The Miami Heat have made no major additions to their roster this summer outside of drafting Kel’el Ware and signing Alec Burks. Their quiet offseason might not be due to a lack of trying, as ESPN’s Bobby Marks has revealed the team aggressively pursued DeMar DeRozan and Tyus Jones but could not get a deal done due to nobody wanting to take on Duncan Robinson’s contract.
“They would have loved to get DeMar DeRozan. They tried as heck to get DeMar DeRozan, but nobody wanted Duncan Robinson, no offense. They have one first-round pick to trade. They wanted Tyus Jones, they couldn’t make a deal here.”
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Robinson is making $39.2 million over the next two seasons. While it isn’t a completely untouchable contract for a player who is one of the best shooters in the NBA, it isn’t a price teams want to pay for one-dimensional shooters anymore. The Heat cannot move off Robinson without adding draft assets, and it would be unwise for them to move off their remaining tradeable pick for a Robinson salary dump.
DeRozan was sign-and-traded to the Sacramento Kings, with the Kings finding cap dump partners in San Antonio to facilitate the acquisition. He averaged 24.0 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 5.3 assists last season.
Tyus Jones’ future is still unclear, with the point guard arguably the best remaining name on the market. He averaged 12.0 points and 7.3 assists last season for the Wizards. The Heat will likely keep trying to get a Tyus deal in their favor, but it’s unclear who they can even target in free agency at this point.
The Miami Heat Have Lost Pace In The Eastern Conference
The Heat aren’t one of the premier teams in the Eastern Conference after the franchise’s inability to make needle-moving trades recently. They took a swing at adding Terry Rozier last season but the move hasn’t transformed them into a contender. Adding Jimmy Butler and Tyler Herro’s consistent injury struggles to the mix, the Heat don’t have enough to contend.
The East has a clear top three in the Celtics, 76ers, and Knicks, with the Bucks still eyed as contenders by most. The Heat are arguably in a worse position than young teams like the Pacers and Cavaliers, while the Orlando Magic had also jumped them in the standings last season. They’re looking like a play-in team on paper, something that won’t help Bam Adebayo’s desire to win Defensive Player of the Year.
Jimmy Butler’s future with the franchise is also cloudy, so there might come a point next season when the Heat have to look to a possible rebuild by moving off Butler before he leaves in free agency. That is the worst-case scenario, as everyone in the organization will be hoping a healthy year from their stars is enough to make a title push.
They’ll be active in looking for partners to take on Robinson’s money so that the Heat could find an upgrade. If not, they’ll likely have to settle for being a middle-of-the-pack team next season.
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