The Miami Heat have another free agent target in Leandro Barbosa and the team could sign him as an option from the Phoenix Suns, as they are still trying to keep Eric Bledsoe as a restricted free agent and the Indiana Pacers also could be an option for Barbosa, although reports say that he is likely to join Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in south Beach over other options.
According to Pro Basketball Talk, the Miami Heat are looking to add another player like Barbosa and this comes after the team already signed Shawne Williams as another reserve. Barbosa was with the Suns last season and was a solid contributor off the bench and now he can do the same for Miami after the team already added a number of players, including Danny Granger and Josh McRoberts.
Pro Basketball Talk reports that the interest is mutual between Barbosa and the Miami Heat and that means it's likely he will sign. The deal could be for a camp contract, but Barbosa seems like the type of veteran player the Heat like to sign and he would join an already stacked bench this year. The team signed back Chris Andersen and Udonis Haslem back along with Mario Chalmers and the team also has Norris Cole, Shabazz Napier and James Ennis as well, although he may not make it onto the official roster.
PBT writes that Chalmers, Cole and Napier have guaranteed deals, while Ennis does not have a guaranteed deal but likely will stick around. Barbosa can play solid defense on the wing and he is a good shooter and he also gets down and dirty when it comes to defense and rebounding. Miami is putting together a nice team and they should be in the mix in the eastern conference this year despite losing LeBron.
Miami is coming into the season looking to make a run back to the finals after losing James and while LeBron is gone, the team has a strong core with Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and now Luol Deng. Deng is the type of player that can help make up for the loss of James and while he won't be the same level of player, he is a strong defensive presence and also can be an offensive threat. Deng won't lead the team in scoring, rebounds and assists like LeBron did, but he is a triple double threat and should be one of the best signings of the offseason for any team in the league.
