Potential Heat target DeMar DeRozan has been released by Sacramento
The Miami Heat need a few things to complete their roster and one of those is offense. The Heat's star duo of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo are a solid pair when it comes to offense, but Miami is specifically lacking someone that could lead the second unit and become a go to option. That is where new free agent DeMar DeRozan can come in.
DeMar DeRozan cut by Sacramento.
According to ESPN's Shams Charania, the Sacramento Kings have officially waived former All-Star and All-NBA player DeMar DeRozan, which immediately makes him a free agent. This moves makes DeRozan the clear 2nd best player available out side of the obvious first choice, LeBron James.
Just in: The Sacramento Kings are waiving DeMar DeRozan, making the six-time All-Star one of the top free agents, sources tell ESPN. The sides worked collaboratively on this resolution after exploring trade routes. pic.twitter.com/IsSZXhV4An
- Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 6, 2026
Though DeRozan is not much of a three point shooter, shooting just 30% in his career he is a dependable scorer that is capable of putting up big offensive numbers. Many will question the fit for Miami, as their two best players are not three point shooters either. Though there are question marks about how they could share the court together, I think that problem is over blown.
The reason DeRozan could work in Miami.
As I mentioned previously the Heat could really use a player that is a dependable scorer to lead the 2nd unit and there would be few players better at this than DeRozan. He is one of the best mid-range shooters in NBA history and has carved out an NBA career by doing just that. For his career he averages 21 points per game.
This skill has not left DeRozan as he has aged also. Last season he shot 49.7% from the field and when just looking at 2 point shots, he cashed in on 52.7% of his field goal attempts. Last year was his lowest scoring season since his 3rd year in the league, but that was mostly due to taking only 13.1 field goal attempts per game, which is the lowest since his rookie season. No matter how you slice it DeRozan is still a bucket getter.
I would not be worried about the fit with the Heat's stars because the time sharing the court with both players would be minimal to none. DeRozan could make it work with one of the two stars, but limitations would come if all three were in the game. Like I said he would make the most sense to come off the bench, or if he starts to be a guy that mostly plays with the second unit.
What about the defense?
DeRozan's faults are clear on the defensive end as he is not well regarded on that side of the floor, but in Miami that would be diminished. The Heat already have a juggernaut core for their defense in Adebayo, Antetokounmpo, Davion Mitchel, Andrew Wiggins and even Pelle Larsson. They can afford to cover up a bad defensive player.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/nba/heat/onsi as Potential Heat target DeMar DeRozan has been released by Sacramento.
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This story was originally published July 6, 2026 at 9:28 PM.