The Miami Heat may target Amar'e Stoudemire on the free agent market and this comes as the team could trade for Jamal Crawford and if that happens, players like Shabazz Napier, Mario Chalmers and/or Chris Andersen could be traded for Oat Riley and this comes after Goran Dragic, Dwyane Wade and Gerald Green have signed in free agency.
The team is reportedly targeting Jamal Crawford in a trade and he is also an option for the Cleveland Cavaliers this offseason. According to Marc Stein at ESPN, the Heat have called the Clippers about Crawford and there is a chance he could be traded after the team signed Paul Pierce. The Clippers are preparing to sign back DeAndre Jordan and that could force the team to make some deals to help clear out some cap space.
Miami is looking to fill out their bench with free agents and they have reportedly signed Gerald Green to a deal and the team is also looking at Amar'e Stoudemire in free agency. The team has brought back Dwyane Wade and Goran Dragic on free agent deals and according to Zach Lowe at ESPN, Miami is willing to deal Shabazz Napier, Mario Chalmers and/or Chris Andersen. The team can free up cap space by trading Chalmers or Andersen, as both players are on expiring deals.
According to Jared Zwerling, the team is looking at Stoudemire and the forward is "strongly considering" the Miami Heat and will meet with Pat Riley. Zwerling writes that the team has the "tax midlevel" to use and Stoudemire also could be a target to return to the Mavericks after the team lost DeAndre Jordan. Stoudemire is still productive at the age of 32, as he averaged 11 points per game last season while playing for the Mavs and Knicks.
Check here for more on Stoudemire and interest from the Miami Heat and for more on the potential trades with Napier, Chalmers and Andersen.
Lowe writes that the team has "an eye" on bringing the cap down next summer to try and chase Kevin Durant and they could deal Napier or Chalmers to help get it done. Andersen is getting paid $5 million this season and Chalmers is getting paid $4.3 million and Miami has made them "available for nothing, per several league sources," according to Lowe. Miami could look at moving those players to bring in Crawford, who is also coming into the final year of his deal.
The team also knows it needs to sign back Hassan Whiteside next summer and that was one reason why the team wanted to keep Wade's salary in check. Wade is signing a one year deal for $20 million and that is a raise from last season, but he once again is not the highest paid player on the team. Dragic is signing a near max deal around $90 million and he reportedly took slightly less money to help the team sign back Wade.
The Heat have started to fill out their bench, as Gerald Green has agreed to a one year deal with the team. According to Yahoo Sports, Green is signing a one year contract and he comes in after playing for the Suns for the last two years. Green is a solid offensive option and he could be insurance if the team does not get Crawford. Miami also could be looking at Dorell Wright, while Norris Cole is also on the market. Miami is going to be a strong team next season with Wade and Dragic back and Whiteside should only get better as he develops after a breakout season.
