(With Brady Hawk)

As the beginning of free agency gets closer and closer, I can report thatTim Hardaway Jr is intrigued by the idea of landing in Miami and would love to join the Heat, a league source tells Five Reasons. However, the timing of free agency and contract details are perceived as likely challenges by Hardaway and his camp, according to the same sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

After knocking down 207 total threes this past season, which is his career high, it’s obvious that he’s in line for a decent sized pay-day. The specifics of that may not be clear at this exact moment, but it is clear that Miami could use his type of scoring ability next to Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo.

The Miami Heat simply have certain priorities this off-season, including a possible point guard and front-court pairing, but if some of those things fizzle out, it’s a great fall-back plan.

How much does he elevate the current Heat roster? Well, that’s a different story, since it matters what you’re losing out on to fulfill the signing of Hardaway Jr, but there’s no doubt it improves the team on the offensive end of the floor.

Defensively may be a different story, after Miami has gone through a long period of time with one-way guards, but there is a different element to this particular acquisition. His track record showcases two things that make up for that: reliability and consistency.

When looking back over his career, he hasn’t missed a lot of time, considering he only missed two games this season and four games the year before. Combine that with the on-court consistency, since even though a streaky shooter becomes the label at times, he’s seemed to line himself up well following this recent playoff run.

Once again, there are certain needs for this Heat team as they head into the off-season, while it feels like their priorities have stayed the same. But if Hardaway Jr’s interest in Miami continues, as a couple strike-outs occur in the process, there’s a chance he could find himself in a very familiar arena.

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