The Miami Heat are interested in adding more free agents and names like Jordan Crawford, Andray Blatche, Chris Douglas-Roberts, Andrew Bynum and Leandro Barbosa have come up as targets and potentially two of those names could join up with Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and Luol Deng as they try to make another run at the finals, as the team doesn't have the money to sign players like Greg Monroe or Eric Bledsoe.
According to the Miami Herald, the Heat are looking to add another shooting guard along with another forward or center in the front court to the bench and they are hoping to sign those players for the veteran minimum. The team has added quite a bit to their bench already this offseason with Danny Granger and Josh McRoberts and now the team may look at players like Jordan Crawford, Leandro Barbosa or Chris Douglas-Roberts, who impressed in the series against the Heat in the playoffs.
Miami has some options on the free agent market for a big, including players like Emeka Okafor, Elton Brand, Andray Blatche and also Andrew Bynum. The Herald report says that Brand is "unlikely" to sign in Miami and that comes after his agent spoke with the team already about a potential deal. Blatche could be a nice fit, as he has not had much interest on the market and could come in for the minimum, while Crawford has been looking for a deal as a guard and could find a home in Miami as well.
Miami has a very strong bench now and their starting five should be good as well with Bosh, Wade, McRoberts, Deng and Mario Chalmers, while players like Udonis Haslem and Chris Andersen are also still with the team. The team also has Norris Cole along with Danny Granger and James Ennis as well as Shawne Williams and Shabazz Napier and that gives the team some solid options for reserves and bench players.
Miami realized that their biggest weakness last season against the Spurs was depth and they have tried to counter that this offseason with their signings. Douglas-Roberts is a solid option, as he can play defense and was an efficient shooter last year from long range and he is still on the market after playing with the Hornets. News came out this week that Barbosa was an option for the Heat as well and this comes after their last signing of Williams.
Losing LeBron James is always tough, but adding Luol Deng helps that loss sting a bit less and he can make up for some of the lost production of LeBron. Wade could be energized by the new offense and system with James gone, while Bosh could be back to the 20 and 10 player he once was with the Toronto Raptors. Last season the Heat ranked fifth in points allowed per game and they will try and keep that defense up and adding Deng and McRoberts should help that, as both are strong defensive presences on the court and can rebound as well.
