Miami Heat sharpshooter Duncan Robinson’s future is in flux amid some recent reporting from ESPN’s Shams Charania on Sunday.
“Miami Heat guard Duncan Robinson is declining his $20 million early termination option to become a free agent and will work with the franchise on a new deal to return, or he will move elsewhere, sources told ESPN on Sunday,” Charania wrote.
According to a new report, if Robinson moves on, fellow NBA sharpshooter Luke Kennard could be a potential replacement for Miami.
“If Duncan Robinson moves on, Luke Kennard would be a name I would watch as a replacement,” wrote Greg Sylvander of Five Reasons Sports via Discord.
Kennard is a free agent this offseason. He has had some stellar seasons as a shooter in the NBA, so he would make lots of sense for the Heat as a potential Robinson replacement.
In the 2024-25 season, Kennard shot 43.3 percent from deep on 4.0 attempts per game. In the season prior, he shot 45.0 percent from long range on 6.1 attempts per game.
He’s led the NBA in 3-point percentage on two different occasions in his career. The first time came in the 2021-22 season, when he shot 44.9 percent from deep, and the next time came in the following season, when he knocked down an unbelievable 49.4 percent of his triples.
Clearly, he knows how to play his role, but the Robinson era isn’t necessarily over for the Heat just yet. He could still return to the team that he began his career with and avoid changing uniforms for the first time in his NBA tenure.
Robinson has had his ups and downs during his Heat stint, but over the past two seasons, he shot 39.4 percent from long range, and he knows how to be an effective player in Miami’s system.
The 31-year-old, who originally went undrafted, has also been a part of some deep playoff runs with the Heat, including two trips to the NBA Finals.
His future is one of a few question marks for Miami this offseason, with the team ultimately trying to position itself for title contention either now or down the line. Following the departure of star forward Jimmy Butler during the 2024-25 season, the Heat are going to need to find a new way to become relevant again in the Eastern Conference moving forward.
Miami is still trying to win its first championship since its Big 3 era in the 2010s.