Luol Deng is one of the most coveted free agents on the market and has numerous teams pursuing him. Amongst those teams is the Miami Heat, who are meeting with Deng in Chicago on Saturday according to South Florida Sun-Sentinel‘s Ira Winderman.
ESPN reporting Heat meeting today with Luol Deng reps in Chicago.
— Ira Winderman (@IraHeatBeat) July 5, 2014
Miami president Pat Riley plans to meet with free agent Luol Deng in Chicago today, league source tells Yahoo.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 5, 2014
That compliments a report from USA Today NBA scribe Sam Amick, who also said the Heat were after Deng.
“Luol Deng is a big name and a guy that is being courted by Miami as a possible member of a Big 4 or to see if there is a way he can join a Big 4,” reports Amick, via HoopsHype.
Of course it is a crowded market for Deng, who is drawing interest from the Atlanta Hawks, Los Angeles Clippers, Los Angeles Lakers, Phoenix Suns and Dallas Mavericks. Bleacher Report’s Ethan J. Skolnick reports that Deng, along with Trevor Ariza, are the two players atop the Heat’s free agency list, aside from the Big Three.
"They remain extremely interested in Trevor Ariza and Luol Deng, but sources say that both players need to be convinced to come close to their range; Deng made $14.3 million last season, and Ariza’s camp has made it clear he’s looking for something well north of $8 million annually."