NBA offseason rumors are upon us, and the Miami Heat are already at the thick of it as a destination spot for several stars that could hit the trade market.
It’s no secret that Giannis Antetokounmpo will assuredly be Miami’s plan A. But if that falls through, a couple other aging stars have been linked to winding up on the Heat’s radar as pivot options. Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report recently revealed Kevin Durant as a potential target, as rumblings regarding his fate with the Houston Rockets have already began swirling.
But another star has repeatedly been linked to Miami in Kawhi Leonard.
Leonard came up in Heat related rumors prior to this year’s trade deadline, and it seems to be the same case going into the offseason, as well. The LA Clippers failed to make the playoffs entirely and more major changes could be on their horizon. Los Angeles had already moved James Harden to the Cleveland Cavaliers at the deadline.
Bobby Marks recently wrote a piece for ESPN on Leonard’s future and marked the Heat as his predicted landing spot this summer:
“The Heat have been trying to land a true franchise superstar for years now, and this would achieve that goal. Leonard would be the centerpiece of a Heat team that could help lead Miami back to the success of the Butler years. Leonard is a two-way superstar whose style of play fits into the culture of the Heat…”
— Bobby Marks (via ESPN)
Would an aging Kawhi be the answer to lead the Heat back to contention?
In that piece, ESPN’s mock trade idea that sends Leonard to South Beach was Tyler Herro, Andrew Wiggins, a 2030 unprotected first-round pick and a 2032 unprotected first-round pick in exchange for Leonard and Kris Dunn.
“This Heat package is a scaled-down version of a potential trade for Giannis…”, Marks noted. “Instead of gutting their young core, the veteran Wiggins is included.”
Despite Leonard entering his age-35 season next year, the former two-time NBA champion and Finals MVP is still playing at an elite level. He averaged 27.9 points, 6.3 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.9 steals on impressive 51/39/89 shooting splits across 65 games played during this 2025-26 campaign. He was also named an All-Star for the seventh time of his career.
He is one of the greatest two-way stars in the league. His size and length at 6-foot-6 and an insane 7-foot-3 wingspan make his versatility super impactful on both ends, even as he approaching his mid-30s.
The veteran forward is currently on a $50 million expiring salary for this upcoming season.
If Pat Riley and the Heat front office take a flyer on Leonard’s services, it would most likely have to be for the right price— considering his age, mileage and injury history.
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Philly may be starting to wear Boston down now. Still plenty of time left but Philly up by nine late in the second.
Now Philly up 19. It’s looking like another blowout. Game seven should be a doozy!
Herro and Jovic should get it done
Nobody wants Jovic or his 4 year/$62.4M contract, for the time being. He’s a mess.
If we do that trade we will only be marginally better, perhaps a sixth seed if we get immediate help in the draft, but more likely still at play-in level. And it will hurt to lose the picks. I don’t see that trade being good enough for us, unless we got more back than Dunn. And even then, you’re talking a one year, two at absolute best, window on Kawhi, and probable availability issues.
I know Pat wants the easy fix, but this is almost it, but not quite good enough. I do want to say that Leonard, when healthy, is still one of the five best players in the league. If you watched the all star game for some reason, you saw him take over the first round game and it was against his peers. But, he is exactly where Jimmy is in the aging process, and will likely lose a step this year.
Kawhi not leaving California he’ll go to the warriors before he comes here
kawhi was one of the best players this year.he puts us right to the front of the bus,of course in a few years were at back of bus.ill take the short high and worry about loading up in a fewyears
And that’s exactly the problem.
Herro and Jovic for Kawhai. Call it in
BREAKING: Micky Arison Publicly Criticizes The NBA Amid Growing Outrage Over Soaring Streaming Costs, Raising Serious Questions About Accessibility And The Future Of How Fans Experience The Biggest Moments In Basketball — This isn’t just frustration, it’s a direct shot at a system many believe is quietly pricing out loyal Miami Heat supporters.
