Houston Rockets point guard John Wall and Toronto Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry reportedly are “potential targets” for the Miami Heat at the trade deadline.
According to TrueHoop’s Tom Haberstroh, the Heat are still trying to evaluate just how good they are this season after a trip to the NBA Finals last year.
“The consensus of TrueHoop sources is that the eight games between the All-Star break and the trade deadline will mean a lot in assessing how good the Heat are,” Haberstroh wrote. “They play the [Orlando] Magic twice, [Chicago] Bulls, Cavs (Cleveland Cavaliers), [Memphis] Grizzlies, [Indiana] Pacers twice, and [Phoenix] Suns.
“If the Heat decide to make a deal, rival executives wonder if a package centered on Tyler Herro, Duncan Robinson, and Rising Star rookie Precious Achiuwa could net another star. Heat brass have shrewdly signed Kelly Olynyk and Meyers Leonard to mid-tier contracts ($12.6 and $9.4 million respectively). Those are big enough that the Heat can likely satisfy the league’s salary-matching rules should they bring in a high-salaried star.
“John Wall and Kyle Lowry are potential targets.”
The Heat are just 18-18 this season, but they have dealt with a bunch of injuries to players in their rotation.
Miami could try to acquire a big name like Wall or Lowry, or it could wait for its rotation to be at full strength for the stretch run to the playoffs.
The Heat are currently the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference, but they may view Lowry or Wall as the missing piece to another deep playoff run.
The NBA’s trade deadline is set for March 25.