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Miami Heat Rumored as Landing Spot for NBA All-Star Jazz Scorer

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Dean Simon | Last updated Jun 4, 2025 6:54 PM ET

The Miami Heat will be chasing star talent this offseason to hopefully return the franchise towards the top of the Eastern Conference standings.

Team president Pat Riley's goal of adding another superstar into the fray to pair with the Heat's young All-Star duo of Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo might be difficult, but the organization could emerge as a top destination for several enticing talents.

In fact, new proposals have indicated that the Heat may keep an eye on a specific forward from a lowly Western Conference squad.

According to Bleacher Report's Greg Swartz, Miami might throw caution to the wind by letting several favorable assets go in a deal with the Utah Jazz to acquire their 2023 Most Improved Player award winner.

"Trading Jimmy Butler left this roster desperate for another big-time scorer, something (Lauri) Markkanen proved he could be during the last three years in Utah," Swartz wrote Wednesday.

Swartz continued by noting the incredible mix of lineup configurations that Miami Heat Erik Spoelstra could throw out with Markkanen hypothetically added to the roster.

"We could see a huge front line in Miami with Markkanen, Kel'el Ware and Bam Adebayo, giving this roster a good mixture of outside shooting and defensive versatility."

Markkanen's introduction could also provide the team with a desperately-needed source of shot-creation in exchange for Nikola Jovic, Duncan Robinson, Terry Rozier and two first-round draft picks.

"After averaging just 95.5 points per game in a first-round sweep, the Heat need an offensive boost that Markkanen would provide."

At just 28 years old, Markkanen has developed into one of the NBA's best and most unique offensive threats.

As a 7-foot-tall combo-forward, the Finnish star uses his combination of size, agility and shooting touch to attack from all areas of the floor.

In just 47 appearances for the Jazz this season, Markkanen only contributed 19.0 points and shot 34.6% from deep.

This is surely a far cry from his 2022-23 campaign, when he averaged a whopping 25.6 points and 8.6 rebounds while knocking down 39.1% of his looks from distance.

While his output in 2024-25 may not have been spectacular, he can easily turn things around if given the chance to share the floor with Herro and Adebayo in 2025-26 and beyond.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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