In spite of rumors that Dwyane Wade may be tempted to leave South Florida, there are a couple of big free agent names that desire to play for the Miami Heat.
Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald reports that both the Los Angeles Lakers’ Carlos Boozer and the Toronto Raptors’ Lou Williams are interested in joining the Heat as free agents.
Related: 10 Free Agents the Miami Heat Could Be Looking to Target
Williams is expected to reach out to the Heat, while an associate of Boozer’s stated he wouldn’t be surprised if Boozer ends up with Miami next season, as he spends a lot of time in the South Florida area.
Because the Heat are likely to be pushing the salary cap limit with free-agents-to-be in Wade, Luol Deng and Goran Dragic, Boozer and Williams signing with Miami will heavily depend upon on the outcomes of where those three players sign.
If two of the aforementioned three players leave, Williams would then be affordable for the Heat to sign. Otherwise, Miami will only have $5.5 million or $3.4 million in exception money—depending on if the team incurs a luxury tax—to sign the reigning Sixth Man of the Year. Williams averaged a career-high 15.5 points as the Raptors won the Atlantic Division title.
In the case of Boozer, the 33-year-old could very well sign with Miami, but it would likely have to be at the veteran’s minimum. He averaged 11.8 points and 6.8 rebounds in 23.8 minutes per action for the Lakers during the 2014-15 season. He was previously a two-time All-Star (2007 and 2008) and is a one-time All-NBA Third Team selection (2008).
However, Jackson does clarify signing Boozer only makes sense provided the Heat deal Josh McRoberts or Udonis Haslem.
Depending on the outcomes, the Heat could have a lot of stability entering the 2015-16 season, or they could have several new faces leading the franchise.
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