Heat, Cavaliers interested in trading for Jamal Crawford, per report

The Cavaliers and Heat are pursuing Jamal Crawford via trade, reports Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group.

The Cavaliers may lose J.R. Smith and are in the market for a replacement. Smith opted out of the last year of a contract that would have paid him over $6 million and is looking for a three-year deal, something Cleveland is not ready to offer. Crawford, winner of the Sixth Man of the Year award in both 2010 and 2014, would provide the bench scoring that would be missing if Smith walks away.

Cleveland has a great trade chip in Brendan Haywood's non-guaranteed contract, worth $10.5 million. The Clippers could package Crawford along with the non-guaranteed contracts of Lester Hudson and Jordan Hamilton to shed $7.6 million from their books, or flip Haywood's contract for a quality center to replace the departing DeAndre Jordan.

The Heat could use Crawford's shot creation to ease Dwyane Wade's burden and add some scoring punch to their bench. They have been shopping point guard Mario Chalmers and center Chris Andersen but no team has shown serious interest. Those are the players they are likely offering and they might not be enough to pry Crawford from Los Angeles.