentially wrapped up for a long-term deal, sources from across the league tell Grantland’s Zach Lowe. Still, no one registered a tampering complaint, and a Heat spokesperson said to Lowe that there was no prearranged deal for when he hit free agency in the summer. The Lakers seemed to hang around as a threat, but the Heat appeared to have the inside track to re-sign Dragic right from the time he got to Miami. The All-Star combo guard indeed re-signed on a five-year deal worth slightly more than $85MM last month.
The Heat’s latest move became public this morning, with Miami reportedly having agreed to a camp deal with former Georgetown small forward Greg Whittington. See more from South Beach here:
- Chris Andersen and Mario Chalmers have been available to anyone who would have them, as Lowe hears from sources around the league, which falls in line with Lowe’s report from early July that the two were available “for nothing” in return. The Heat would prefer to clear salary but expect to keep Chalmers until at least the start of training camp and are finding a soft market for the Birdman, as Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reported last week.
- Zoran Dragic and the Heat were in agreement that a trade was necessary before the Heat shipped him to the Celtics, with Dragic eager to find more playing time, as the shooting guard’s representatives told Jackson. Thus, Goran Dragic is not upset about the move that eventually saw his brother released so he could return to play in Europe, Jackson writes.
- The Heat would have serious problems if Dwyane Wade misses too much time this season, but with offseason additions Gerald Green and Justise Winslow, the team is set at shooting guard if Wade goes down, as Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel writes in a mailbag column. The real issue would be replacing Wade’s ball-handling with a point guard behind Dragic.
Tyler Johnson, dont underestimate him, played well as a backup point guard, Chalmers is not the back up they want.
Yeah, I think the Heat would idealize a strong camp from Johnson that would prove he can handle the backup point guard duties and enable them to offload Chalmers without as much worry.
I would look to move Rio and McRoberts before Birdman, as he is a rim protector off the bench and does a lot of the stuff we want out of that position. If we moved him, I would think we would need to find someone that can do some similar things at a low cost (like a Khem Birch, if he is still available)
Personally, I think we still need another wing player (besides obviously the need to stay healthy). When Mike Miller gets waived by Portland, that would be a perfect fit if they can get him at the minimum
Yeah, Miller would be nice for the Heat, definitely. I also think he’d be a great fit for the Grizzlies. That would be an interesting free agent pursuit.
The only realistic options for unloading Chalmers and Anderson is Portland and Philadelphia. You can bet the Sixers have offered to take Chalmers’ K, Anderson’s K, and give Miami their 2016 first round pick, as well as OKC’s 2016 first round pick, for Justise Winslow.
The Heat were not supposed to have a first round pick this year, much less have Winslow inexplicably fall to them. I know they turned down a mint from Boston. Clearly, they also don’t want to deal him to the Sixers.
So they’re hoping against hope to get a better deal out of Portland. But what would Portland want from them other than Winslow? And Portland can’t give them first round picks in return.
Will Micky Arizon accept a $20-30M tax bill instead of give up a player that they didn’t expect to have until they missed the playoffs? What else do they have to offer? Are there other suitors I’m missing? Utah can sign Norris Cole to a cheaper contract than Chalmers’….