Meyers Leonard is getting another chance at the NBA, nearly two years after he used an antisemitic slur while playing a video game that was being livestreamed.

FILE - Miami Heat forward Meyers Leonard, center, greets his teammates before an NBA basketball game against the Milwaukee Bucks, Tuesday, Dec. 29, 2020, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky, file)MIAMI – The Miami Heat have turned Meyers Leonard's contract into an opportunity to see if Trevor Ariza can help them for the rest of this season. AdThe Heat also said they wish Leonard and his wife Elle “the best of luck in the future.”“He's going to do everything that he possibly can to grow and get better from everything this week," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. Ariza has not played an NBA game since March 10, 2020, but the Heat clearly felt he was worth the low-risk gamble. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver fined Leonard $50,000 and barred him from being around the Heat for one week.

Trevor Ariza will bring experience, defense and 3-point shooting to the Miami Heat. MIAMI – Meyers Leonard’s time with the Miami Heat is over. The team has reached an agreement to trade the center to Oklahoma City in exchange for veteran forward Trevor Ariza, according to multiple reports. The Thunder are also expected to get a 2027 second-round draft pick from the Heat in the deal. Ariza has played over 1,000 NBA games in his career, averaging 10.5 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.5 steals.

FILE - Miami Heat forward Meyers Leonard, center, greets his teammates before an NBA basketball game against the Milwaukee Bucks, Tuesday, Dec. 29, 2020, in Miami. Leonard made an ethnic slur while streaming a video game, a comment that was quickly condemned by the NBA shortly after it learned of the matter Tuesday, March 9, 2021. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky, file)MIAMI – The NBA has fined Meyers Leonard $50,000, the maximum allowed by league policy, and suspended him from using all Miami Heat facilities and activities for one week in response to his use of an anti-Semitic term. Commissioner Adam Silver, in announcing those sanctions Thursday, also said that he believes Leonard “is genuinely remorseful” for using the slur. “Meyers Leonard’s comment was inexcusable and hurtful and such an offensive term has no place in the NBA or in our society,” Silver said.

MIAMI – Miami Heat center Meyers Leonard has been fined $50,000 after video of him making an anti-Semitic remark on a video game live stream went viral Tuesday. Leonard has also been suspended from taking part in any team activities for a week. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver added in a statement that “Meyers Leonard’s comment was inexcusable and hurtful and such an offensive term has no place in the NBA or in our society.”Leonard must also participate in a cultural diversity program. The $50,000 fine is the largest the league could levy under its collective bargaining agreement. ALSO SEEHaslem, Spoelstra, Iguodala address Meyers Leonard’s anti-Semitic commentsAdMeyers Leonard should be educated, not canceled, some Jews say

Meyers Leonard of the Miami Heat warms up before the game against the Washington Wizards at Capital One Arena on January 9, 2021 in Washington, DC. MIAMI – While Meyers Leonard is currently not allowed to be with his Heat teammates following Anti-Semitic remarks he made during a video game stream, the Heat were left to answer for Leonard. Udonis Haslem, Erik Spoelstra, and Andre Iguodala spoke to reporters. “It’s unfortunately with social media these days, things spread like wildfire,” Haslem said. Right is right and wrong is wrong.

PLANTATION, Fla. – Meyers Leonard’s use of an anti-Semitic slur on a video game live stream caused pain, but some in South Florida’s Jewish community don’t want to see the Miami Heat center canceled. They see an opportunity for him and others to learn from the incident. “It’s an opportunity not to eliminate this player, not to sweep the situation under the rug and pretend it never happened, but to give him an opportunity to learn. The 7-footer only appeared in three games for the Heat this season, averaging 3.3 points and 2.3 rebounds. The Heat are returning from the All-Star break and practice Wednesday before resuming the season Thursday night.

