NBA Rumors: Miami Heat could reunite DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry in free agency
Four-time All-Star DeMar DeRozan has garnered a lot of interest in NBA rumors recently, with the latest suggestion being that he could be headed to South Beach to play for the Miami Heat.
With the NBA free agency window set to begin in a matter of hours, the league's rumor mill is in full flow, particularly surrounding the future of DeRozan, who will become an unrestricted free agent.It was initially suggested that the soon-to-be 32-year-old might return home to California and take a massive pay cut to play for either Los Angeles franchise. However, that seems increasingly unlikely.
Instead, the latest NBA Rumors state that he could be pairing up with former teammate Kyle Lowry down in Florida.
NBA Rumors: Could a reunion of Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan be on the cards at the Miami Heat?
With considerable cap space, free agents with which to create sign-and-trade deals and tradeable assets to boot, the Miami Heat have been at the forefront of NBA rumors since the end of the season. Not to mention the fact that they need to improve if they are to keep pace with the Eastern Conference's top three teams from the 2020-21 campaign.
Kyle Lowry has been their primary target and by exercising Goran Dragic's team option, the franchise have set themselves up for a sign-and-trade with Toronto for the veteran point guard. Should they pull this off, it would put them in a great position to pursue free agent DeMar DeRozan with their $9.5m midlevel exception.
The Athletic's John Hollinger addressed the issue in his report on Monday:
"The other move that has been hotly rumored of late is DeMar DeRozan going to Miami for their full MLE, which they could likely just squeeze under the luxury tax apron along with Lowry and Robinson. (You can forget the rumors that DeRozan would take the taxpayer midlevel just to play for the Lakers.)"
Operating as a team over the cap for the upcoming season will allow the Miami Heat to retain its own free agents, such as Trevor Ariza and Victor Oladipo, while also matching an offer sheet for Duncan Robinson. It also means that they can offer DeMar DeRozan a stronger deal than either LA franchise would be able to give him and reunite him with close friend Kyle Lowry in a championship-chasing team.
If DeRozan is willing to significantly lower his earnings, playing alongside Lowry, as well as with Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo and Duncan Robinson in a potential starting five, could be extremely lucrative.
Together in Toronto, DeMar DeRozan and Lowry helped the franchise finish among the top four sides in the East for five straight seasons. They also reached the Conference Semifinals twice and Conference Finals once.
DeRozan would provide some much-needed consistency from the field, which the Miami Heat struggled with this year, and plenty of postseason experience. He has shot at 46% throughout his career from the field and has improved his distribution in recent years, averaging a career-high 6.9 assists this season.
Keep a close eye on NBA Rumors with a long week ahead of moves expected.
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