By Luke Adams | at July 21, 2026 4:01 pm
With 12 players currently on standard contracts, the Heat will need to add at least two more players to their roster before opening night. And according to Barry Jackson and Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald, team president Pat Riley has indicated that “another real play-maker,” a three-point “marksman,” and a big man who can stretch the floor or protect the rim are priorities.
If LeBron James chooses to return to Miami, he’d fill the need for another play-maker, but if not, it’s unclear who the team might prioritize. DeMar DeRozan is viewed as a possible Plan B, but the Heat haven’t made any assurances to the veteran forward that they’ll pursue him if they don’t land James, a source tells The Miami Herald.
The Heat are known to be eyeing Klay Thompson, but there has been no sense yet that the Mavericks are willing to buy him out. Grizzlies wing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Hawks wing Buddy Hield are other potential shooters who could make sense for Miami, but the team would likely need either player to reach free agency. Bradley Beal, who is already free agent, is another option.
According to Jackson and Chiang, there has been some chatter about the possibility that Kevin Love would follow James to Miami if LeBron chooses the Heat. While the Herald duo says that scenario shouldn’t be ruled out, it’s also not something the front office has pursued so far.
Here are more notes and rumors on free agents from around the NBA:
Agent Rich Paulwarned on Monday that LeBron James “won’t be rushed” into making a decision on his next team, and it sounds like we’ll have to wait a little longer for that announcement. “I’ve been told from a source, ‘Nothing happening today,'” ESPN’s Dave McMenamin said during a Tuesday appearance on SportsCenter (Twitter video link).
While the Lakers haven’t ended their pursuit of Jonathan Kuminga, there’s still a gap between what sort of contract the free agent forward is seeking and what the team is prepared to offer, Lakers reporter Jovan Buha told Jason McIntyre during an episode of The Herd (Twitter video link). “My understanding was (the Lakers) could have cleared about $10MM in cap space to sign him to a two-year, $20MM deal and he was not interested in that,” Buha said. “I’ve heard that he’s been looking for closer to $20MM (per year). Doesn’t have to be exactly $20MM, but closer to that — north of $15MM.” Based on their current cap situation, the Lakers would need to do a sign-and-trade to acquire Kuminga, which would require the Hawks‘ cooperation.
Former NBA first-round pick and Thunder forward Aleksej Pokusevski is hitting the free agent market after having reached a mutual agreement to part ways with the Serbian team Partizan, reports Aris Barkas of Eurohoops. The 17th overall pick in the 2020 draft, Pokusevski spent four years in the NBA before signing with Partizan in 2024. He played a limited role in 27 EuroLeague games for the club last season, averaging 3.7 points and 2.1 rebounds in 12.1 minutes per night.
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