Rumor: Heat may target Andray Blatche
The Miami Heat need to round out their depth and ability in the front court. They’ve lost Josh McRoberts for the season and have catered to injuries to both Chris Bosh and Dwayne Wade. Danny Granger recently returned to the line up for Miami along with Chris “Birdman” Andersen, but the Heat might want to keep bolstering.
From ESPN’s Marc Stein:
Heard while in Miami: Heat have Andray Blatche in their sights after Josh Smith wound up choosing Houston to team up with pal Dwight Howard
— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) December 27, 2014
Miami entered the bidding for Josh Smith when they applied for a disabled-player exception on Josh McRoberts to make more room for another signing.
Blatche is currently playing for China’s Xinjiang Flying Tigers averaging 29 points and 14 rebounds per game. He was a free agent this offseason after a productive showing with the Brooklyn Nets the past two seasons, and while teams showed interest in the big man none were willing to make any exceeding offers to sign him in the summer.
There is definitely a playmaking and scoring aspect to Blatche’s game that could be plugged into Miami’s system. Blatche can’t be signed until his season in China is over. He’s led his team to a 16-8 record and will probably play into the playoffs, which means he wouldn’t be available to an NBA team until February.