The Miami Heat, trying to recover from Dwyane Wade's sudden departure, might explore the possibility of bringing another star. According to a league source, Pat Riley is setting its sight on Los Angeles Clippers star Chris Paul.
With their franchise player gone, the Heat finds themselves in a tight situation right now, especially with the way Eastern Conference teams jacked up the firepower of their respective lineups.
According to latest Eastern Conference projection by ESPN, the Heat are predicted to finish 10 games below .500 with a 36-46 record after racking up 48 wins and pushing the Toronto Raptors all the way to seven games in their Eastern Conference semis series.
While the Heat seem to be bound for a step-back this coming season, things could entirely change once Riley, who is notorious for pulling off Godfather-liked transactions, makes his move.
Eye on Chris Paul:
According to sources close to situation, Riley is reportedly intrigued on the idea of using Goran Dragic as trade bait for Paul, who is expected to exercise early termination option in his contract and become an unrestricted free-agent next summer. After all, it's more likely the Clippers would try to trade Paul than the 27-year old Griffin.
Riley signed Dragic to a five-year, $90 million deal last summer, hoping the Slovenian blur could provide stability in the backcourt.
However, Dragic took a stepback statistically as he averaged 14.1 points on 47 percent shooting from the field (31 percent from the 3-point line). He hasn't been an efficient ball distributor either, averaging 5.8 assists against 2.8 turnovers per game.
Dragic has been dangled into potential deals with the Philadelphia 76ers because of their ability to send nice young piece (Jahlil Okafor, Nerlens Noel). Still, the idea of bringing a still elite playmaker in Paul also makes sense for a number of reasons.
First, Paul is still a better scorer and passer than Dragic even at this stage of his career. Last season, the 31-year old playmaker averaged 19.5 points, 10.0 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game to earn All-Star and All-NBA first team selection.
Another reason is he could unlock Whiteside's full potential on the offensive end of the floor as a recipient of pick-and-roll and lob plays. Finally, Riley wants Paul to be his chief recruiter next summer, when Dwyane Wade has the option to hit the free-agency anew.
LeBron James hinted of playing with his three best-friends (Paul, Wade and Carmelo Anthony) on the same team down the road, and bagging CP3 would assure the Heat at least a shot at pulling off another blockbuster offseason coup.
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Then again, the ball is on the Clippers court. They are the ones who will decide on Paul's future, though they may be eventually forced to shop the incoming free-agent point guard down the road especially if they feel they can't compete with the San Antonio Spurs and the Golden State Warriors in the West.
A trade scenario where Paul and Paul Pierce going to Heat and Goran Dragic and Josh McRoberts with draft picks to Clippers appear to be a win-win situation for both teams. On the other hand, expect the Clippers to find other trade partners where they can nab a far better haul in exchange for their price playmaker.