Heat adds Trevor Ariza and trades Meyers Leonard, pick to Thunder. A breakdown of the deal
With one roster move, the surging Miami Heat added more experience and wing depth to its mix.
The Heat finalized a trade Wednesday with the Oklahoma City Thunder to acquire veteran forward Trevor Ariza in exchange for Meyers Leonard and a 2027 second-round pick. Ariza has been participating in the NBA’s COVID-19 testing protocols in advance of the trade, and the hope is he’ll be available to make his Heat debut in either Friday night’s game against the Indiana Pacers or Sunday afternoon’s game against the Pacers at AmericanAirlines Arena.
Leonard, who has the right to veto any trade he’s a part of this season because of the structure of his contract, approved the deal as he continues to recover from season-ending shoulder surgery. The Thunder said Leonard “will not be reporting to Oklahoma City and will not be an active member of the organization.”
By trading Leonard, the Heat loses the $4.7 million disabled player exception it was granted for his season-ending injury. But Miami still holds its $7.6 million trade exception, which expires Monday in advance of the NBA’s March 25 trade deadline and allows the Heat to trade for a player whose salary fits into the exception without having to send back salary.
The acquisition of Ariza, who was born in Miami and has been working out in South Florida recently, adds another experienced and accomplished wing player to the Heat’s roster. Ariza turns 36 on June 30.
“He’s a guy that we’ve really respected and liked and thought that he would be a great fit in our organization, in our culture and the way we play for several years,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said of Ariza in advance of Wednesday night’s game against the Memphis Grizzlies at FedExForum. “It just hasn’t worked out that way and that’s because a lot of people have felt that way about him around the league. But I think it will be a good boost for us.”
Despite standing at 6-8 and just 215 pounds, Ariza fits the mold of the small-ball forward that Spoelstra likes to play alongside centers Bam Adebayo, Kelly Olynyk and Precious Achiuwa.
Ariza’s arrival will help bolster the Heat’s frontcourt depth, which has been lacking since forward Jae Crowder left to sign with the Phoenix Suns in free agency this past offseason. Miami signed forward Moe Harkless in free agency after losing Crowder, but Harkless has played in just 11 games and has spent most of the season outside of the rotation.
After cycling through different options alongside Adebayo at the start of the season, the Heat settled on a starting frontcourt of Adebayo and Olynyk, which has been effective.
Miami’s power rotation off the bench is not solidified, though, with veteran Andre Iguodala as the only consistent presence. Rookie center Precious Achiuwa was a fixture in the rotation to begin the season, but his role has shrunk over the past month and second-year forward KZ Okpala has received playing time instead recently.
The Heat’s hope is that Ariza will add another reliable and consistent option to its frontcourt rotation.
But Ariza has not played in an NBA game since March 10, 2020. He opted out of playing in the NBA’s Walt Disney World bubble last season as a member of the Portland Trail Blazers because of family reasons.
Ariza was traded three times in November and ended up with the Thunder, but he has spent the season away from the team.
In 53 games last season split between the Sacramento Kings and Trail Blazers, Ariza averaged eight points while shooting 37.2 percent from three-point range on 3.9 attempts per game, 4.6 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.3 steals. He was especially impressive after he was traded to the Trail Blazers in January 2020, averaging 11 points while shooting 40 percent on threes to go with 4.8 rebounds, two assists and 1.6 steals before he opted out of the NBA’s restart.
Ariza, who won an NBA championship with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2009, has shot 35.2 percent on threes during his NBA career and 35.5 percent on threes in his last three seasons. He also shot 55.6 percent on two-point shots and 83.8 percent from the foul line last season.
Ariza is also known as a plus-defender who’s usually used against the opponent’s best perimeter scorers. He limited players he defended to 42.7 percent shooting last season — 3.5 percent worse than those players’ combined shooting percentage for last season, according to NBA tracking stats.
The Heat is Ariza’s 10th different team in his 17 NBA seasons. He has played in 102 playoff games and made 90 playoff starts during his career.
Ariza is due $12.8 million on an expiring contract this season. With the Heat sending out Leonard’s $9.4 million salary to complete the deal, Miami is now about $5.4 million below the luxury-tax threshold and about $10.6 million below the hard cap.
The Heat also acquired a veteran coming off a long layoff from NBA action last season when it traded for Iguodala in February 2020.
“I know he has been really working behind the scenes to stay in shape,” Spoelstra said of Ariza. “In that regard, he’s in phenomenal [phsical shape] right now. He reminds me of where Andre was last year when we got him. So it will just be a matter of getting him in our gym, seeing where he’s at from a basketball standpoint, getting him ready and moving forward. But we’re excited about it. We think it’s a great fit for him and for us to be able to help us in our ultimate goal.”
This season’s trade marks the end of Leonard’s time with the Heat. Leonard, who played in just three games this season before injuring his shoulder in January, was in his second season with the organization.
Leonard, 29, averaged 6.1 points and 5.1 rebounds in 51 games (49 starts) last season with the Heat. He resigned with Miami in free agency this past offseason on a two-year deal topping $19 million, which includes a $10.2 million team option for next season.
But Leonard’s injury cut his year short, and he has been away from the Heat after a video surfaced last week of him using an anti-Semitic slur while livestreaming the playing of a video game. He apologized for the incident, and the league fined Leonard $50,000 and suspended him from team activities for one week.
“Meyers was a key part of our team that made a run to the NBA Finals and we will always be grateful for his contributions and leadership last season,” the Heat said in a statement. “His recent comments were very hurtful and disappointing, but, we are encouraged that he has spent this last week meeting with community leaders, Rabbis and Holocaust survivors to greater understand the impact of his words and we hope that his education will continue. We wish Meyers and Elle the best of luck in the future.”
Spoelstra added: “I know it has been a long week for him and I also know Meyers and know that he’s going to do everything he possibly can to grow and get better from everything this week. We appreciate his time with us. It was highlighted by some really good moments those first 50 games of the year [last season] as a starter for us. We wish him nothing but the best moving forward.”
By dealing Leonard, the Heat loses one of its biggest trade chips as a potential expiring salary worth around $10 million. Two other Heat players with salaries in Leonard’s range, Iguodala and Olynyk, are important parts of the rotation and are unlikely to be dealt in the next week unless a star becomes available.
The trade for Ariza keeps the Heat’s roster at the league maximum of 17 players (15 on standard contracts and two on two-way contracts). Miami now has three of the NBA’s 11 oldest players on its roster in 40-year-old Udonis Haslem, 37-year-old Iguodala and 35-year-old Ariza.
This story was originally published March 17, 2021 at 3:00 PM.
