The Miami Heat were unable to convince LeBron James that they could provide him with the best chance to win an NBA title over the next season or two, but the franchise’s pursuit of championship contention didn’t end when James decided to sign with the Philadelphia 76ers.
Miami remains strongly interested in DeMar DeRozan, and the team also wants to acquire Klay Thompson of the Dallas Mavericks.
“I’m told Miami, Denver, and Cleveland are among the teams interested in DeMar DeRozan,” ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Monday, July 27. “But here is a player out West that is overlapping with DeRozan as far as interest from teams, and that is Klay Thompson. I’m told the Heat are among several championship contending teams that are monitoring Thompson’s situation and have interest in Klay Thompson potentially via trade or a buyout.”
Thompson is entering the final season of his three-year, $50 million contract in Dallas.
Klay Thompson’s Shooting Abilities Offer Perfect Complement Alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo
GettyKlay Thompson of the Dallas Mavericks.
Thompson, a four-time champion with the Golden State Warriors, is most valuable as a spot-up shooter from deep at this point in his tenure.
The 36-year-old shoots nearly 41 percent from behind the 3-point line for his career on 7.6 attempts per contest. He wasn’t quite that good last year in Dallas, connecting on 38.3 percent of his tries, also on 7.6 shots from behind the arc nightly.
Thompson is no longer the elite two-way player he was with the Warriors during a run that included six NBA Finals appearances, five All-Star Games, two third-team All-NBA selections and one second-team All-Defense honor.
However, Thompson makes considerable sense alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo and is precisely the type of offensive player who commands enough respect from opposing defenses to afford Antetokounmpo the requisite space to operate.
DeMar DeRozan Can Work in Miami as LeBron James Substitute
GettyDeMar DeRozan.
Heat team president Pat Riley told the “Dan LeBatard Show” last week that his primary interest was adding “another playmaker” alongside Antetokounmpo, adding that the team’s priority wasn’t necessarily shooting around the two-time MVP.
Riley made those comments in the context of James’ free agency.
Now, with James off the table, DeRozan might be the best remaining option to fill that playmaking role. He averages just 4.1 assists for his career, which is a far cry from James’ mark of 7.4 assists per night.
Still, DeRozan remains highly capable of getting into the lane and pulling defenders toward him. He also has one of the best mid-range games in modern league history and averages 21.1 points per night across his 17-year career.
DeRozan doesn’t shoot the 3-pointer well, or very much at all, posting a mark of just 30.2 percent on 1.7 tries per night — and that does not complement Antetokounmpo’s game.
However, DeRozan is more than reliable from a health standpoint. He has appeared in at least 74 games in each of the past five seasons and is capable of serving as the Heat’s No. 1 on-ball offensive option anytime that Antetokounmpo is off the court and/or injured.
Adding Thompson alone leaves a playmaking hole on the roster in Miami. Adding DeRozan alone doesn’t address the shooting gap in the starting lineup/rotation as a whole. However, if the Heat can acquire them both, things should start looking up for the franchise in 2026-27.
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