Report: Heat Still Interested in Jae Crowder; Suns Refusing Duncan Robinson
The Phoenix Suns are less than two weeks away from the league's Feb. 9 trade deadline, and Jae Crowder has yet to be moved.
The power forward has yet to play this season but still has plenty of interested suitors despite being in the final year of his contract.
One of the teams potentially vying for Crowder are the Miami Heat, a team Crowder previously helped take to the NBA Finals before joining Phoenix in 2021.
The interest isn't new - Miami has reportedly kept tabs on their former three-and-d player for months now. Yet we're getting down to the final days of the deadline and pressure only mounts further on general manager James Jones to strike a deal and get the Suns some needed help.
The Miami Herald's Anthony Chiang and Barry Jackson reported the following in Phoenix-Miami trade talks:
"According to a Western Conference source, the Heat remains interested in acquiring Phoenix Suns and former Heat forward Jae Crowder, but the Suns have resisted the Heat’s trade concepts and other interested teams have a clearer pathway to a deal. Talks with Miami simply haven’t gained traction, according to the source.
"Duncan Robinson’s name was raised in trade discussions with Phoenix, but the Suns had no interest in taking on the final 3 1/2 seasons of his five-year, $90 million contract, the source said. Miami has not shown any inclination to offer Caleb Martin in a deal for Crowder."
They also report Crowder has interest heading back into the Heat.
The Suns have been strong in their stance on wanting a starting caliber player in exchange for Crowder, but nothing has come to fruition just yet.
Phoenix not wanting to take on large contracts is nothing new in reports, as the Suns have been shy on wanting to welcome others (i.e. John Collins) who would extend their salary cap further into the luxury tax.
