LeBron James to the Heat is still a possibility, but the league noise is pointing stronger toward the Cavaliers in recent days. James told the Lakers he plans to play elsewhere in 2026-27, and the Heat were among the finalists in James’ potential list of landing spots, as ESPN revealed. Still, Marc Stein and Jake Fischer reported there is a growing belief around the NBA that the Cavaliers are the “scenario to beat,” and Miami can’t ignore that side either.
The Heat already made their giant move by landing Giannis Antetokounmpo after the Bucks received Tyler Herro, Kel’el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kasparas Jakucionis, Nate Ament, first-round picks in 2031 and 2033, a 2030 first-round pick swap, and a 2033 second-round pick. The Heat is trying to win right now and are going all-in for a championship, and that’s the side James will look towards.
But if LeBron picks the Cavaliers, who could be the wrong choice after all, Miami needs the next move fast for a backup plan. The Heat need shooting, size, another half-court option, and enough defense to keep the Giannis-Bam Adebayo frontcourt playable deep in the playoffs.
Here are the six best alternatives if LeBron doesn’t return to the Heat.
6. Bradley Beal
This is the emergency upside play, but not really a total LeBron fallout plan. Bradley Beal still has a name, and that name still gets attention, but Miami can’t act like this is 2020 Beal. The current version is a 33-year-old guard coming off a lost season with the Clippers.
Beal played only six games last season before hip surgery and declined his $5.6 million player option. He averaged 8.2 points and 1.7 assists in those games, which is basically not enough sample to trust anything. He suffered a left hip fracture and was expected to recover in 6-9 months.
The fit is still understandable. The Heat lost Herro in the Giannis trade, so they need a guard who can dribble, shoot, and create late in the clock. Beal can still maybe do that if healthy. He can run bench units, play off Giannis pressure, and give Spoelstra another scoring option that isn’t just Bam at the elbow or Giannis attacking the rim.
But the word is “maybe.” That is why he belongs sixth. The Heat can sign him only if the money is very low and the role is clear. A short-term deal makes sense. A rotation bet makes sense. Selling him as the LeBron fallback doesn’t.
This would be about rehab value. If Beal looks healthy, Miami gets a cheap scorer. If not, the Heat can’t be locked into him. That is the only way this idea works out for them.
5. DeMar DeRozan
There is more safety with DeMar DeRozan than Beal, but the basketball fit is still weird. DeRozan played 77 games for the Kings last season, started all of them, and averaged 18.4 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 4.1 assists. Sacramento waived him after reaching a mutual resolution over his partial guarantee, so Miami doesn’t need a trade to get involved.
The Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson reported that Miami would be among the teams of interest to DeRozan, though there had been no contact between his camp and the Heat at that point.
The argument is there because DeRozan can still score. He can get to the mid-range, draw fouls, punish switches, and calm down ugly possessions for a Heat team that suddenly needs half-court creation. In the regular season, he can win some slow games that get stuck in the mud.
The playoff fit is the problem. Giannis isn’t a shooter. Bam isn’t a volume shooter. DeRozan shot 32.0% from three last season, and defenses are fine living with that shot. Miami can’t build a closing lineup where three main players want the paint or mid-range. That gets tight fast.
DeRozan is still useful, but he is not a modern spacing answer. He should be a cheap veteran scorer, not the move that defines the post-LeBron pivot.
4. Zach LaVine
The Zach LaVine idea is only good if he reaches the open market with his expiring contract. As a trade target, it is too much money and too much risk. As a waive-and-stretch signing, it gets interesting very fast.
LaVine picked up his $49.0 million player option for 2026-27, according to Shams Charania through Rich Paul. He averaged 19.2 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 2.3 assists in 39 games before his season ended because of right-hand surgery. The Kings went 22-60, so the idea of Sacramento looking for a financial exit is not crazy.
Barry Jackson reported that LaVine could become an option for Miami if the Kings waive and stretch the final season of his deal. That is the only version the Heat should care about.
On the floor, LaVine gives the Heat the one thing lacking with the exits of Herro and Norman Powell: perimeter scoring with three-point gravity. He can play off Giannis, punish help, attack closeouts, and create offense without Miami needing to run everything through Bam. That is a better offensive fit than DeRozan because LaVine actually stretches the defense.
The defense is obviously the less-Heat variable there. The injury history isn’t great, and the contract is ugly. And by the way, Miami can’t use its remaining matching salary on a $49.0 million gamble after sending out so many assets for Giannis.
Financially, this only works if the Kings waive-and-stretch LaVine first. His $49.0 million player option is too big for Miami to treat him like a normal trade target after the Giannis deal, and the Heat shouldn’t use their remaining salary-matching pieces on that level of injury and defensive risk.
If LaVine hits the market after a waive-and-stretch, Miami can try to sign him on a short-term deal, likely at the veteran minimum or with whatever exception money is still available. Cheap LaVine gives Miami scoring, but trying to make a trade work is simply an impossible puzzle.
3. PJ Washington
Miami Heat Receive: PJ Washington
Dallas Mavericks Receive: Nikola Jovic, Pelle Larsson, 2032 first-round pick swap
This is the first name where the basketball starts to feel very serious. PJ Washington isn’t the loudest option, but he fits how the Heat usually want to win. Tough forward, playoff size with defense, rebounding, enough shooting, and no need to dominate the ball.
Washington averaged 14.2 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 1.8 assists for the Mavericks last season on 45.0% from the field. He also averaged 1.0 steals and 1.1 blocks, which fits the Heat profile better than another one-way scorer. The three-point shooting was only 32.5%, but the full package has value.
