1:37pm: The move is official, the team announced.
1:14pm: The Heat plan to waive Henry Walker today, league sources tell Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter link). A reunion is nonetheless possible should he clear waivers, Charania adds. His salary is to become guaranteed if he remains under his existing contract through Saturday, as our schedule of salary guarantee dates shows. The move would be no surprise, as the forward’s release had been a matter of speculation. Miami has let Walker know that he’ll go on waivers, tweets Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald.
Walker first joined the Heat on a 10-day contract in February, later signing another 10-day deal before finally inking a deal that covered the rest of the season plus a non-guaranteed 2015/16 salary. He saw his first regular season NBA action since 2011/12 in his time with the Heat, averaging 7.3 points and 3.4 rebounds in 26.2 minutes per game with 34.1% three-point shooting across 24 appearances. The Mike Naiditch client made 13 starts, an uncommonly high number for a late-season pickup, yet it apparently wasn’t enough to ensure his place on the roster for this coming season.
The release of Walker would take Miami down to 14 players, leaving a spot for the team to sign shooting guard Josh Richardson, this year’s No. 40 overall pick, whom the Heat have been trying to clear room for. Miami only has to carry 13 players into the regular season, but the Heat are still reportedly trying to trade Mario Chalmers. Regardless, subtracting Walker would keep $100K from the Heat’s books, a number that would be multiplied many times over if the Heat don’t end up below the $84.74MM tax threshold by season’s end. Miami currently has about $89.2MM in guaranteed salary on its books.
Do you think that Walker will stick in the NBA this time? Leave a comment to let us know.
If he would have been a little more consistent with his 3 point shot, he probably would have had a chance to remain on the roster. He was useful otherwise. Hard nosed defender now. He always made those 3s at a higher clip, so if that does start happening again, he could be a helpful cheap option as a 3 and D wing for someone