NBA Rumors: Miami Heat after Lowry, Marion, Williams and Ariza

NBA rumors are always fun to play with, but this one seems off the wall even for the most optimistic Miami Heat fans. According to ESPN’s Chris Broussard (subscription needed), the Heat are dead serious about re-tooling their roster in a way that allows them to surround LeBron James with some more quality role players. If they brought in Kyle Lowry, Shawn Marion, Marvin Williams and Trevor Ariza, wouldn’t it be game over for the rest of the NBA?

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Of course, there are MAJOR financial hurdles to deal with. The Heat would have to figure out what to do with Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade before they’re able to do anything else with this (oh yeah, that LeBron guy is a free agent, too). Step one would be for Bosh and Wade to opt out and be good with taking less money to re-join the Heat. If they get that done, then they can seriously consider bringing in these other names.

Lowry was one of the best point guards in the league at times during the 2013-14 season and his playmaking abilities (plus his junkyard dog attitude) would be a great fit for the Heat. Marion is well past his prime but could provide solid minutes off the bench, Williams is a No. 8 or 9 guy on the bench and Ariza would be a tremendous fit. At worst, if they can snag Lowry at a discount (we’re talking Costco discount here) and Ariza, they’ll be in much better shape already.

James Herbert of CBS Sports threw a little extra wrinkle into the mix, claiming that Pat Riley is interested in going after some more bulk in the paint. Now, that’s not a surprise — no offense to Chris Andersen or Udonis Haslem — but the Heat were weak inside. The wrinkle is the fact that they’re considering taking a run at Kendrick Perkins. While he’d provide a surly attitude that the Heat were sorely lacking last year, he’s a concrete block in the paint, for better or for worse.

Imagine if the Heat were able to pull off this coup and look at what their roster would look like:

PG — Kyle Lowry
SG — Dwyane Wade
SF — LeBron James
PF — Chris Bosh
C — Kendrick Perkins

Bench — Marvin Williams, Trevor Ariza, Shawn Marion, Udonis Haslem, Chris Andersen, Norris Cole, Shabazz Napier

They’d still have to sign three other players, but that’s a solid roster. I didn’t even put Ray Allen on there yet, though he’s publicly said he’d like to play another year. I have no clue how the big names would be willing to leave so much money on the table, but if their desire for winning is greater than their desire for riches that they’ll never spend in this lifetime, then I guess it could happen.

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