![\"DeMar](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Screenshot-5-27-1.35PM-1024x576.jpg\")
The Kings will reportedly explore the trade market for DeMar DeRozan this summer. (Mandatory Credit: Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images)<\/p>\nThe Kings will reportedly explore the trade market for DeMar DeRozan this summer. (Mandatory Credit: Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images)<\/p>\n
We don\u2019t know what this Miami Heat offseason will hold given the current state of the Eastern Conference, but many are bracing for a very wacky<\/a> summer.<\/p>\n The Heat are coming off a 37-win season, their worst since 2014-15. The expectation is that Miami will go after Phoenix Suns star Kevin Durant, but ClutchPoints NBA insider Brett Siegel recently linked<\/a> it to Kings veteran DeMar DeRozan.<\/p>\n Miami was allegedly in the hunt for the six-time All-Star last year. Sacramento is expected to explore the trade market for DeRozan, who will be entering his age-36 season with two more years left on his contract. Should this be a swing that the Heat take? <\/p>\n Miami should NOT pursue DeMar DeRozan under any circumstance:<\/p>\n In his first year with Sacramento, DeRozan averaged 22.2 points, 3.9 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game, shooting 47.7 percent from the floor, 32.8 percent from 3-point range and 85.7 percent from the free-throw line. <\/p>\n In a perfect world, DeRozan would be a respectable lead creator alongside Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo. But while he would slightly elevate the team\u2019s floor offensively, I, once again, alarm people that his fit would be murky, at best.<\/p>\n The 16-year veteran doesn\u2019t space the floor, having shot 32.7 percent from deep over his last five seasons, where he\u2019s barely attempted 13 percent of his shot attempts. When the ball\u2019s not in his hands, he doesn\u2019t command the same respect as a typical floor spacer would, clogging space around him.<\/p>\n He operates in the same areas as the team\u2019s best players\u2013both Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo took at least 35 percent of their shots in the mid-range, ranking in the 69th and 99th percentile among their respective positions, according to Cleaning The Glass.<\/p>\n Both Herro and Adebayo showcased increased long-rang frequency last season. Both players saw their 3-point rates tick up, but in Herro\u2019s case, as teams were running him off the 3-point line in the latter half of the season, most of his shots were mid-range attempts; 180 of his 363 shots since the start of March were inside the arc, beyond four feet of the rim, with an average 2-point shot distance of 8.01 feet, per PBP Stats. In Adebayo\u2019s case, defenses were still daring him to take 3s\u2013will that change next season? Perhaps, but is it enough to fit another mid-range maestro next to him? I doubt it.<\/p>\n DeRozan is also a below-average defender and isn\u2019t quite the facilitator Miami needs to organize its offense. He\u2019s improved as a passer, but not all assists are created equally, and you\u2019re not relying on DeRozan to make consistent reads out of the pick-and-roll (where his defender will duck under screens) or set it up each possession, even though he was successful in better-spaced Kings offense in 2023-24.<\/p>\n In a perfect world, you\u2019d want DeRozan to have enough space to get to his spots and react accordingly. Miami\u2019s offense has had difficulty creating legitimate space for their best creators for the last three seasons\u2013why would that be any different with DeRozan? He\u2019s excellent at getting to the free-throw line, but he doesn\u2019t provide much rim pressure and isn\u2019t very efficient<\/a> relative to his (mid-range heavy) shot diet.<\/p>\n There\u2019s no question that DeRozan would be the Heat\u2019s best closer. There\u2019s also little doubt that he could elevate the team\u2019s floor. But the goal should be to get younger, and not older (Father time is undefeated!), for a one-way player who hardly fills the Heat\u2019s immediate needs for a dynamic shot creator.<\/p>\n DeRozan isn\u2019t a ceiling raiser, and few players in the NBA could elevate the Heat\u2019s ceiling to a contender in the immediate future. Miami isn\u2019t in position<\/a> to swing for Durant, let alone a worse, less efficient offensive engine, even at an inexpensive cost.<\/p>\n ***<\/p>\n To check out our other content, click\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Follow Hot Hot Hoops on Twitter\/X\u00a0here<\/a>!<\/p>\n Follow Hot Hot Hoops on Instagram\u00a0here<\/a>!<\/p>\n Subscribe to our YouTube channel\u00a0here<\/a>!<\/p>\n \t\t\t