Now that the Denver Nuggets have officially entered the pursuit of DeMar DeRozan, it could dramatically shift the Miami Heat's approach. At the very least, it's going to force them to make a decision on DeRozan more quickly than they'd like.
Knowing the way the Heat operates, and considering how married they are to the idea of waiting out the Klay Thompson situation, it does feel as if they may pass on DeRozan.
According to recent reporting, after the Nuggets' blockbuster move to sign-and-trade Peyton Watson to the Cleveland Cavaliers, they are pivoting to make a hard push to sign DeRozan.
The Denver Nuggets are pivoting and have their eyes directed on six-time All-Star DeMar DeRozan who remains a free agent in demand for contenders, league sources tell me.
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) August 20, 2026
If the Nuggets are indeed going to put on the full-court press for DeRozan, which could already be underway, the Heat's path toward DeRozan just got a lot more difficult, if it didn't flat-out disappear. If DeRozan doesn't want to wait on the Heat, the Nuggets could give him exactly what he wants (and perhaps is seeking): an opportunity to sign with a contender at this point in the offseason.
The Heat finally have competition for Klay Thompson
At some point, especially if the Thompson buyout never happens, the Heat are eventually going to have to pivot. They're not in a place where they can enter the season with the roster as-is. They have three open roster spots and theoretically need to fill at least two of them.
So even if the Thompson saga drags into training camp, I'd imagine we'll see some sort of pivot at some point soon. The question is, should that be now?
If DeRozan is ready to sign with a team, I'm sure that is being relayed to the Heat. Up until now, there's a chance that Miami hasn't felt threatened by another legit threat to lure DeRozan. With the Nuggets seemingly shifting their attention to DeRozan, that may have changed.
The Nuggets can give DeRozan the opportunity to play for a contender, while also getting more of a defined role than the Heat can offer him at the moment.
Will this push the Heat to make a move?
Will this new development push the Heat to move one way or another? That's the 100-million-dollar question. It's hard to predict where the Heat will go from here. Theoretically, you'd have to imagine that if the Heat genuinely want DeRozan, this is going to push them to get something done sooner rather than later.
But if the Heat aren't that intrigued by the idea of signing DeRozan and still want to play the waiting game with Thompson, this won't move them all that much. Either way, we're going to find out where they stand pretty soon.
The big move from the Nuggets may force the Heat to make a decision on DeRozan, something that they probably didn't want to have to make now.
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