Getty DeMar DeRozan #11 of the Chicago Bulls is seen on the court against the Cleveland Cavaliers during a preseason game at the United Center on October 05, 2021 in Chicago, Illinois.
The Miami Heat made a flurry of splashy moves during free agency, most notably obtaining Kyle Lowry in a sign-and-trade with the Toronto Raptors, nabbing Markieff Morris from the Lakers, and P.J. Tucker from the Bucks, however, there were rumors of adding another player that never came to fruition.
On the eve before locking down the Lowry deal, in which the Heat sent the Raptors Goran Dragic and Precious Achiuwa in exchange for the six-time All-Star, Five Reasons Sports Network tweeted on August 1, “The Heat would not be done with Dragic going out in a S&T deal for Lowry. Working on another major player. They just require some cooperation. More to come.”
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A few hours later, Five Reasons Sports Network tweeted, “The Miami Heat are trying to figure out a way to reunite free agent DeMar DeRozan with his former Raptors teammate Kyle Lowry in Miami, multiple sources have told #5RSN. There are many complications to getting such a deal done.”
GettyKyle Lowry #7 and DeMar DeRozan #10 of the Toronto Raptors wait for a free-throw during the second half of Game 4 of the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Quicken Loans Arena on May 7, 2018.
Lowry and DeRozan spent six seasons together in Toronto, but Miami Heat’s front office didn’t want to go over the ominous salary cap to also obtain the four-time All-Star. In order to sign both players, DeRozan would have to be willing to take a pay cut. However, the former 9th overall pick from the 2009 NBA Draft recently made it clear to The Athletic‘s Sham Charnia that such an option was never in the cards.
DeRozan Felt Pay Cut Rumors Were Disrespectful
New Bulls star DeMar DeRozan sits down with @Stadium: “I haven’t played with a talent at that wing position like Zach (LaVine). I want to put everything I’ve been through in my career, share that with him, win together.” Also: Lakers, disrespect in free agency, being more vocal.
DeRozan, who’s averaged 20.1 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 3.8 rebounds per game during his eight seasons in the NBA, told Charania on Friday that he never considered getting paid less than he was owed.
Seeing those kinds of rumors, DeRozan said that he “definitely [took] it as disrespect. But you see all the crazy stuff going on. You can’t just jump out there and be like, ‘Nah, I’m not doing that. I’m not doing that.’
“You just gotta kinda trust the process and the business and everything you was going through, and Chicago was always a team that was on my radar in free agency and everything. So I knew my whole approach the whole time, but you do get frustrated through the whole process of things.”
The San Antonio Spurs forward ultimately inked a three-year, $85 million contract with the Chicago Bulls after the two teams completed multi-player sign-and-trade on August 3.
Reports of Reuniting DeRozan & Lowry In Miami Received Mixed Reactions
The Heat are interested in reuniting DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry in Miami, per @5ReasonsSports
Miami Herald’s Anthony Chiang noted that it would be tricky to finalize a deal for DeRozan to join Lowry in South Beach. “DeRozan possibility is interesting, and one that league sources have mentioned to me and @flasportsbuzz that Heat is interested in. Butler, DeRozan, Lowry are close,” Chiang tweeted.
Lowry, DeRozen, and Heat’s five-time All-Star Jimmy Butler were part of the Team USA Basketball at the 2016 Rio Olympics, where they earned the gold medal. With the chemistry already established both on and off the court between these three players, it made sense as to why the Heat would be willing to try and pull off such a complicated sign-and-trade.
While reuniting Lowry, 35, and DeRozen, 32, sounds nice in theory, Sun Sentinel’s Ira Winderman balked at the report. Winderman tweeted, “I have seen DeMar DeRozan as many things over his career, but a power forward? Or in such an alignment, would that be Jimmy Butler? Or Duncan Robinson? And how would that help a smallish team with rebounding?”
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Bulls’ All-Star Breaks Silence on Joining Heat: ‘Definitely Disrespect’