The Miami Heat are having a much more active offseason than the team originally planned on. After the Dwyane Wade drama, they handed out big money contracts to Goran Dragic while currently trying to shop depth players before the season begins. With Mario Chalmers and Chris Andersen available for the taking, the Heat are still looking at teams they can strike a deal with in order to benefit themselves as well. Could the Los Angeles Clippers help out?
According to Frank Isola of the New York Daily News, the Heat are looking at a trade for Jamal Crawford in the coming days. Crawford has been on and off the trade market for the entire offseason after the Clippers added players like Josh Smith, Lance Stephenson and Austin Rivers into the mix. That pushed the former Sixth Man of the Year to be expendable and now teams are really lining up to see if the Clippers plan on making a trade.
According to Barry Jackson of Miami Herald, the Heat will first offer up either Chalmers or Andersen in a deal. Either player could be a logical fit for the Clippers. Andersen would be a solid backup to Cole Aldrich and DeAndre Jordan. The center is probably the better fit for Los Angeles considering the team already has Rivers and Pablo Prigioni behind Chris Paul. The Heat could try and offer both players in a trade, but would still need to sweeten the deal. Jackson reports the Heat have no intention of trading draft picks and would likely offer up Tyler Johnson or James Ennis which may or may not entice the Clippers to move.
The New York Knicks and Cleveland Cavaliers are also showing interest in Crawford so his price tag could be high. The Knicks cannot afford Crawford at the moment unless they were to dump salary in a trade deal. The Cavaliers really cannot afford Crawford either and would have to give up critical depth to acquire him.
The Heat are trying to find any trade they can to get rid of Chalmers and Andersen. The Utah Jazz are the latest team eyeing Chalmers after the injury to Dante Exum. According to FOX Sports they could be major players in a deal. The Lakers are being viewed as the same with struggles to D'Angelo Russell and Jordan Clarkson. Interest has been quiet around Andersen. The Dallas Mavericks opted to sign JaVale McGee while the Knicks are looking at Carlos Boozer. He could end up staying put this season.
