Goran Dragic (Heat) (Photo : Getty Images)
The Miami Heat will continue to pursue the big names despite having their own free agents to address.
The big question for them is Hassan Whiteside since they do not have his Bird Rights. They have to sign him with their cap space and they don't have too much of that.
However, that situation is not enough to stop Pat Riley from being Pat Riley. He will still pursue the big names including Kevin Durant and he would do anything to get a shot. While it's easy to say that he would just let Whiteside walk, a defensive big man would be required to land Kevin Durant, so they may take a different path to clear cap space.
Team site All You Can Heat has explored the idea of trading Goran Dragic. As they reason out, Dragic has failed to meet expectations with regards to his huge paycheck. It should be recalled that the Heat, in the quest for an elite point guard, traded to pry him away from Phoenix as he was about to become a free agent. True to his word, the Slovenian signed with Miami on a deal worth 85 million over five years.
As Joseph Zapata of AYCH mentioned, "if the game plan is to win now at all costs with an up-tempo offense and drifting away from Wade hero-ball, then Dragic should not be traded." However, in the playoffs, Wade was still the first option and he showed that he can still carry the team.
If Dragic is not unleashed to run at the tempo where he is most effective, he is relegated to being a spot-up shooter-where he is not very reliable. The Heat could find shooters at a much lower price tag (or cap hit), and in this case, Dragic could be dispensable.
In the context of pursuing Durant, the Heat are after cap relief and teams with cap space are not obliged to send back equal value. In that scenario, the Sixers would always be candidates since they are hard pressed to get another lottery pick to pick Kris Dunn or Jamal Murray. Also, during the trade deadline, Kevin Pelton of ESPN Insider mentioned Dragic as a trade target for the Houston Rockets.
That would be a situation to watch now because the Rockets just hired Mike D'Antoni as head coach, and he is sure to run an up-tempo offense.
