NBA News Roundup, Saturday, July 13th: Miami Heat not actively pursuing Chris Paul trade, Lakers among teams interested in Andre Iguodala and more
The 2019 NBA offseason is now well underway, and most of the in-demand free agents around the league have already been snatched up. At this point, the remaining pool of available talent is pretty shallow and consists primarily of veterans looking to extend their careers via minimum deals.
However, NBA teams will start to look towards trades over the coming weeks, and a number of major moves could still be in the works. So, with plenty going on around the NBA, here is all the latest news and rumors you need to know for July 13th.
The Miami Heat are not desperate to sign Chris Paul
The Miami Heat were believed to be the frontrunners to sign Russell Westbrook, although the former MVP completed a shock trade to the Houston Rockets earlier this week. Westbrook's move to the Rockets has left the Heat searching for another star to add alongside the recently acquired Jimmy Butler, and Chris Paul has been among the names mentioned.
Paul was included in the deal to take Westbrook to Houston, and the Thunder are believed to be actively shopping the 34-year-old. However, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald is reporting that the Heat are hesitant to make a move for the former All-Star:
A league source told the Miami Herald that the Heat will listen and do due diligence on the matter, but that the Heat does not have strong interest and is not aggressively pursuing a trade for Paul at this time.
Many around the league believe that Paul's game has considerably declined over the past 12 months, and the point guard still has three years and $124 million remaining on his contract. Injuries are also a concern as Paul has missed more than 70 regular season games over the past three seasons.