The Miami Heat still have room to keep tinkering after landing Giannis Antetokounmpo, and one name tied to them is a familiar one: DeMar DeRozan.
Miami has already made the biggest splash of the offseason, but the roster still looks like a work in progress around Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo. If the Heat do make a deep run, it’s fair to expect those two to carry a massive share of the load. Even so, the team could clearly use more help.
DeRozan is one of the veterans still on the market, and Marc Stein reported that Miami is among the teams with interest.
“The Wizards, meanwhile, shifted their intent to sign another veteran this offseason by showing some interest in DeMar DeRozan, pursuing the former All-Star swingman along with teams such as Miami and Denver,” Marc Stein wrote.
There’s obvious appeal in adding a player with DeRozan’s résumé, even if he’s not the same guy he used to be. He can still give you production at this stage of his career and would bring another proven scorer into the mix.
The question is how that would actually look in Miami. If the Heat are going to lean into volume three-point shooting, DeRozan doesn’t naturally fit that identity. His lack of range would also create some spacing issues next to Antetokounmpo, which makes the idea less seamless than it sounds on paper.
Another wrinkle is whether Miami would even view him as a starter. That decision would go a long way toward determining whether DeRozan makes sense as a target at all.
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Davion Mitchell Still Solves One Huge Heat Need This Season
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The interesting part is how the rest of his game fits around that defense. The Heat have reason to expect changes in his offensive responsibilities as the roster evolves, and his shot profile may look different if he is asked to space the floor more often and attack less off the dribble. For Miami, that kind of adjustment matters because it determines whether Martin is just a specialist or someone whose value stretches well beyond one side of the ball. [Read more 🡒]