Meyers Leonard of the Miami Heat warms up before the game against the Washington Wizards at Capital One Arena on January 9, 2021 in Washington, DC. (2021 Getty Images)

FILE - Miami Heat forward Meyers Leonard, center, greets his teammates before an NBA basketball game against the Milwaukee Bucks, Tuesday, Dec. 29, 2020, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky, file)MIAMI – The Miami Heat said Tuesday night that Meyers Leonard will be away from the team indefinitely, sharply criticizing his use of an anti-Semitic slur while playing a video game that was being livestreamed. “The Miami Heat vehemently condemns the use of any form of hate speech,” the team statement said. “The words used by Meyers Leonard were wrong and we will not tolerate hateful language from anyone associated with our franchise. To hear it from a Miami Heat player is especially disappointing and hurtful to all those who work here, as well as the larger South Florida, Miami Heat and NBA communities.”The team also said it will cooperate with the NBA's investigation.

In this Dec. 14, 2019, file photo, Miami Heat center Meyers Leonard dunks during the first half of a game in Dallas. MIAMI – The Miami Heat announced that center Meyers Leonard will be away from the team indefinitely following his use of an anti-Semitic slur. The NBA is investigating video that emerged online showing Leonard using the offensive term during the live stream of a video game. The Heat released a statement Tuesday evening that read:“The Miami Heat vehemently condemn the use of any form of hate speech. pic.twitter.com/UkXRsi81po — Will Manso (@WillManso) March 10, 2021Leonard had tweeted Monday night about his “passion” for streaming video game play on Twitch.

(AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)DALLAS – Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban relented Wednesday and the national anthem will be played before home games this season after the NBA reiterated its “longstanding league policy” to include the song. “With NBA teams now in the process of welcoming fans back into their arenas, all teams will play the national anthem in keeping with longstanding league policy,” the league said. It's been quite a day.”The Mavericks released a statement from Cuban while acknowledging the club would return to playing the anthem. “We have no problem playing the national anthem at all,” Cuban said. “I stand for the national anthem.

Washington Wizards forward Troy Brown Jr., left, loses control of the ball as Miami Heat guard Avery Bradley (11) defends during the first half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2021, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)MIAMI – Miami guard Avery Bradley went nearly two weeks without seeing his wife and children after testing positive for COVID-19, a brutally hard part of his ordeal with the illness. And I’m happy that it’s all over.”Bradley catching the virus was part of a challenging time for the Heat. “It’s really frustrating,” Bradley said. The Heat start a seven-game road trip in Houston on Thursday; Bradley isn’t expected to travel because of his injury.

Meyers Leonard of the Miami Heat warms up before the game against the Washington Wizards at Capital One Arena on January 9, 2021 in Washington, DC. MIAMI – Miami Heat center Meyers Leonard could be missing some serious time. Miami Heat center Meyers Leonard will undergo season-ending shoulder surgery, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. Last season Leonard played a consistent role the Heat marched all the way to the NBA finals, averaging over 20 minutes in his 51 games played. The Heat’s next games are a pair of matchups against the Washington Wizards at American Airlines Arena on Wednesday and Friday.

Miami Heat players Udonis Haslem, left, talks to Jimmy Butler during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Denver Nuggets, Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2021, in Miami. The Miami Heat aren’t believing that quite yet — even after a disastrous start to the 2020-21 campaign. “Heat Nation, we are going to figure this out,” All-Star center Bam Adebayo said. AdThe year after losing the finals has not been kind to the most recent teams who have dropped the title series. Tyler Herro missed seven games with neck spasms.

(AP Photo/Adam Hunger)NEW YORK – James Harden and Kevin Durant each scored 20 points despite three relatively quiet quarters, and the Brooklyn Nets broke away with a big run in the fourth to beat the Miami Heat 98-85 on Monday night. Kyrie Irving added 16 points for the Nets, who completed a sweep of the Heat in two games that couldn't have been more different. Bam Adebayo had 26 points, 10 rebounds and five assists in a strong follow-up to his career-high 41 points Saturday. Miami took a 45-41 edge into halftime, going just 4 for 19 on 3s but doubling the Nets' makes after they went 2 for 17. Nets: Durant missed his first six 3-point attempts before sinking one in the third quarter.

