The Miami Heat are performing so well right now that a trade does not seem likely to happen anytime soon.
However, if a pair of San Antonio Spurs players end up on the trade block, a team insider believes that the Heat would consider making a play for either of them.
“When ESPN’s Kendrick Perkins suggested this week that the struggling Spurs should consider trading LaMarcus Aldridge and DeMar DeRozan, the Heat immediately came to mind,” wrote Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. “Not only because (team president) Pat Riley said this week that he’s open to making a move if it’s the right one, but also because Riley has long admired both players and, most importantly, because neither has a contract that extends beyond the key summer of 2021.”
Riley has so far shown “restraint” in pursuing any blockbuster trade. However, he has also proven in the past that he is not afraid to make bold moves if he believes it would improve the team.
Furthermore, according to Jackson, Riley had tried to bring both players to the Heat in the past. In the end, Aldridge signed with the Spurs in 2015, while DeRozan remained with the Toronto Raptors in 2016.
If the Spurs decide to make these players available, it is unclear if the Heat would decide to aggressively pursue either of them. The organization is expected, though, to at least do its due diligence.
