In the latest NBA rumors for Miami Heat fans, it appears that the plan could be for Pat Riley and the front office to acquire another star during free agency. That could be someone like the Atlanta Hawks' All-Star forward Paul Millsap. A new rumors report has emerged suggesting Miami will be interested in Millsap's services on their roster. Will they be able to sign the All-Star to their roster and what will it mean they have to give up in order to do so?
All-Star stats
While Paul Millsap started his NBA career with the Utah Jazz, he was soon sought after by the Atlanta Hawks.
The team was able to bring him over via trade to help form an interesting lineup that also featured Jeff Teague and Al Horford. Both of these players have now moved on to other teams, while Millsap remained in Atlanta and named to the NBA All-Star reserves during the 2016-17 NBA season.
For his career, the NBA All-Star is averaging 14.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.3 steals, and one block a game. Millsap achieved a career-best in his scoring average this past season with 18.1 per game in his fourth season for the Hawks. He was also a key component of helping the team make the postseason and could provide that boost to a team such as The Heat.
Millsap to Miami?
Interestingly, the notion of Paul Millsap becoming a member of the Miami Heat is part of a "dark-horse" destination article from Bleacher Report's Dan Favale.
He mentions several of the latest free agents and some interesting possibilities. In the report, it's indicated that even though Pat Riley said he's sitting out free agency, that may not be the case. The team will have almost $40 million of available cap space and a way to get more. Millsap's max salary would be $35.4 million for 2017-18.
While that's all good, it could mean that two of the Heat's current roster members will be departing. The two players mentioned are Dion Waiters and James Johnson. Of the two, it is believed that the Heat really want to keep Waiters but he may go elsewhere in search of more money. It's also noted that if the Heat wanted to keep Johnson on the roster while also bringing in Millsap, they could clear Josh McRoberts from the roster, allowing them to sign the two players.
The only downside to bringing in Paul Millsap to the Miami Heat might be age. He's currently 32-years-old and some might say he's on the downward slope of an NBA career. However, he still is an All-Star and adding him to a Heat squad that nearly made the playoffs without him could pay major dividends towards bringing in another star to join him, Hassan Whiteside, and Goran Dragic, in an attempt to overtake the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Millsap is really just one option too, as there are other potential free agent targets on the market including Utah's Gordon Hayward and the Clippers' Blake Griffin, both of whom may offer more upside, but they may cost a bit more too.
Heat fans, do you think Paul Millsap would be a good fit for Miami, or should they look elsewhere?
