There’s mutual interest between the Heat and free agent forward DeMar DeRozan, a pair of sources with knowledge of the situation tell Barry Jackson and Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald.
DeRozan is one of the top players left on the marketplace, having come in at No. 6 in our list of top 50 free agents. He led the NBA in total minutes played in 2023/24, averaging 24.0 points, 5.3 assists, and 4.3 rebounds per game with a shooting line of .480/.333/.853.
Despite the mutual interest, there’s not a clear path for Miami to offer DeRozan the sort of contract he’s seeking. As Jackson and Chiang write, the Heat are currently a first-apron team, so the best they could do would be the $5.2MM taxpayer mid-level exception. A sign-and-trade deal isn’t an impossibility, but it would require them to shed salary, since a team that acquires a player via sign-and-trade becomes hard-capped at the first apron, so it could get complicated.
DeRozan isn’t expected to return to the Bulls, but Jackson and Chiang hear that “several” teams remain in play for the six-time All-Star. One of those clubs is the Lakers, as we previously relayed. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski confirmed L.A.’s interest during a SportsCenter appearance on Tuesday (YouTube link), but reiterated that it won’t be easy for the Lakers and other over-the-cap suitors to negotiate a sign-and-trade deal.
“I think there’s interest in DeMar DeRozan, but the kind of contract that he might want just is not going to be available,” Wojnarowski said. “It’s not left out there in the marketplace. The Bulls are more than willing to work on a sign-and-trade agreement to get him the years and money that he might want, but with the new salary cap rules, those are much more difficult for teams to do.
“… In DeMar DeRozan’s case, and it may not be as appealing to him, but it may look like a one-year deal somewhere, let the market reset next year. Because if you do a sign-and-trade, it’s got to be at least three years and now you’re locked into a three-year deal at a number you may not like.”
DeRozan’s free agency this summer is somewhat reminiscent of his 2021 free agency. When he hit the market three years ago, teams like the Lakers and Clippers were viewed as suitors but didn’t have the financial means to make him a competitive offer. It briefly looked like he might accept a discount to return to his hometown, but he ultimately landed with the Bulls on a three-year, $82MM deal via sign-and-trade.
It seems less likely this time around that a suitor will emerge to make DeRozan a huge three-year offer. Still, it’s worth noting that settling for a one-year contract in the hopes of securing a larger payday next summer – as Woj suggests – would be risky move for a player who will turn 35 next month.
That would make no sense, even if they were to move Rozier, where’s the fit
I think it’s a matter of “We simply need more talent and there ain’t much left out there on the market” than it is about fit.
That being said, I don’t buy him actually landing in Miami. I think he’ll be a Laker.
Get rid of Herro bum ass
The lakers off season has been brutal. Nobody it seems wants to go to the circus
They don’t have the cap space to sign meaningful FAs and don’t have the assets to make trades. Once LeBron signs they are a 2nd apron team and wont even be able to trade multiple players in same trade or take back more salary in a trade so they are extremely limited in what they can do
Yea plus LeBron has turned that team into a circus.
I like the Lakers ideas to target Jermi Grant or Ayton.
Redick has championship expectation because they have 3 first round picks available for trade.
Found someone who doesn’t understand the NBA.
Lakers have 3 FRPs to trade (and they are when LeBron has retired and Lakers likely will be average or worse)
Lakers also have plenty of matching salary pieces, and multiple young players in Reaves and Christie.
But yeah, keep pretending you know what “assets” they have, slund. Lmao
Also, the Lakers were a circus LONG before LeBron got there. The entire tail end of Kobe’s career was a distaster and the following era was directionless. LeBron and AD joining up actually stabilized them. Blame Jeannie and her clique for that nonsense.
They only have 2 FRPs to trade unless you are including Knect who they just drafted as that was the 3rd. Also, unless LeBron signs for less than $25m, the Lakers are a 2nd Apron team and can not trade multiple players in the same trade. So they can’t trade Reaves and someone else to match salary, it has to be 1 player for someone making the same amount or less because they also can’t take back more salary in a trade. So again, if LeBron takes a 50% or more paycut, then they will be able to trade multiple players but still have no cap space to sign anyone outright except for the mid level exception. But you understand NBA better I guess.
2026, 2028, 2030. You can trade draft picks up to 7 years in advance.
They can’t trade 2026 since 2025 goes to Pelicans and can’t trade back to back years.
Fair, somehow missed that.
He should go to clippers.
The best idea for Lakers
Sign DeRozan one year deal at $13 million MLE.
Lakers are not interested in 3 years $90 million deal, market value.
How about Herro for DeRozan?
