Report: Miami Heat are potential destination for Danilo Gallinari

For the second time in the last four seasons, the Miami Heat came close to winning it all, but in the end, they were short of getting to their ultimate goal.

They badly need some additional offensive firepower, and they could reportedly try to sign forward Danilo Gallinari in order to upgrade in that department.

“One league source mentioned veteran forward Danilo Gallinari as a Heat possibility if he receives an expected buyout from Washington,” wrote Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. “Yahoo’s Jake Fischer said a buyout is likely.”

Gallinari almost became a member of the team three years ago.

“The Heat nearly traded for Gallinari in 2020, but he torpedoed the deal because the Heat declined to give him an extension, a decision made to preserve future cap space,” wrote Jackson.

The veteran has been a potent scorer for over a decade, and he owns a career average of 15.6 points a game, as well as a 38.2 percent accuracy from 3-point range.

Last summer, he signed as a free agent with the Boston Celtics just after they had lost in the NBA Finals to the Golden State Warriors. The Celtics’ weak bench was a major reason why they blew a 2-1 series lead versus Stephen Curry and company, and it was thought Gallinari would rectify that problem.

But he tore his ACL late in the offseason, forcing him to miss all of the 2022-23 campaign. Just days ago, he was sent to the Washington Wizards in the blockbuster trade that brought Boston Kristaps Porzingis.

The 6-foot-10 forward could give the Heat another legitimate 3-point shooting threat off the bench, as well as someone who could get buckets in general for them when Jimmy Butler is resting.

Of course, the big name on the minds of Heat fans is Damian Lillard. He is the one potentially available star who could take the team from a mere contender to the best squad in the world.

Lillard has expressed interest in joining the Heat, but he hasn’t asked the Portland Trail Blazers, his current team, to trade him — at least not yet. He would be the ideal player to take the pressure off Butler while allowing the Heat to get off to fast starts offensively and start blowing teams out, rather than looking to grind things out and keep scores low in order to win.