The Miami Heat are going for the jugular ahead of Thursday's trade deadline. Less than an hour after Shams Charania of The Athletic reported the Heat were in “advanced discussions” with the Memphis Grizzlies regarding swingman Andre Iguodala, ESPN NBA Insider Adrian Wojnarowski reported the Heat are also targeting Oklahoma City Thunder forward Danilo Gallinari.
Pat Riley clearly sees an opportunity to make a run with these Heat: Riley has been working to trade for Memphis' Andre Iguodala AND Oklahoma City's Danilo Gallinari, league sources tell ESPN. Talks are ongoing.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 6, 2020
Zach Lowe of ESPN previously reported the Heat had interest in Gallinari:
• Both Miami and Denver will look other places for help, too; the Heat are among teams who have expressed interest in Danilo Gallinari, for instance, sources say.
However, Lowe had also reported “most teams” expected the Thunder to keep many of their tradable players–notably Gallinari, Dennis Schroeder and Steven Adams–through Thursday's deadline:
Given the Thunder's spot in the standings, the safest bet is they stand pat with their major names: Adams, Gallinari, and Dennis Schroder. That is what most teams expect — even teams who report the Thunder have not exactly shut down discussions.
That said, the Thunder would be smart to keep an open mind especially with respect to Gallinari.
The veteran forward will be a free agent this summer, and it is possible the Thunder could capitalize on his value now rather than watching him depart in a few months. Then again, the Thunder are only a few games out of the No. 4 spot in the Western Conference, and trading Gallinari would undoubtedly disrupt their chemistry.
As for the Heat, Gallinari seems like another good fit in the frontcourt. He is shooting 41 percent from beyond the arc on 7.4 attempts per game, and adding him to the lineup would give the Heat more floor spacing while freeing up the paint for Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler.
Heat president Pat Riley has a history of making major splashes when presented with such an opportunity. Riley could be at it again with less than 24 hours to go until Thursday's deadline.
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