The Miami Heat can’t stay out of the rumor mill. As long as it’s churning, the Heat will find themselves in the mix somewhere.
The latest rumor comes as a bit of a surprise, considering what the Miami Heat already have in Kyle Lowry and how recently they got him but in the Wild Wild West that is NBA Free Agency, anything is possible you guess. Here it is.
Free agent guard Jalen Brunson is granting meetings to Dallas Mavericks, New York Knicks and dark horse Miami Heat on first day of free agency, league sources tell @YahooSports: https://t.co/Y76tUOsdLk
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) June 29, 2022
Via Chris Haynes Of Yahoo Sports, the Miami Heat are among several teams of interest. With the New York Knicks going all in on landing Brunson, including hiring his father as an assistant coach and though he has coached under Thibs several times before, the word has been that they are the frontrunners to sign him.
When the Miami Heat get involved, other teams know it’s serious. Is Jalen Brunson noise for real or just a leverage play to get what he wants?
"The Knicks are viewed as the frontrunners and the expectation is an offer of four years, in the vicinity of a whopping $110 million will be proposed, sources said.It would likely take somewhere close to a five-year, $125 million commitment from the Mavericks to prevent Brunson from signing with the Knicks, sources said.There is a darkhorse team in play: the Miami Heat, as they’ve secured a meeting, too, sources said. In order for the Heat to acquire Brunson, it would take a sign-and-trade agreement."
Here is the rundown on the topic though. Jalen Brunson is a Miami Heat guy, through and through.
He’s a guy that plays both sides of the ball, plays the game the right way, and doesn’t mind putting in the work. At Villanova and coming out, he’s done nothing but work hard to make himself the player he’s become.
Again, he fits the Miami Heat Culture like your favorite pair of jeans. Here’s the other side of it all though.
One thing we’ve learned over the years is if a good player wants a free-agent meeting with Pat Riley, the Heat will often take the meeting.
— Anthony Chiang (@Anthony_Chiang) June 29, 2022
Because the rest of the league knows how serious it is when Pat Riley gets involved, as Riles gets his guys, it could, very much so, also be a leverage play. In order to get desired results, the exact deal that a guy wants, or something very close—guys invoke the Knicks, Lakers, and the Miami Heat all the time.
It’s just the way these things go. We don’t know which it actually is yet, but you should stay on your toes.
Buckle up! The second-best part of the NBA season is almost underway.