It’s official: The NBA is coming back Dec. 22. Teams will play a 72-game schedule, which will be revealed in the coming weeks. “December 22nd can’t come soon enough," two-time reigning NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks tweeted Tuesday. It'll be much tougher to avoid a COVID-related issue with the league back to some sort of normalcy this season. The NBA shut down because of the coronavirus pandemic on March 11, then took 22 of its 30 teams to Disney to resume the season in July.

The NBA Finals are halfway to a coronation. And the last time the Lakers’ franchise has wasted a 2-0 lead was in the 1969 finals against Boston. The Heat have rallied from a 2-0 series hole only once in eight previous tries, that one being the 2006 NBA Finals. ... James, in his 10th NBA Finals, has a 2-0 lead in the title series for the first time. YOUNGEST STARTERHerro, at 20 years, 256 days, became the youngest player to start an NBA Finals game.

Los Angeles Lakers' LeBron James (23), left, takes the ball as Miami Heat's Bam Adebayo (13) winces during Game 1 of basketball's NBA Finals Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2020, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. Adebayo had to leave the game with a left shoulder strain. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – Bam Adebayo and Goran Dragic were both ruled out of Game 2 of the NBA Finals on Friday with injury, leaving the Miami Heat down two starters for their matchup with the Los Angeles Lakers. Adebayo is dealing with issues with his left shoulder and the left side of his neck. Dragic tore his left plantar fascia in Game 1. There has been no final determination for the availability of Adebayo and Dragic for Game 3 of the series on Sunday night.

The Heat outscored Milwaukee 40-13 in the fourth quarter the biggest such final-quarter margin in NBA playoff history to take a 3-0 series lead. Adebayo had 20 points and 16 rebounds, and Jae Crowder had 17 points to help the Heat improve to 7-0 in this postseason. Butler had 17 of his points in the fourth, and the Heat pulled off their biggest fourth-quarter playoff comeback ever. Butler had the next nine Miami points as the Heat went back on top, and he set Adebayo up for a short basket with 4:20 remaining to restore a 100-99 lead. ...GIANNIS 1KA dunk in the fourth quarter gave Antetokounmpo 19 points on the night and 1,000 in his 42-game playoff career.

Portland finished eighth in the West, Memphis was ninth, and the Grizzlies needed to sweep a two-game matchup to advance. They had a chance, up eight in the final quarter, before Portland did what Portland does in the bubble find a way at the end. The Grizzlies' 42-point third quarter matched the second-highest scoring period of the season for Memphis and was the second-highest scoring third quarter in franchise history. LOOKING AHEADThe Lakers went 2-1 against the Blazers this season, with the road team winning all three games. Anthony Davis (32.0 ppg) and LeBron James (24.7 ppg) led the Lakers; Lillard (36.0 ppg) and Whiteside (22.0 ppg) led the Blazers.

Kelly Olynyk scored all of his 20 points in the fourth quarter for the Heat, who shot 56% from the field. But we started playing a lot harder in the second.Nikola Jokic and Jerami Grant each scored 19 points for Denver. ... F Jae Crowder made his second start of the season. Nuggets: The 1 p.m. Eastern start time -- 11 a.m. in Denver -- was the Nuggets second earliest of the season. Nuggets: Play the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday.

FILE - In this March 3, 2020, file photo, Los Angeles Lakers forward Anthony Davis celebrates after scoring during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Philadelphia 76ers, in Los Angeles. Jusuf Nurkic is back and healthy. So are Zach Collins, Meyers Leonard, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Anthony Davis and plenty of others. If the four-month NBA shutdown had a silver lining, its that a lot of ailing players got well. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill, File)

Cars drive under a sign greeting visitors near the entrance to Walt Disney World, Thursday, July 2, 2020, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. Despite a huge surge of Floridians testing positive for the new coronavirus in recent weeks, Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom, two of Disney World's four parks are reopening Saturday, July 11. He had just walked off the court after the first Orlando Magic practice of the restart, and some of his teammates remained on the floor while engaged in a loud and enthusiastic shooting contest. We all missed it.The last eight teams were coming in Thursday, the Los Angeles Lakers and Philadelphia 76ers among them. I really think the NBA did the best they could to know make this as good as they can for us.

