As the offseason winds down and I explore some of the different angles that come with it, I found it striking to see Precious Achiuwa, who was once one of the Raptors' young assets and at times seemed like a solid building block for the future, still sitting in free agency waiting for a team to pick him up.
I'd say that when Achiuwa jumped ship to Toronto, there was undoubtedly an expectation, or at least a hope, that he could have a successful Raptors tenure. Considering that arguably franchise GOAT Kyle Lowry was shipped off to Miami in a sign-and-trade, Achiuwa was positioned as the possible crown jewel in the deal.
In the end, the deal didn't quite meet the high expectations of both teams: Lowry experienced a decline in Miami, Toronto traded Goran Dragic in a notably poor trade with San Antonio, and Achiuwa never quite panned out despite the team's best efforts to develop him into a key piece.
And so, I found it quite ironic to see a new report about Precious Achiuwa’s free agency status, as the Sun Sentinel mentioned he has been in contact with the Miami Heat for a potential reunion. Longtime Heat reporter Ira Winderman notes that the power forward and center rotations in South Beach could still use some work, given storylines like the team’s abundance of unproven young talent and Bam Adebayo’s expressed desire not to play at the five spot.
Precious Achiuwa linked to possible Miami Heat return
Thus, the idea of bringing Achiuwa back to Miami is interesting. Winderman highlights him as "... one of the NBA’s leading offensive rebounders in recent years, but also has dealt with foul trouble." He also points out an important aspect of the Heat's roster and cap situation: "Although the Heat have an open spot on their standard roster, which is capped at 15 during the regular season, they currently lack room under the punitive NBA luxury tax to add a player even at the veteran minimum."
No deal in the NBA is ever certain, and when you consider the butterfly effects that can stem from particular trades or look back in hindsight, the outcomes can be quite ironic. In fact, I recently came across a similar situation involving Toronto. Malaki Branham, the player San Antonio acquired via Toronto in the Goran Dragic trade, was traded to Washington for Kelly Olynyk, who was a Raptors vet and had helped Toronto land Brandon Ingram back at the 2025 trade deadline.
Full circle is one way to describe the possible outcome of Precious Achiuwa simply finding his way back to South Beach since that Kyle Lowry sign-and-trade. Even though the Raptors' GOAT was nearing the end of his career, I’m sure some regret lingers for Toronto — perhaps they didn’t maximize more of his veteran leadership, which could’ve been incredible in the years to come with Scottie Barnes joining the fray. Alternatively, they might wish they had found a higher upside prospect or acquired some valuable draft capital instead.