Heat favorites to sign $305M Future Hall of Famer, 17-year vet to pair with Giannis Antetokounmpo originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The pursuit of LeBron James was a major priority for the Miami Heat, who believed they were in the race until the very end. At 41 years old, James was the biggest free agent on the market for nearly a month.
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The four-time NBA champion carefully weighed all of his options before ultimately deciding to continue his career with the Philadelphia 76ers last weekend.
“LeBron James is signing with the Philadelphia 76ers for his final run at another NBA championship, he announced Friday,” ESPN’s Dave McMenamin wrote. “James, 41, is signing a two-year, $8 million contract with a player option, Klutch Sports Group CEO Rich Paul told ESPN’s Shams Charania.”
Like the other teams involved in the bidding, Miami had to pivot quickly. The Heat turned their attention to 17-year NBA veteran DeMar DeRozan as a potential fallback option after missing out on James.
“The Heat and Warriors have been in recent contact with DeMar DeRozan. A fallback option in free agency for the hopeful LeBron finalists emerges. DeRozan would sign with a title-contender at the veteran’s minimum,” NBA reporter Evan Sidery wrote.
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For many teams, DeRozan became the top alternative after James came off the board. However, Miami appears to be in the strongest position to land the veteran forward.
“Miami Heat have been a Derozan landing spot for years now, there’s been so much connectivity between him and the Heat and I do think the Heat seem to be the most likely scenario for DeMar DeRozan right now…Miami is probably his best bet…those other spots really don’t have spending power,” The Stein Line’s Jake Fischer said.
The Heat still need additional offensive production as free agency continues. DeRozan remains one of the NBA’s best mid-range scorers and could provide a significant boost to Miami’s offense.
DeRozan has earned $305 million in contracts throughout his career. The Heat appear to be in a strong position to reach an agreement with the future Hall of Famer. While DeRozan has his defensive limitations, Miami already has elite defenders in Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bam Adebayo, and Davion Mitchell to help offset that weakness.
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