MIAMI Heat big man Meyers Leonard spoke to reporters on Monday about the upcoming NBA bubble. Leonard said, Theres going to be bumps along the way. He also credited the Heat with giving him a consistent role on the team, something he says, he did not have in Portland. Leonard said, I dont mind being whatever you want to call me, the glue guy, the role guy, I dont care. I dont care about anything.

If the four-month NBA shutdown had a silver lining, its that a lot of ailing players got well. Thats when he realized a bright side of the NBAs coronavirus shutdown. And its hard to say good things came from it.Fact is, though, some good things have emerged on the injury fronts. After 60 or 65 games, most players were likely dealing with some sort of aches-and-pains issue anyway. I feel 100% healthy.

MIAMI – Jimmy Butler remains out for the Miami Heat. He is not travelling with the team to Cleveland, citing personal reasons. Butler was not at the Heat’s celebration for Dwyane Wade on Friday night and did not play in Saturday’s win over Cleveland. Tyler Herro and Meyers Leonard are also not travelling with the team. Herro has a foot injury, Leonard has an ankle injury.

MIAMI – Meyers Leonard will not get a return trip to Portland this season. The Heat big man did not travel for the team’s West Coast trip after rolling his ankle. Missing out on the Portland game is particularly difficult for Leonard, who is a former Trail Blazer. Leonard tweeted: “2 thoughts. To everyone that’s always believed.”The hobbled Heat will be getting some reinforcements on Sunday night.

MIAMI – James Johnson scored on his first possession in more than a month. Tyler Herro scored 11 points for Miami, as did Meyers Leonard in his first game against his former team. Former Heat center Hassan Whiteside, booed almost every time he touched the ball, finished with 21 points and 18 rebounds for Portland. Portland played without the services of CJ McCollum for the first time this season; he was out with an upper-respiratory infection. ... Johnson played for the first time since Nov. 27 and for just the second time at home all season.

The Houston Rockets are incredibly talented. Jimmy Butler scored 18 points and had nine assists for the Heat, and James Johnson scored 17 in his season debut. The Heat had 38 assists to Houston's 19, and the Rockets were just 14 of 48 from 3-point range. "We're not in trouble," Rockets coach Mike D'Antoni said after his team fell to 3-3. It was a record-setting opening quarter for the Heat - resulting in the third-biggest lead after 12 minutes in the NBA's shot-clock era, starting with the 1954-55 season.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Jimmy Butler has started a trend at Heat training camp. Butler said this week that he woke up for practice at 3:30 a.m.Meyers Leonard took a cue from Butler. Leonard said Thursday that he woke up at 3:10 a.m. to be part of the Heat's new culture. Leonard said, "When i catch wind of 'while you're in your cute little dream that I'm working at 3:30' that doesn't sit well with me. I'm ready to get better."

Getty ImagesMIAMI - Miami Heat fans can breathe easy: Jimmy Butler is on his way to Miami. After an initial three-team trade fell apart, the Heat completed a four-team deal which will bring Butler to Miami. Final details are still coming in and full construction of the deal is still unknown, but Miami will send Josh Richardson to Philadelphia and Hassan Whiteside to Portland and a future first-round pick to the LA Clippers. Miami will receive Butler and Portland big man Meyers Leonard. Copyright 2019 by WPLG Local10.com - All rights reserved.

Getty ImagesMIAMI - The Miami Heat aren't waiting for the proposed Jimmy Butler deal to be completed before working on other moves. ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reports the Heat have agreed on a trade that will send center Hassan Whiteside to the Portland Trail Blazers in exchange for Mo Harkless and Meyers Leonard. Whiteside opted-in to his $27.1 million player option for next season last week, but he has long been rumored to want a trade after his playing time decreased with the Heat. Whiteside averaged 12.3 points and 11.3 rebounds in 72 games last season. Also drafted in 2012, Harkless averaged 7.7 points during the regular season along with 4.5 rebounds per game.