Corporate America is bleeding the public dry. They don’t care if they are negatively impacting the lives of regular working people and their families. Their primary concern is the bottom line…profits. With the increasingly lax oversight of corporations by federal agencies, its only going to get worse. The league’s total revenue including all rights, tickets, and sponsorships is projected to reach $14.3 billion for the 2025-26 season. In 2024-2025, the average revenue was $408M, per team.
NBA and NFL are pricing our average viewers, but in Miami’s case a lack luster product for a decade isn’t helping.
Dunno if someone commented this in hhh already but anyone watched that guy Tobin? About Pat’s real target for 2027? He said its Jokic! That’s why they’re keeping Niko here they got the same agent. That’s his theory with all the previous things he witnessed.
tobin has as much inside info as sunman ,radio sports talk guy ,and an hhh superior poster.i/ll listen to the hhh guy hes more knowledgeable
i think it be cool if the ics played together luka joker .maybe when lebron retires
Don’t believe every comment here. Tobin is the regular host of the morning sports talk show on the Heat radio station. He definitely has connections and knowledge about the team. But, like everyone here and in the industry, he can speculate who may be traded where. The producer of the afternoon show on the station is Alejandro Solana. When the team listed all the people connected with the Heat after the last Fan Duel broadcast, Solana was listed along with names we know like Reid, Crotty, Jax, Ron, and others.
I was thinking Miami would trade Jovic to Denver to be mentored by Jokic. They played well together last summer while representing Serbia. I think Jokic made Jovic look better than he really is. This apparently prompted Riley to rush to offer Jovic an extension to the tune of 4 yeaqrs/$62.4M in order to avoid losing him to another team or having to pay more for him if he waited until later.
They are keeping Jovic because he is untradable the way he has been playing. He also has a new contract extension kicking in this summer worth $62.4M.
Don’t mortgage the future for a shot at 15 minutes of glory. Miami should focus more on building a contender for the future rather than a marginally competitive team for a season or two to meet Riley’s timeline. Leonard doesn’t have the best track record on “availability.”
I agree with you and, at the very least, if they do that deal, the Heat should insist on getting Mathurin or have those picks top 10 protected. 32 year old Kris Dunn? No thanks!
daylate dollar short mathiurn was out there but pat asleelp at the proverbial wheel.matiurn a younger poor man leonard guy is a dawg.just add on to kawhi with ja damar both attainable.when 2029 comes around and theyll all retired ill worry about that then if im above the ground rc.right here right now vh
You go your way, I’ll go mine.
one day we’ll go the same highway down to bisc blv in july via jjj hwy to meet at d wades house where pat riley ct is and one day should be renamed sunmans ct
That was a terrible trade.
for wig and herro f yeah.besides lebron second best 2 way player last 10 plus -years.still playing at very high levelslighlty more impactful than pelle jaco jjj ya think.ill worry about 3 years down the line after watching a ss ball for us.rc eric kawhi sign me up for 3 years of that.might as well get a ja damar while were at it.ill worry about 2029 if im still above the ground then.sunman will still be posting what he thinks we should do i predict 2000-2500 sm posts during the kawhi era
I think SM has made his position abundantly clear. So have I. But you love going to the play-in and losing. Kawhi is really good, his availability is not.
This team needs more than window dressing. It needs a makeover starting in the coming gap year (2026-2027).
duncan is really bad his avail isnt,just gimme a top 10 type player for the real season and ill take my chances with leonard demar ja bam ware.hows that lineup.or your more interrested in the development of youngens who aint gonna be sht
Kawhi, Demar, Ja, and Bam were all young’uns at one point. It’s better to find those players on the way up, not on the way down.
easier said than done rc.ill take the proven commodity over the maybe commodity.ja gets around damar kawhi bam for few years he quits banging and gets in bball shape.when kawhi retires he can start banging again
The players you like are not proven commodities. In fact, they’re the opposite. They are either aging out or regularly injured.
