The Miami Heat are meeting with free agent Amar'e Stoudemire on Friday and this comes as the team is looking into a Jamal Crawford trade and they could trade Mario Chalmers, Shabazz Napier or Chris Andersen to give Dwyane Wade and Goran Dragic some support and this comes as the team could target players like Dorell Wright and Norris Cole as options for the end of the roster.
Miami has room on the roster and they are in need of another forward or center and that is where the interest in Stoudemire comes in. According to Jared Zwerling, Stoudemire is set to meet with the Miami Heat and Pat Riley on Friday and he is "strongly considering" coming to Miami. Stoudemire played for the Knicks and Mavericks last season and while he is 32 years old, he was productive and can be a consistent option when healthy. UPDATE: Amar'e Stoudemire has signed with the Heat.
The main priority for Miami this offseason with to bring back Goran Dragic and the team did that with a near max contract agreement. Dwyane Wade's situation looked like it could get ugly, but the side came together and reportedly have agreed on a one year deal. Now Miami is looking to add a strong sixth man to the mix, as reports have the team interested in a trade with the Clippers for Jamal Crawford.
Check here for more on Crawford and the interest from the Cavaliers and Miami Heat and for the interest on Stoudemire from Miami.
According to Marc Stein at ESPN, Crawford is a trade target for the Cavaliers, who previously were looking into a deal with Joe Johnson that involved Brendan Haywood. Stein reports that the Cavs deal likely would be Crawford for Haywood and his $10.5 million contract and that the Miami Heat are also interested in Crawford. Miami could look at dealing Mario Chalmers or Chris Andersen, as both players are on expiring contracts. The team is likely to make at least one move with those players.
Crawford dealt with injuries last season and missed 17 games with a calf bruise, but he was productive while averaging 15 points and 2.5 assists per game. Crawford is coming into the final year of his contract and is making $5.7 million for this season. If the Cavaliers pull off the trade for Crawford, it likely means that JR Smith will not be returning to Cleveland. Miami is looking for depth behind Dwyane Wade in case of injury and also to give Wade rest when he needs it. There are a number of options on the free agent market the team could look at, including Dorell Wright and Donald Sloan. The team has already brought in Gerald Green.
Dragic is reportedly in for five years and $90 million, while Wade is agreeing to a deal worth $20 million and will be a free agent next year. The team wants to go after Kevin Durant next summer and those deals give the team some flexibility, as Miami also has to sign Hassan Whiteside to a new deal after this season. The team acquired Dragic in a trade and that made him an important player to sign and Wade came back after numerous reports that the two sides could not find common ground about how to agree to a new deal.
