Ira Winderman of the Sun-Sentinel expects Miami Heat President Pat Riley to make a move for either Donovan Mitchell or Rudy Gobert at some point, with the relationship between the two players thought to be frayed beyond repair.
The journalist was responding to fan questions in his “ASK IRA” segment when he claimed it would be safe to assume the Heat would look to bring one of the Utah Jazz stars to Miami. Both Mitchell and Gobert will be free agents next year but there’s always the possibility of moving sooner, given the circumstances.
“But, yes, whenever there is a distressed asset, it is safe to assume that Pat Riley and the Heat will be sniffing around,” Winderman wrote. “Both Gobert and Mitchell will be free agents in the 2021 offseason. But the divorce could come before that.
So, if you’re the Heat, do you move in advance? And for which? While Gobert is far more of a team component than Hassan Whiteside, would that prove limiting to Bam Adebayo? Mitchell, by contrast, would seem to work for any team.”
Both players seem like good prospects for the ambitious Heat but, as Winderman points out, Mitchell would likely be a better fit when Bam Adebayo’s development is taken into consideration.
Of course, this is all speculation for now. But it wouldn’t shock anyone if Riley made attempts to land one of the two.
