Report: Heat exploring options to make run at Knicks' Carmelo Anthony in free agency

Things could get a lot hotter in South Beach. 

ESPN's Brian Windhorst and Marc Stein are reporting that the Miami Heat - whose primary target is winning a third consecutive championship - have had internal discussions about bringing New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony to the Magic City. 

Heat officials and the team's leading players have already started to explore their options for creating sufficient financial flexibility to make an ambitious run at adding New York Knicks scoring machine Carmelo Anthony this summer in free agency.

The Knicks gave Anthony a deadline of June 23 to decide if he will opt out of his player option for next season, and while it would take some serious creativity to bring Anthony to Miami, the Heat could pull it off if all parties agree to a pay cut. 

The mere concept would require the star trio of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh to all opt out of their current contracts by the end of the month and likely take further salary reductions in new deals that start next season to give Miami the ability to offer Anthony a representative first-year salary. 

Stein and Windhorst note that the Heat could open up in excess of $50 million in cap space this summer if their stars, as well as Udonis Haslem and Chris Andersen - who also possess player options - toe the company line.