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The Miami Heat have been looking for a replacement PJ Tucker since the forward was announced to be leaving South Beach and signed with the Philadelphia 76ers on July 6. That has left a giant question mark around who will slide into the power forward role in the Heat’s starting lineup. Caleb Martin has been considered the frontrunner to start, and Haywood Highsmith has also spoken up about how he believes he fits as a Tucker replacement.
The Heat have also been linked with adding aging veterans to fill in spot minutes at the forward position like LaMarcus Aldridge and most recently, six-time NBA All-Star Blake Griffin.
Heat Linked to Landing Free Agent Blake Griffin
In a September 13 article for Bleacher Report, Eric Pincus listed the ‘Landing Spots for Top NBA Free Agents‘ and in his article, linked the Heat to All-Star forward and current free agent Blake Griffin. Griffin had a down year in Brooklyn last year, averaging over 6 points and 4 rebounds per game in 17 minutes for the Nets. Pincus named the Griffin as one of the names that makes sense for Miami.
“The Miami Heat may rely on Bam Adebayo as their primary center, with Dewayne Dedmon behind him. Still, the team doesn’t have an apparent starting power forward to replace P.J. Tucker. Are the Heat banking on rookie Nikola Jović playing a significant role? Only Griffin seems a viable fit, but Miami may try Jimmy Butler up front before signing additional help,” Pincus wrote.
After naming Griffin as a potential replacement for Tucker, Pincus did note that the Heat could wait to see how things play out with Jimmy Butler playing minutes at the four as well as Martin who is predicted to see heavy minutes at that role as the roster currently sits.
The September 13 report isn’t the first time that Griffin has been named as a potential PJ Tucker replacment. An NBA executive told Heavy’s own Sean Deveney that Griffin could become a target for the Heat back in July.
July Reports of Blake Griffin as a PJ Tucker Replacement
The executive told Deveney that while Griffin isn’t the same All-Star player he once was, his stock did rise after his performance in the 2022 postseason in the Nets series against the Boston Celtics.
“The thing about Blake is, it is obvious he can’t do much of what he used to do, even when he was in Detroit. But he made a big, big impression around the league with the way he played against Boston, even though it was just a couple of games,” the Eastern Conference exec told Heavy.
“But he was flying around, throwing his body around, taking charges, hitting the floor. He had a care factor that was off the charts, and a lot of teams took notice. This is an All-Star and a former MVP candidate and he is sacrificing himself. As your 10th man on a minimum deal, you take that. It raises everyone’s level.
“If the Heat don’t bring back Tucker, they’re going to replace him with multiple pieces most likely. And they’ve always liked Blake, going back to when he was a star, there was talk about him going there in free agency. He is a good veteran piece they can use at the right times.”
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