The Miami Heat pulled off a pair of intriguing moves at the NBA trade deadline. They initially pursued Kyle Lowry of the Toronto Raptors and that was a possibility that headlined NBA rumors as a result. Instead, they came away with Victor Oladipo after that fell through. It didn’t hurt that they also added Nemanja Bjelica along the way, too.
According to Farbod Esnaashari of Bleacher Report, the Miami Heat are confident they have a ‘great chance’ of signing Kyle Lowry in NBA free agency. The Raptors sought Tyler Herro in trade scenarios and giving him up in a potential deal wasn’t considered a risk worth taking from the Heat’s perspective.
“The Raptors reportedly wanted Tyler Herro, or the Heat’s young core without Herro, but that was a gamble Miami couldn’t take without knowing Lowry’s full desire to play there. Lowry reportedly wants a two-year, $50 million contract in free agency, and a source in the Heat organization told Bleacher Report that the Heat believe they can acquire him in free agency.”
“Another source had mentioned Lowry’s actual asking price was higher than the reported $50 million contract, and closer to $30 million a year. They did also agree that Miami had a great chance of signing Lowry in the offseason.”
The Miami Heat have been preserving salary cap spending room for the 2021 NBA free agency period for quite a few seasons. The intrigue surrounding the class has substantially diminished after players like Giannis Antetokounmpo have since agreed to contract extensions to remain with their current teams.
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Given the makeup of the Miami Heat’s roster, they will need to determine if they want to keep Victor Oladipo long-term given he is set to be an unrestricted free agent. They will also need to be aggressive in adding talent around Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo and that will be something to monitor in NBA rumors. Kyle Lowry will be a key name to track, too.
There will be plenty of other suitors in the market for Kyle Lowry than just the Miami Heat. The Philadelphia 76ers and Los Angeles Lakers surely will remain active but will they be willing to accommodate his contract desires? It will certainly be something to monitor.
