Getty President Pat Riley of the Miami Heat addresses the media.
Pat Riley and the Miami Heat continue their pursuit of adding key players to assist in Miami’s title hopes this season. The team that had a surprising run to the Eastern Conference’s best record last season and hopes to add to that run next season. Miami continues to be included in trade discussions with the Brooklyn Nets for Kevin Durant and Utah Jazz for Donovan Mitchell. The two sides remain apart in any potential deals, and it could be time for the Heat to start looking elsewhere.
Durant is reportedly meeting with the Nets owner Joe Tsai this week, and the meeting could either dampen any trade momentum or increase Brooklyn’s urgency to accomplish a trade. Currently, the results of the meeting are unknown, and there are other potential additions the Heat could make to bolster its roster.
Recently, LaMarcus Aldridge was named as a player that the Heat could look to add for a backup role. Miami has pursued Aldridge in free agency multiple times now. Is this the time they get a deal done? The franchise has also been a potential trade partner for the Atlanta Hawks’ John Collins. After some cryptic tweets from Jae Crowder, his name became another player that the Heat could look for to take that PJ Tucker starting forward role. However, recently a free agent point guard has entered the mix in discussions for the Miami Heat.
Heat Linked to Collin Sexton in Free Agency
Collin Sexton remains one of the best available free agents in this year’s class. The point guard currently isn’t satisfied with the multi-year offer that the Cleveland Cavaliers have offered him. Sexton is coming off of an injury after only appearing in 11 games last season for the Cavs, but his top season came in 2020-21, when he averaged 24.3 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 4.4 assists per game.
In a recent episode of ‘The Wine and Gold Talk Podcast’ NBA insider Jake Fischer confirmed Riley’s interest in Collin Sexton.
“I had kept hearing, ‘Pat Riley likes Collin Sexton. Pat Riley likes Sexton,’ from one person that I trust who knows things,” NBA insider Jake Fischer said.
The dynamic point guard would be an excellent young addition to the Heat. He also holds a pretty good shooting percentage hitting 47.5 percent of his shots from the field and 37.1 percent of shots from behind the arc.
Miami has been linked to multiple ball-handling free agents this offseason, including Dennis Schroder, John Wall, and even Dejounte Murray. Now, the Heat have been linked to Sexton, who would be an excellent young addition to Miami’s backcourt.
Heats Current Backcourt
The current backcourt in South Beach consists of Kyle Lowry and Gabe Vincent. Lowry was dealing with an undisclosed personal matter last season, one that he recently spoke to that he is still dealing with. The matter kept him away from the team at times and said it ‘derailed’ last season. Vincent proved to be a quality backup point guard for the Heat and was impressive at times. He averaged 8.7 points and over 3 assists per game in an average of 23 minutes per game for the Heat.
Vincent and Sexton could likely play on the court at the same time, and Sexton would bring another scoring option for the Heat, and the guard could be an excellent addition in South Beach.