The Mavericks finished 26-56 and 12th in the West, so that roster would benefit from trading its most expensive veterans. Washington signed a four-year, $88.8 million extension, with a $19.8 million salary for 2026-27. If the Mavericks want a younger forward and more flexibility, Miami has a path.
Financially and in terms of defensive scheme, this works better without Andrew Wiggins. Washington’s 2026-27 salary is $19.8 million, while Jovic’s $16.2 million deal and Larsson give the Heat a matching structure to make it work.
It also keeps Miami from using Wiggins’ $30.2 million salary to trade for a player making much less. For the Mavericks, the logic is getting younger with Jovic, cheaper with Larsson, and adding a 2032 first-round pick swap as upside.
Washington would not replace LeBron’s creation. That is obvious. But he would make the Heat more balanced. Giannis and Bam need forwards who can defend, rebound, and hit open shots. Washington can do those things without asking for star touches.
2. Cameron Johnson
Miami Heat Receive: Cameron Johnson
Denver Nuggets Receive: Nikola Jovic, Pelle Larsson, 2032 first-round pick swap
The best basketball fit on the board might be Cameron Johnson, even if he doesn’t carry the same reputation as Zach LaVine, Bradley Beal, or DeMar DeRozan. The Heat don’t need another famous scorer just because LeBron James might choose the Cavaliers. They need a forward who makes the Giannis and Bam frontcourt easier to play around, and Johnson checks that box in a very direct way.
Johnson put up 12.2 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 2.4 assists for the Nuggets last season, while shooting 48.0% from the field and 43.0% from three. That last number is the whole argument. The Heat can’t put Giannis and Bam together, then add another player who lets defenses sit in the paint. Johnson doesn’t need the ball, doesn’t slow the offense down, and doesn’t take touches away from the stars. He spaces, cuts, relocates, and keeps weak-side defenders honest.
There is also actual reporting behind the idea, which makes it stronger than just a random fit exercise. Michael Scotto reported that Johnson drew trade interest from several teams, including the Heat, while the Nuggets were trying to move him in order to re-sign Peyton Watson in restricted free agency.
That is the most important detail because Johnson’s $23.1 million expiring salary gives the Nuggets a real financial reason to listen, especially if they can turn him into younger, cheaper pieces instead of adding another veteran contract.
Johnson is entering the final year of his deal at $23.1 million, while Nikola Jovic and Pelle Larsson give the Heat a younger outgoing salary base without forcing the Nuggets to absorb Andrew Wiggins’ $30.2 million number.
The 2032 first-round pick swap is the asset sweetener, which is important because the Heat already moved their 2031 and 2033 first-round picks, plus a 2030 first-round pick swap, in the Giannis deal.
This isn’t a star-chasing move, but that is kind of the point. Johnson makes the roster make more sense. With Giannis putting constant pressure on the rim and Bam working as a short-roll passer and connector, the Heat need wings who punish help immediately. Johnson does that without needing a custom role or 18 shots per game, and that is why he should be near the top of the list if LeBron doesn’t return.
1. Trey Murphy III
Miami Heat Receive: Trey Murphy III
New Orleans Pelicans Receive: Andrew Wiggins, 2029 first-round pick (depending on Miami’s 2027 first-round pick to Charlotte conveying), 2032 first-round pick swap
The best swing is still Trey Murphy III, even if he is clearly the hardest player on this list to get. If the Heat miss on LeBron, the smartest pivot shouldn’t be another older scorer with injury questions or spacing problems. It should be a young wing with size, shooting, athleticism, and enough on-ball growth to fit both the current Giannis-Bam window and whatever comes after it.
Murphy had the kind of breakout season that makes every team call, even if the Pelicans aren’t that keen on moving him. He gave them 21.5 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 3.8 assists in 66 games, while shooting 47.0% from the field and 37.9% from three on 8.6 attempts per game. That volume is what separates him from a normal floor spacer. Murphy isn’t just a corner shooter waiting for kickouts. He can run the floor, attack closeouts, shoot off movement, and punish defenses that send extra bodies at Giannis.
Marc Stein reported that the Pelicans aren’t actively shopping Murphy or Herb Jones, but they are willing to listen and have already turned down offers. So the Heat can’t treat this like a discount trade. Murphy is young, productive, and under contract, which means the Pelicans have every reason to ask for a big package. Still, after a 26-56 season, it isn’t crazy for the Heat to at least test how firm that stance really is.
Andrew Wiggins would have to be the salary piece. He opted into his $30.2 million player option and then signed a two-year, $34.0 million extension with the Heat, so he gives the Pelicans a veteran wing who can still play instead of just dead money. Wiggins averaged 15.4 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 2.7 assists, while shooting 41.4% from three, so there is at least enough production there to make the framework respectable.
Financially, Wiggins is the main matching piece because his $30.2 million salary lines up well enough with Murphy’s four-year, $112.0 million deal. The harder part is the draft capital. The Heat already sent their 2031 and 2033 first-round picks to the Bucks, and their 2027 first-round pick owed to the Hornets is lottery-protected before becoming unprotected in 2028. That is why the honest aggressive framework is a 2032 first-round pick swap, plus a conditional 2029 first-round pick that only conveys if their 2027 pick conveys.
Even then, this might still be light. The Pelicans can ask for more because Murphy is the exact type of wing every contender wants, and the Heat don’t have unlimited assets after the Giannis trade. But this is still the call Miami has to make. Murphy would give the Heat shooting, size, athleticism, and a real third option who doesn’t mess up the spacing around Giannis and Bam. LeBron would be the louder story, but Murphy would be the best basketball plan.
