NBA Trade Rumors: Heat Join 76ers as Teams Interested in Kings' Nemanja Bjelica
The Miami Heat have reportedly shown interest in Sacramento Kings forward Nemanja Bjelica ahead of the March 25 NBA trade deadline, according to Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee.
Reports of Miami's interest come after Sam Amick of The Athletic reported Friday that the Philadelphia 76ers have expressed interest in Bjelica.
The 32-year-old Bjelica was a healthy scratch for 14 straight games before returning to Sacramento's rotation Friday against the Orlando Magic, recording 15 points, nine rebounds and six assists in 28 minutes.
Bjelica's re-entry into the lineup occurred due to Marvin Bagley missing Friday's game due to injury. When Bagley, Richaun Holmes and Hassan Whiteside are all healthy, however, Bjelica is not part of the equation in Sacramento.
The fact that he fell out of favor with head coach Luke Walton is somewhat surprising since Bjelica enjoyed a career year in 2019-20.
Bjelica started 67 of the 72 games he appeared in and averaged 11.5 points, 6.4 rebounds, 2.8 assists 1.9 three-pointers made per game.
In 11 games this season, the Serbia native is playing a career-low 16.3 minutes per contest and averaging 7.4 points, 4.1 boards and 2.3 dimes.
While this season has been somewhat nightmarish for Bjelica, he can still be a great fit for teams in need of frontcourt depth and bigs who can stretch the floor with their shooting ability.
The 6'10" Bjelica is shooting just 25.0 percent from beyond the arc in limited opportunities this season, but he has traditionally fared far better than that during his six-year NBA career with the Minnesota Timberwolves and Kings.
Bjelica shot better than 40.0 percent from deep in three straight seasons from 2017-18 through 2019-20, and he is a career 39.0 percent shooter from three-point land.
The Heat and Sixers are tied for 19th in the NBA this season with a three-point shooting percentage of 35.8 percent, so both teams could benefit from Bjelica if he returns to form.
Miami has a significant need for frontcourt depth as well, with little production from the backups behind starters Bam Adebayo and Kelly Olynyk.
Precious Achiuwa is the only other big playing significant minutes, but he doesn't have the ability to step out and shoot like Bjelica does.
This season has been disappointing for a Heat team that reached the NBA Finals last season, as they are ninth in the Eastern Conference at 11-14, but adding a skilled rental player like Bjelica to the fold could go a long way toward getting them into the playoffs and making them a threat.
