In the final full day before the NBA trade deadline passes for the 2022-23 season, the Miami Heat appear to have their eyes on Phoenix Suns big man Dario Saric.
Dario Saric is on the Miami Heat’s radar, per @flasportsbuzz pic.twitter.com/N51ounhnhR
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) February 8, 2023
Given the reports that have come out most recently, it seems as though the Heat’s main priority is to add some talent to the team’s frontcourt. Though All-Star center Bam Adebayo is a defensive anchor and offensive weapon in the frontcourt, the play at the power forward spot has definitely been a weak spot for Miami.
A report on Tuesday linked the Heat to forward P.J. Washington. There have been other frontcourt players tied to the Heat in recent weeks and months as well.
It seems the primary reason why the Heat are after a power forward is because they lost their starting power forward from last season over the summer. P.J. Tucker was a key contributor for the Heat last season, but he opted to sign with the Philadelphia 76ers over the 2022 offseason rather than re-sign with Miami.
As for Saric, the last time he was a consistent starter was back during the 2019-20 campaign.
He missed the entire 2021-22 campaign with an ACL injury, and he seems to still be working his way back to his peak basketball. This season, he’s putting up 5.8 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game. He is shooting the ball fairly well, hitting 42.7 percent of his field goals and 39.1 percent of his 3-pointers.
If the Heat were to acquire Saric via trade, the hope would surely be that he could get a bit closer to his career averages of 11.2 points and 5.7 rebounds per game.
Though there have been a lot of rumors all across the NBA in the last week or two regarding potential trades, there haven’t really been that many big splashes. Of course, the biggest took place after Kyrie Irving requested a trade and was sent to the Dallas Mavericks.
NBA fans will have to wait and see if any other moves even come close to that. Time is quickly running out.
