By Kevin Perez 

Yesterday afternoon, Miami Heat and Oklahoma City Thunder finalized a trade that would send veteran forward Trevor Ariza to Miami in exchange for Meyers Leonard and a 2027 second-round pick.

Given the circumstances, Miami can dump Leonard’s contract while receiving a solid veteran who will play the power forward role — a good move for the team. 

The Miami Heat had re-signed Meyers Leonard to a 2 year $20M contract which included a no-trade clause back in November. Leonard eventually waived the no-trade clause, facilitating a deal and appeasing Ariza to the Heat. 

Leonard had only played in two games this season for the Heat averaging 3.3 PPG, 2.3 REB, and 0.7 AST. He had also undergone a successful surgery last month, sidelining him for the remainder of this season. And, just a week ago, the NBA player was caught using an Anti-Semitic slur while streaming, leading to a $50,000 fine and as well as a suspension from team activities for one week.

With these events, it seemed likely that Miami was going to try and move on from Meyers — and they did. In return, they receive a veteran forward who can provide solid minutes for the team. 

“Leonard will not be reporting to Oklahoma City and will not be an active member of the organization,” The Thunder announced yesterday in a news release.

“Ariza was originally acquired by the Thunder as part of a three-team trade on Nov. 27, 2020. Oklahoma City will have one year from today to exercise the trade exception,” they continued. 

The last time Trevor Ariza played was last season with the Portland Trailblazers. He had opted out of the NBA bubble in Orlando last year due to the pandemic. In his 21 games played with Portland, the player averaged 11.0 PPG, 4.8 REB, 2.0 AST, and 1.6 STL off of 49% shooting from the field. Ariza also shot 40.0% from three and 87.2% from the line, proving him to be a good defender who can also shoot the ball and brings versatility on both ends of the floor.

Trevor Ariza might not be the only move the Heat might make. As the trade deadline approaches next Wednesday, March 25th, at 3:00 pm, Miami is rumored to be interested in multiple other players including Lamarcus Aldridge.

With Jimmy Butler rolling once again, the Miami Heat will be fixing up their roster in set for another deep-season run.