An NBA insider reveals the 1 big reason why the Miami Heat failed in their offseason pursuit of DeMar DeRozan.
The Miami Heat entered the NBA offseason with a clear need to upgrade their roster. However, as the offseason comes to somewhat of a standstill after the NBA Draft and the busy portion of NBA Free Agency, the Heat remain at a point where they still haven't been able to make a bold upgrade to their roster.
But, at least to recent reporting, it hasn't come without effort. Miami attempted to acquire DeMar DeRozan via sign and trade but fell short in their attempts because of one big problem.
According to ESPN's Bobby Marks, the Heat tried hard to get in on the DeRozan sweepstakes. However, they ultimately fell short in their pursuits of landing the veteran wing because of their inability to find a trade partner for Duncan Robinson.
In an attempt to make salary room for DeRozan, Miami needed to offload one of their big contracts. Miami attempted to dump Robinson but didn't find a suitor. In the end, that's one of the bigger reasons why the Heat couldn't land DeRozan and probably why he ended up signing with the Sacramento Kings.
There are no more visible pivots for the Miami Heat
After missing out on the trade market and some big names in free agency, it's hard to envision how the Heat will pivot in a big way before the start of the 2024-25 NBA season. At this point, it would be surprising if Miami didn't run it back with essentially the same roster, certainly the same core.
With how improved the rest of the Eastern Conference is, the Heat is going to have their work cut out for them heading into the new season. Even if they manage to remain healthy, which is going to be far from a guarantee, Miami still will have an uphill battle matching up against the likes of the Boston Celtics, Philadelphia 76ers, and Milwaukee Bucks (who have somewhat become the forgotten contender in the East).
It appears the Heat attempted to improve their roster. They just hit the reality that their roster has gotten so stale that there's no market for their "assets" on the open market at the moment. It's admittedly not a great place to be, but it's the path the Heat have carved out for themselves with past decisions.