And, as usual, you are not aware of, and never care, about the financial side of this business. But that doesn’t mean you can just ignore it.
i disregard salary thats your dept.all i know bam overpaid herro overpaid jovic overpaid
Unfortunately, teams can’t disregard salary.
Leonard and Ja are very bad investments.
Leonard has played an average of 59 games a season during the past 8 years. He turns 35 in June and is scheduled to make $50.3M on his expiring contract. Leonard is eligible to sign a two-year contract extension with the Los Angeles Clippers worth approximately $126.1M the day after the 2026 NBA Finals. This potential extension would extend his current deal through the 2028-29 season, averaging roughly $63M per season, following the completion of his current contract, which runs through 2026-27. He would be 38 when the extension expires.
Ja Morant has played an average of 46.7 games per season during his 7 game career. He’s averaged 26.3 games per year during the past 3 seasons. He is scheduled to make $42.2M and $44.9M the next 2 seasons and is eligible for a three-year extension after the 2025-26 season that could be worth approximately $178 million ($59.3M per season).
DeRozan will be 37 in August and is scheduled to make $25.7M (partially guaranteed) on his expiring contract. He has played an average of 74.4 games per year in his 17 year career.
Hfl always refers to you as the LeBron of hhh and a person who would do well as Heat GM. Yet, when you spell out an excellent analysis like this, one that is totally counter to his thoughts, it is unlikely that he will appreciate, understand, or accept it. We all want what we want, and most of us want it yesterday. But what’s most desired for one fan isn’t what is necessarily best for the team.
dont have patience to suk for 3 -5 years
I know that. But it shouldn’t be what’s best for you, but what’s best for the team.
Ye of little faith. Its been done several times in the past few years. See below.
Boston Celtics Underwent a massive mid-season flip in 2021-2022 going from below .500 to NBA Finalists.
Houston Rockets: Transformed from a 22-win team (2022-23) to a competitive 41-41 team, a 19-win improvement.
Sacramento Kings Ended a 16-year playoff drought in 2022-2023 by surging to the third seed, a +18 win turnaround.
New York Knicks Improved from 21 wins to 41 wins in 2020-2021 (shortened season) in Tom Thibodeau’s first year.
Cleveland Cavaliers Improved by 22 wins (from 22 to 44) in 2021-2022 behind Mobley/Garland.
Orlando Magic Improved by 13 wins in 2023-2024 , jumping from a lottery team to the 5th seed.
Oklahoma City Thunder Improved from 40 wins in 2023-2024 to 57 in 2024-2025, a +17 win turnaround, to take the top seed.
Minnesota Timberwolves improved by 23 wins in 2021-2022 jumping from 23 to 46 wins.
Indiana Pacers Rose from 35 wins to 47 wins in 2024-2025 behind elite offense.:
Phoenix Suns Jumped from 34 wins to 51 (shortened season), in 2021-2022 reaching the NBA Finals after trading for Chris Paul.
Detroit Pistons Went from 14–68 in 2023-2024 to 44-38 in 2024-2025 to 60-22 in 2025-2026
BRAVO! EXCELLENT!
shelf life short but the life thats left should be super starish and in playoffs hed be a top 5 player
Nope. Maybe vets minimum lol.
Meanwhile…epic battle Cade vs Paolo both with 40+
And Pistons live to fight another day.
And Raps getting Schrodered
whos your second fav team?or maybe the heat isnt your fav team?
Heat all the way. But before I’m a Heater, I’m a basketball fan and I’m loving competitive games.
Also for this playoffs im rooting for Wemby and the Spurs.
me to heat first but playoff bball is great.reg season just mainly watch heat games.btw how did u become a heat fan spobotis?
I’m with you. Pop was probably my all time favorite basketball coach except when he beat my Heat.