GSW just opened up a trade exception for about 16M and could give him around that while remaining below the apron with 13 players now and 14 if they give Post the second round exception.
They could give him more if they sent back any salary, but probably would only have to give CHI a second rounder if CHI doesnt have to take back contracts.
Rather than working out a S&T, which would cap them at the first apron, the Warriors could trade Wiggins to the Jazz or Pistons, create another TPE for his $26M, become an under the cap team, sign DDR outright, have the room exception at their disposal and two TPE’s ($16M and $26M).
Or am I missing something???
They already used the non room MLE so they cant drop below now, and they already are hard capped at the first apron because of using the MLE.
there’s gonna be a reckoning with the new CBA rules, guys are going to have to decide between MAX contract and winning.
I wanna see something BIG happen. Bridges-to-Knicks mighta been the biggest thing. We all knew Klay was likely leaving. PG13 invited Embiid to one of the Finals broadcasts; the writing was on the wall there, apparently. Something MIND BOGGLING needs to happen or this is gonna be a relatively go-hum free-agency off-season. How about this……
DeRozan gets to go to Heat in a sign-and-trade……..Jimmy Buckets does indeed get moved – he stunningly comes to the bay and agrees to an extension……..Heat ALSO attain Kuminga, swiping him from Dubs……a THIRD TEAM brings itself to the party and disperses some assets to the Dubs and Heat…….this unknown (for now) third team in return gets Wiggins from Dubs and maybe Robinson or Herro from Heat……Dubs perhaps also get a serviceable bench player from this third team.
I want something BIG to happen to stay interested in this off-season!
Whoops. The third team in this hypothetical trade proposal would obviously be the Bulls. You can nominate that last comment for BONEHEAD COMMENT OF THE DAY, but please don’t tell me that trade idea has bonehead qualities. Once the dust settles, I like the outlook for ALL 3 teams……a DeRozan-Kuminga-Adebayo-Jaquez core??!! Dynamite!!
The idea is cool, but that unknown third team must be getting every draft pick of both Warriors and Heat, lol. I like the idea, but it just has too many moving parts.
Nice try. If the Warriors weren’t interested in moving Kuminga for PG13, they aren’t going to be interested in moving him for Butler.
Haven’t we learned over the years that you’ve gotta take what owners/GMs say about their player personnel with a grain of salt – especially in February, June, and July?? When Dunleavy took over for Myers, one of the first things he said was how much he liked Poole and how his spot with the Warriors was secure. A couple weeks later, Poole was gone….for CP3!!
LeBron was willing to take a discount for KT but not DDR?
DDR needs to consider that the dearth of cap space in the FA market might be more or less permanent (2025 isn’t likely to be much different than 2021 or this year, and he’ll be a year older). His skill set can still valuable to a contender, but it will require some work to get it all to fit.
LeBron gave a list of players Lakers didnt really have shot at saying he’d take a paycut for them. Now he can take his full max and say he tried to help out the FO but they couldnt complete the job
He is (was reiterated earlier today), but it’s not the wisest use of resources for them.
My guess is that LeBron takes a pay cut … he has all the money in the world and his son is his teammate … in order to make room for DeMar, or someone else. It would probably take a 3-team deal to give the Bulls the players/picks they’d want back. No one cares what happens to the Lakers after LeBron retires or moves on. They be tankin’ for the next super-star.
DeMar shouldn’t take a pay cut. The Bulls would even welcome him back, IMHO, if they could move Vucevic and/or LaVine.
It could take some time. Several years ago the Bulls engineered a S&T for DeRovan in August. AKME is in no hurry and has job security. They’ve already acquired two new players to stoke fan interest (and get younger), Josh Giddey and Lithuanian-American Mata Buzelis, a soon-to-be, home-town-hero or drama queen.
Don’t discount scooping up Smith …young athletic center who will have a chance to be a starter with the Bulls(once Vouch is moved)..,
AKME has been pushing all the right buttons soo far this offseason.,,
But i dont wanna jinx it…soo im gonna shut up Now..,,lol
I was actually hoping for Jalen Smith and Moritz Wagner to replace Vucevic (if they traded him which I think is doubtful, given AKME’s apparent fondness for him) and Drummond (if they lost him which they did). I also wanted them to draft Ware which they could have. None of the fans are happy with their bigs. Cant’ they get Horace Grant’s nephew or Mike Muscala … anyone … as a FA or in a S&T?
He should go to Clippers …..
All these mock trades are fascinating … really … but the real GMs will come up with something that no one suspected. Then the disappointment from failed predictions will lead to more trash talk. Everyone and every organization has a $h1t list and there’s always someone on the bottom of that list.
Clippers makes sense.