NBA rumors: Miami Heat after Kyle Lowry, Luol Deng, Marcin Gortat, Trevor Ariza & Marvin Williams
The Miami Heat’s big three of forward LeBron James, big man Chris Bosh and guard Dwyane Wade are going let Heat president Pat Riley make the first move.
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Before they make any decisions, they want to see what Riley can do in free agency.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports, Riley is expected to pursue Toronto Raptors’ point guard Kyle Lowry, Clevleand Cavaliers’ forward Luol Deng, Washington Wizards center Marcin Gortat and swingman Trevor Ariza and Utah Jazz forward Marvin Williams.
"Now, it is on Riley to replenish a roster that failed in a five-game NBA Finals loss to San Antonio. As Yahoo Sports reported on Saturday, James is pursuing a full max contract extension, beginning at $20.6 million – or something slightly below. Bosh and Wade will need to take pay cuts – Wade’s significant – to create the cap space for Miami to be competitive in pursuit of free agent targets that include Kyle Lowry, Luol Deng, Marcin Gortat, Trevor Ariza and Marvin Williams."
Lowry averaged 17.9 points, 7.4 assists, 4.7 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game while shooting 42.3% from the field, 38.0% from beyond the arc and 81.3% from the charity stripe last season. Gortat put up 13.2 points, 9.5 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.5 blocks per game while shooting 54.2% from the field and 68.6% from the charity stripe. Ariza went for 14.4 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.6 steals per game. He shot 45.6% from the field, 40.7% from beyond the arc and 77.2% from the free throw line. Deng averaged 16.0 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.0 steals per game while shooting 43.1% from the field, 30.2% from three and 79.1% from the charity stripe. Williams went for 9.1 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game while shooting 43.9% from the field, 35.9% from three and 78.1% from the free throw line.