The Miami Heat managed to improve their roster prior to the NBA’s trade deadline, but they apparently were not able to acquire every player they coveted.
According to a Jabari Young of CNBC Sports Business, the Heat tried to trade for San Antonio Spurs star DeMar DeRozan last month.
“During the trade deadline, I was hearing Miami was making a push for DeMar DeRozan,” Young said. “He’s close to Jimmy Butler. Would that be a fit?”
DeRozan had been mentioned as a possible target for the Heat throughout the first portion of the 2019-20 season.
So far this season, the 6-foot-6 veteran is averaging 22.2 points, 5.6 assists and 5.6 rebounds per game.
In the end, Miami opted to bring in Andre Iguodala, Jae Crowder and Solomon Hill prior to the trade deadline.
It is unclear what the Heat could have offered the Spurs in exchange for the four-time All-Star.
Even if the Heat had indeed traded for DeRozan last month, he wouldn’t be playing right now.
That is of course because the current NBA season has been suspended for the foreseeable future due to the novel coronavirus.
While the league will reassess the suspension after 30 days, it seems quite likely that play will not restart anytime soon.