NBA Rumors: 3 Players that are currently being linked with the Miami Heat
Following a storied career, Dwyane Wade's time in Miami has finally come to an end. Wade enjoyed an excellent final season, averaging 15.0 points, 4.2 assists, and 4.0 rebounds per game, and the 37-year-old's performances were so influential that he had to ignore calls to extend his career. Nevertheless, the Miami Heat now face a daunting future without their long-time superstar.
Miami has continued to trend in the wrong direction since LeBron James left back in 2014, winning just one playoff game in the past three seasons, and despite playing in an-historically weak Eastern Conference this season, the Heat could only manage a 10th place finish.
With Wade now gone, the Heat may finally pull the trigger and make much-needed changes to an underwhelming roster, and here are three players that are being linked with a move to Miami.
#3 JR Smith
After publicly criticizing the direction of the Cavs, J.R. Smith has found himself exiled since November. The veteran played just 11 times during the 18/19 season, and Smith has been instructed to find a new team.
Evidently, Smith is not a player who can help usher in a new era in Miami, although Ryan Yousefi of the Miami New Times suggests that trading Smith could help speed up the roster rebuild:
The Heat could deal this year's first-round pick to a team such as the Cleveland Cavaliers. That would expedite the Heat's improvement. Cashing in the first-round pick for salary-cap relief would be a semi-reset button the Heat badly needs.
Although Smith is owed $15.7 million for the 2019-20 campaign, he’s only guaranteed $3.8 million. So the Heat could send James Johnson and Dion Waiters to the Cavs for Smith, then turn around and release the former Knick for next-to-nothing owed. It's worth exploring, especially for a team that has signed players off the street, then turned them into something unexpected.