Could DeMar DeRozan be missing piece to championship puzzle for Heat?

After three years with the Chicago Bulls, DeMar DeRozan is a free agent and attracting quite a bit of interest from other teams as expected. Even at age 34 (he turns 35 in August), DeRozan is considered one of the most efficient, low-maintenance players in the NBA.

So, it should come as no surprise that the Miami Heat would be interested in acquiring the six-time All-Star. The Heat have moved up as “slight favorites” to land DeRozan according to The Athletics’ Jovan Buha . Sacramento is also in the mix as a “dark horse” in the pursuit of DeRozan as reported by ESPN’s Marc J. Spears (h/t CBS Sports' Cameron Salerno ).

If things shake out in the Heat’s favor, they could be right back in the championship mix after being eliminated in the first round. Adding DeRozan to a roster that played in two of the previous four NBA Finals should place them back in the serious contender category.

Since Jimmy Butler arrived in South Beach in 2019, the Heat have appeared in the Eastern Conference finals in three out of five years. The main reason Miami failed to get close in ’24 is because Butler sprained his MCL during the play-in tournament.

Butler has another year on his current contract and a player option in ’26. There have been rumors of the Heat potentially moving on from Butler , but nothing has been made official. If the Heat can get on the same page with Butler and sign DeRozan, they would immediately be viewed as one of the toughest teams in the east next season.

A Big Three of Butler, DeRozan and Bam Adebayo could make the Heat the No. 1 threat to dethrone Boston next year. Miami beat Boston in the 2022-23 East finals with less when no one outside of Dade County gave them much of a chance. DeRozan has made it clear he wants to win.

“At the end of the day, I hate losing. I hate missing opportunities. It really hits you after the season when you look up and the last seconds run off. You don’t have another game. The next time I play a game will be my 16th season. You realize the window closes for you personally…I ain’t trying to play 25 years. You just want to have the opportunity to give everything great in you,” DeRozan said in April, per NBC Sports Chicago's K.C. Johnson .

DeRozan has been one of the most consistently clutch players in the NBA the past couple of seasons. He finished second in voting for Clutch Player of the Year in ’24 and third last year. Placing DeRozan next to Butler who’s been one of the best clutch players in the Association during recent postseasons would be devastating to Eastern Conference foes.

Should this happen and the Heat can keep 1.) Butler 2.) Along with other major contributors like Tyler Herro and Duncan Robinson, there will be plenty of analysts picking the Heat to go all the way next season. The Heat have been looking to add another star for some time, and adding DeRozan would give them a trio that could very well take them to the top.