Regardless of whether the rest of the 2019-20 NBA season ever resumes, the Miami Heat will have some decisions to make regarding a couple of free agents.
In particular, Goran Dragic and Derrick Jones Jr. may be hard for them to retain, partly because the Chicago Bulls have apparently targeted them.
According to Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times, the Bulls are now searching for a new executive who would have full authority on basketball decisions.
Team owner Jerry Reinsdorf is not only looking to emulate the front office structure of the Heat, but he apparently has his eye on a couple of their players as well.
“The Bulls have been putting both point guard Goran Dragic and small forward Derrick Jones Jr. under the microscope the last month, and are hoping the new hire — or hires — will be aggressive on the trade front to move a tight cap corner that they have painted themselves into,” wrote Cowley.
Dragic, 33, is having a strong season for Miami, averaging 16.1 points and 5.1 assists per game.
Jones Jr., 23, is one of a cadre of promising young players that had catapulted the Heat to a 41-24 record before the season was suspended.
Complicating matters for the Heat is that they’re looking to make a big splash in free agency in the summer of 2021.
If Giannis Antetokounmpo is their target that year, as has been reported, they may not be able to offer Dragic and Jones Jr. enough money to get them to stay in South Florida.
