Kevin Durant's razor-sharp, once-in-a-lifetime talents aren't coming to South Beach. That stings—even if the Miami Heat didn't push as hard as they could've for him. Their offense remains without a half-court executioner. Pat Riley doesn't have his whale.
There are different ways in which the Heat can pivot out of this position. Maybe this convinces them to get out of the whale-hunting business. Or maybe they just tread water and go whale-hunting next summer. They have options. They just can't afford to sacrifice real assets in pursuit of a savior who isn't capable of saving them.
There are names connected—or at least logically linked—to this team that should legitimately frighten the fanbase. Let's break down the reasons why these players are worth avoiding.
DeMar DeRozan, Sacramento Kings
There have been rumblings about a potential pursuit of DeRozan. And those who've spent any time watching the Heat helplessly look for half-court offense can probably understand why.
Despite never being a perimeter shooter and not being the anti-gravity athlete he was during his prime, DeRozan remains a reliable source of self-sufficient offense. This past season, he poked, prodded and powered his way to a healthy 22.2 points per game and dished out 4.4 assists against 1.4 turnovers as a non-primary playmaker in Sacramento.
Could the Heat use those numbers? In a vacuum, sure. In reality, though, his lack of shooting would squeeze what's already a rather congested offensive end. He'd also take touches away that could be used to further the ascensions of Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo. DeRozan, who turns 36 in August, would up the win-now pressure on a Heat team that lost 45 games this past season. And his partially guaranteed $25.7 million salary for 2026-27, per Spotrac, could make summer that much trickier to navigate.
DeRozan has talent and a ton of offensive ability, but he's not what this team needs.
Jonathan Kuminga, Golden State Warriors
In the words of The Athletic's Anthony Slater, the Heat have "legitimate...interest" in Kuminga, who's entering restricted free agency on the heels of four confusing campaigns in Golden State.
A central figure in Golden State's famed, ultimately ill-fated "two-timeline" plan, Kuminga never rounded into the form the Warriors surely hoped he would take on after making him the No. 7 pick in 2021. His highlight reel impressed, and he sometimes scored in bunches, but he struggled to find his fit within a Stephen Curry-centric attack.
So, are the Heat thinking Kuminga will suddenly be cool with filling role-player duties around Herro and Adebayo? Or is the idea that Kuminga is this secret star who has untapped potential that Golden State failed to summon across four NBA seasons?
Ideally, the front office wouldn't bother trying to figure this out. There are clear complications in trying to utilize Kuminga in a support role, and if the Heat want a big fish, they can find a more established version next summer.
Domantas Sabonis, Sacramento Kings
If you're wondering why Sabonis needs a mention on a Miami site, honestly, so are we. And yet, there's some Sabonis-for-Adebayo chatter going on in the Kings' world, so let's address it—and quickly dismiss it.
Miami's offense would have more legs with Sabonis, but the defense would fall apart, and the culture could take a massive hit, too. Plus, there's a cap on how good this offense can be without a primary playmaker—Sabonis is a great-passing big man, but he's not a jumbo-sized lead guard—so it wouldn't make sense to push all their chips toward that end of the floor, which this swap would absolutely do.
The Heat should be fully focused on finding players who can complement Adebayo and hopefully help foster his offensive growth. The idea of flipping him for anything less than a plug-and-play superstar should be (and probably is) a non-starter for this organization.