With LeBron James officially off the table, the Miami Heat can't afford to miss out on DeMar DeRozan as they look to finalize their roster around Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo.
The Heat desperately needs playmaking and another contributor who can score the basketball on command. Looking at how the rest of the free-agency landscape stands, DeRozan is the best candidate on the market left.
Would there be concerns about a potential fit in the starting 5 next to Giannis and Bam? Absolutely. However, if DeRozan would buy into a super sixth-man role, he could emerge as a pretty lethal addition to the Heat at this point in the offseason.
DeMar DeRozan is being overlooked as a fit in Miami
DeRozan is not LeBron by any means, but he does bring some of what the Heat were hoping LeBron would offer to this team. DeRozan is not known as a natural playmaker, but he has averaged at least four assists per game in each of his last 11 seasons in the league.
He's also one of the most underrated offensive scorers in the league. Without a polished 3-point shot, DeRozan has managed to average at least 18 points per game (on efficient shooting numbers) over the last 14 years of his career. Of note, he's coming off a season in which he shot 50 percent from the field overall.
Despite the fact that he's not a deep threat, DeRozan has still hit 3's on a 32 percent (or better) clip each of the last five seasons. The volume isn't high, but he's shown more willingness to extend his shooting range of late.
The Heat could use DeRozan's durability and regular-season production
The narrative on DeRozan is that he's come up short in the NBA Playoffs. And the postseason numbers do tend to back that up. However, he's been one of the most clutch players in the regular season for the majority of his career. He was even nominated as the NBA's Clutch Player of the Year during the 2023-24 NBA season.
Sure, the playoff struggles have been well documented during his time in Toronto, but there's no question that DeRozan checks a lot of the boxes of what the Heat would greatly benefit from, especially during the regular season.
On that line of thinking, DeRozan has also been one of the most durable players in the league. He's played at least 74 games during the regular season each of the last five years and has never missed more than 22 games in a single season.
DeRozan brings some playmaking, consistent scoring, size, and overall durability on the wing.
In the right role, there's reason to believe that DeRozan would be a really good fit in Miami. And after missing out on LeBron, I'm not sure if the Heat can afford to miss out on him. Especially without the guarantee that another proven veteran will hit the market before the start of the new season.
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