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The Miami Heat missed out on adding six-time NBA All-Star DeMar DeRozan in the offseason, according to The Athletic’s Sam Amick and Anthony Slater.
The Heat were one of the teams DeRozan explored joining before ultimately choosing the Sacramento Kings.
“DeRozan, who league sources say explored scenarios with the Philadelphia 76ers, Miami Heat, San Antonio Spurs and [Golden State] Warriors in search of a market value deal, had grown more fond of the Sacramento idea as time went on,” Amick and Slater wrote on October 18.
DeRozan, a consistent 20-point-plus scorer could have boosted the Heat’s stock in the vastly-improved Eastern Conference.
The Heat did not have cap room to add DeRozan outright, so it would have been a sign-and-trade, too, like the Kings did if they wanted him.
DeRozan ended up signing a three-year, $73.9 million deal with the Kings in a three-team sign-and-trade with the Chicago Bulls and San Antonio Spurs.
The Kings only gave up Chris Duarte, two second-round picks to the Bulls and Harrison Barnes, plus a 2031 pick swap to the Spurs.
It is unclear if the Heat and the Bulls talked, but the Heat could have theoretically sent Duncan Robinson, who is earning close to what the Kings will be paying DeRozan, and picks in such a trade scenario.
DeMar DeRozan, Jimmy Butler Plays the Same Position
While DeRozan wanted to join the Heat, it was not clear if the feeling was mutual.
The Heat already have Butler, who plays the same position as Butler. It would have been fascinating to watch how the two of the best shooting guards in the league co-exist in Miami.
But DeRozan would have also provided the Heat insurance in case Butler, who was not extended this offseason, leaves them after this season.
DeRozan is an elite player from the midrange and one of the league’s top clutch players over the last three seasons. He would have lifted the pressure off Butler and the Heat.
The 35-year-old DeRozan is closer to being an iron man compared to Butler. Over his three seasons with the Bulls, DeRozan has only missed 17 games.
Butler has a $52.4 million player option for next season, which he can decline to join another team and leave the Heat with nothing in return.
Jimmy Butler, Heat on the Clock
In the absence of a long-term extension, Butler has become a name to watch this coming season.
Yahoo Sports’ Tom Haberstroh predicted on “The Kevin O’Connor Show” on October 8 that Butler is “more probable” to demand a trade following the Heat’s decision not to extend him.
“Jimmy Butler is one of those larger-than-life personalities that can be great … [and then] gets really tiring, and people start to tune him out,” Haberstroh said.
And it’s a drama waiting to unfold this season.
If the Heat get off to a poor start, the Butler extension question could get “ugly fast,” he said, in the same way Butler left the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2018.
“He is a dude that is going to walk into every locker room, and you’re going to feel him every single time,” Haberstroh said of Butler. “And so I think when you talk about Jimmy Butler and what the Miami Heat could get for him, I do think that you might have this, get this game of chicken between Jimmy Butler and [team president] Pat Riley, two of the most proud personalities, large personalities. … I do feel like Pat Riley and Jimmy Butler, if they’re not right, it’s gonna be ugly fast.”
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