A report by Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer on Tuesday evening indicated that a deal to send Trevor Ariza to the Miami Heat was in the works. One day later and the Oklahoma City Thunder have reportedly figured out a deal that will send the veteran wing to South Beach.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the Heat will send embattled big man Meyers Leonard, who said an anti-Semitic slur on a Twitch stream last week, and a second-round Draft pick that will convey in 2027 to Oklahoma City in exchange for Ariza. The report was confirmed by Shams Charania of The Athletic.
ESPN Sources: Oklahoma City is finalizing a trade to send Trevor Ariza to the Miami Heat for Meyers Leonard and a 2027 second-round pick. Leonard must still waive his no-trade clause because of the one-year Bird restriction on his deal, which he’s expected to do for Miami.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) March 17, 2021
The Thunder have traded Trevor Ariza to the Miami Heat for Meyers Leonard and a draft pick, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. Leonard is signing his trade consent and the trade will go through.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) March 17, 2021
Both Wojnarowski and ESPN colleague Royce Young report that Leonard is not expected to suit up for the Thunder, with Young adding that the possibility exists that Oklahoma City absorbed his deal as a way to make the money work in this swap and that it’s possible he’ll be moved once more.
Once the trade is completed, there’s no expectation that Leonard would be a part of the Thunder moving forward. Deal is expected to be completed today. https://t.co/OXW3dyYiUZ
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) March 17, 2021
Meyers Leonard won’t be joining the Thunder. His contract was just the vehicle to making the deal work, and for OKC to extract a little value out of Ariza. Also, OKC may be able use Leonard’s contract again in a future deal before the deadline.
— Royce Young (@royceyoung) March 17, 2021
While Leonard’s future is up in the air and the Thunder were able to add another Draft pick to their gigantic war chest of assets, Ariza, who has not played this season due to personal matters, gives the Heat a potential three-and-D wing. It remains to be seen how he will look upon taking the floor, but this is a low-risk move for Miami, which is currently one of the hottest teams in the league. As a member of the Sacramento Kings and the Portland Trail Blazers last season, Ariza averaged eight points and 4.6 rebounds per game while connecting on 37.2 percent of his threes.
