The Miami Heat’s struggles in the 2025 NBA Playoffs highlighted their need for a star player on the offensive side of the ball. Miami is lacking a de facto scorer, and that hole in the team’s roster reared its ugly head in its series against the No. 1-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers.
After all, no player averaged more than 17.8 points per game for the Heat against the Cavs, and they also scored just 95.5 points per contest as a team in a series they lost in a sweep.
With Miami’s lack of star power glaring, the team has unsurprisingly been linked to several stars in recent rumors. Let’s look at a quartet of high-quality players who have been connected to the Heat organization thus far.
Jonathan Kuminga
Contract status: restricted free agent
Kuminga might not be the first name that comes to mind when folks think of an NBA star, but he was one of the premier bench scorers in the league this season, as he averaged 15.3 points per game while shooting 45.4 percent from the field.
Plus, he was arguably the Golden State Warriors’ best player in their second-round series against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Kuminga stepped his game up in a major way with star guard Stephen Curry down for the count with a hamstring injury, considering he scored a team-high 20.8 points per game. He dropped 18-plus points in all but one of the five games in the best-of-seven series.
Michael Scotto of HoopsHype reported not too long ago that Kuminga could be a “fallback” trade option for the Heat should they miss out on the likes of forward Kevin Durant and big man Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Kuminga is certainly the most unproven name on this list, but the sky seems to be the limit for him, and he would seemingly fit Miami’s long-term future well. He’s a spring chicken at just 22 years old.
DeMar DeRozan
Contract status: under contract through 2026-27 season
Per Sacramento Kings reporter James Ham, the Heat are interested in trading for DeRozan as they look to fill the hole left by forward Jimmy Butler’s departure from a scoring standpoint. Butler served as an effective primary scoring option for much of his time with the Heat, particularly when the playoffs rolled around.
DeRozan seemingly is well-equipped as almost any player in the league to step in and fill Butler’s role as the definitive top scoring option, as he’s one of the more prolific scorers of his generation.
He has scored more than 25,000 points in the best basketball league in the world and can still score the ball with the best of them at the age of 35. He averaged 22.2 points per game with the Kings in the 2024-25 regular season.
DeRozan likely wouldn’t be a long-term face of the franchise in Miami because of his age, but he could be a great stopgap option to keep the team competitive in the 2025-26 season. He’s on quite the affordable contract for his level of production as well, as he will get paid just over $50 million combined across the final two seasons of his deal.
Giannis Antetokounmpo
Contract status: under contract through 2026-27 season, player option for 2027-28 season
Antetokounmpo is clearly the best player on this list, and he might be the top player in the entire NBA. For as great an offensive talent as the Greek native is (he averaged 30.4 points and 6.5 assists per game in the 2024-25 regular season), there is potentially equal appeal to trading for him for the formidable defensive frontcourt he’d form with Heat big man Bam Adebayo.
Furthermore, the elite two-way player is the only player on this list who’s definitively proven that he can be the best player on a championship team. He spearheaded a Milwaukee Bucks team that won the 2021 NBA title, and he won the Finals MVP award after he averaged 35.2 points, 13.2 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 1.8 blocks per game against the Phoenix Suns in the championship series.
But one obstacle the Heat are facing in any pursuit of Antetokounmpo is that the Bucks do not seem willing to part ways with him at this time. ESPN’s Brian Windhorst indicated recently that Milwaukee isn’t actively looking to move the nine-time All-Star.
It would likely take a king’s ransom to trade for a player of Antetokounmpo’s caliber if the Bucks do change their mind and make him available. The Heat should be willing to give up anyone except Adebayo to make a trade happen if the opportunity presents itself.
Kevin Durant
Contract status: under contract through 2025-26 season
It’s possible that Durant is the most realistic star trade target for the Heat among the names mentioned, as he seems to be on his way out with the Suns after they massively underperformed in the 2024-25 campaign and missed the playoffs.
Reading the tea leaves suggests that the Heat have the assets needed to assemble a package for Durant that would appease the Suns. According to NBA insider Jake Fischer, Miami’s offer for Durant could end up being the “most enticing” from the Suns’ side of the coin.
Durant is well on the other side of 30 at this point in time, though, and like DeRozan, there are question marks about his long-term fit with the Heat. He likely only has so many great seasons of basketball left in the tank, but he hasn’t shown signs of major decline just yet.
He averaged 26.6 points per game while shooting 52.7 percent from the field and 43.0 percent from 3-point range with the Suns in 62 games played this season.
All in all, Durant, DeRozan, Kuminga and Antetokounmpo are four very different players with contrasting skill sets, but acquiring any one of the four players would give the Heat a great scorer that they so desperately need.