The Miami Heat have been interested in DeMarcus Cousins for a while, having pursued him last summer. The team was still interested in him when he was released by the Los Angeles Lakers back in February.
With the NBA season restarting next month, Heat insider Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel noted that it is a possibility that the Heat could bring Cousins on for a playoff run. However, he also mentioned the issue that is currently impeding that.
“Again, when the Heat made their Feb. 6 trade for Andre Iguodala, Jae Crowder and Solomon Hill, Pat Riley said that in trading Justise Winslow, James Johnson and Dion Waiters it left the team with enough room under the hard cap to potentially add player from the buyout market in time for this season’s playoffs,” wrote Winderman. “Then, amid the period when the Heat were able to gauge who might be available, the league shut down. So, yes, there is room under the hard cap for such a move. But there is not a roster spot. So unless the Heat cut a player (Solomon Hill? Udonis Haslem? Chris Silva?), another cannot be added.”
It seems highly unlikely that the Heat would release Haslem in the middle of a season, so that leaves Hill and Silva as the potential candidates to lose their spot, should the Heat move to acquire Cousins.
Just this year, Silva signed a three-year contract with the team, upgrading from the original two-way deal he was on. As for Hill, he was acquired back in February in a trade with the Memphis Grizzlies.
Cousins hasn’t played at all this season, as he recovers from a torn ACL he suffered in the offseason. Last season, with the Golden State Warriors, he averaged 16.3 points, 8.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.5 blocks per game.
