Heat trying to land DeMar DeRozan?

The Heat, who are reportedly considered the frontrunners to land Kyle Lowry in free agency, might also be eyeing another longtime Raptors guard.

Multiple reporters and outlets, including Marc Stein, Five Reasons Sports and The Miami Herald (all four Twitter links), have suggested that the Heat are exploring ways to add free-agent guard DeMar DeRozan. Miami has pursued DeRozan multiple times over the years, even inquiring on him earlier this season, and the veteran holds the Heat in high regard, tweets Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald.

However, landing DeRozan won’t be easy, since Miami has no clear pathway to acquiring both Lowry and him via sign-and-trade.

There has been some speculation about the possibility of DeRozan taking a discount to play for the Lakers or Clippers — if he’s open to that idea, it would open the door for the Heat to make a similar path. However, Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report said on The Alex Kennedy Podcast that he’s not sure DeRozan – who earned $27 million this past season – would be willing to settle for the mid-level.

Here’s more on the Heat:

• The Heat tried to acquire Kelly Oubre at this year’s trade deadline and figure to be interested in him again as a free agent, tweets Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. However, Jackson views it as an unlikely match, since Oubre will likely want more than mid-level money.
• Jackson also names Rudy Gay as a free-agent forward who will receive interest from the Heat this week (Twitter link). Miami might look to re-sign Trevor Ariza too, Jackson adds.
• There’s optimism that Jimmy Butler and the Heat will be able to reach an agreement on a contract extension this offseason, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Butler’s maximum extension would be a four-year deal worth up to a projected $181 million.