The Miami Heat are still interested in acquiring Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Chris Paul as they enter the 2019-20 NBA season, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic.

Paul was equally interested in landing in South Beach after being traded by the Houston Rockets, but OKC and Miami could not agree to a deal and the Thunder now plan to bring in Paul to training camp as a veteran star and leader.

The point guard extraordinaire still has three years and $124 million left on his deal — a hefty price for any franchise hoping to acquire him. The Heat is expected to play this situation by ear, feeling out the start of the season with Jimmy Butler as the new ring leader, before deciding how to go about the pursuit of Paul, which would be a beefy acquisition.

The Heat would have to bundle a number of contracts to match up to the $38.5 million Paul is owed this year, along with the $44.2 million he will be paid in 2021-22 — the last year of his contract. While that is technically a player-option year, that number is one that a then-36-year-old Paul would be remiss not to take.

The 34-year-old will still have to produce in order to garner interest and most importantly some grounds of competition to incentivize the Heat to pull the trigger on a deal.

If Miami's start is less than desirable, it won't take long before president Pat Riley comes calling and inquiring about the All-Star guard and his services.