9 Players the Miami Heat gave up on way too early

1. Voshon Lenard, traded in 2000

During the 2000 offseason, the Miami Heat traded Voshon Lenard to the Denver Nuggets. It’s one of the deals in which you wonder if it was the best move for the Heat, especially considering that Lenard would go on to have some really nice seasons in his post-Heat career.

After being a second-round pick for Miami, Lenard would start his career with five solid seasons for the Heat. Though, he did struggle with injuries throughout the last couple of seasons of his tenure with the team. And that’s probably the biggest reason why the Heat decided to trade him.

Nevertheless, after the Heat’s decision to trade Lenard, he would still go on to have four-straight seasons of double-digit scoring averages on 36 percent shooting from 3 or better. This is not one of those deals that truly backfired on the Heat, but there’s no question the Heat might’ve punted a bit prematurely on a player that they developed.

Overall, the Heat has done a great job of not letting the big fish get away. Especially if they develop them. But there are certainly a few “what if” moments throughout the team’s illustrious career.