Miami Heat: Should Pat Riley Target Joe Ingles During Free Agency?

Just How Available Is Ingles, Really?

Recently, ESPN writer/basketball savant Zach Lowe hosted David Locke — the radio voice of the Jazz — on his popular podcast, The Lowe Post.

Near the end of the show, Lowe brought up the fact that Hayward, along with Utah’s starting point guard George Hill, are both about to be free agents. He followed that up by saying:

"I would predict [Hayward] stays… if he stays, and George Hill stays, I think you gotta say goodbye to Joe Ingles… I don’t think you can afford [him] anymore. Ingles has made himself some money."

Basically, Lowe feels that the Jazz would be less inclined to match an Ingles offer sheet if they get through re-signing their two bigger names, which makes sense. After all, Hayward’s deal will be massive, considering the number of suitors he’s going to have.

Hill should also get a contract worth at least $18 million per year. (Think of it this way, the Milwaukee Bucks signed Matthew Dellavedova to a four-year, $38.4 million contract. That’s about $9.6 million annually, while Mike Conley of the Memphis Grizzlies received a five-year, $153 million deal — or, $30.6 million on average. I’m predicting Hill gets a contract worth just less than the mean of those two, which — if anything — is probably a low-ball estimate on my part.)

There’s very little chance the Jazz — a small market team through and through — will be able to afford re-signing those two studs (in addition to already having given Rudy Gobert a max extension last Halloween), and then still have the means to match an Ingles offer sheet.

It’s a door left slightly ajar, and the Heat should absolutely put their foot in it and try to acquire the underrated small forward, for various reasons.