THURSDAY, 2:21pm: The deal is official, the Heat announced.
TUESDAY, 9:01am: The Heat and undrafted small forward Greg Whittington have reached agreement on a one-year, non-guaranteed deal, reports Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter link). The 22-year-old from Georgetown had three partially guaranteed offers from NBA teams last month, as Charania reported then, so it’s surprising to see him take one without a guarantee, even though he played for Miami’s summer league squad. Still, the Heat seem to offer him a decent shot at the regular season roster, since they have only 13 fully guaranteed deals.
Whittington was a longshot for the draft, as Chad Ford of ESPN.com ranked him as only the 108th-best prospect. He nonetheless looked sharp during the Las Vegas summer league, averaging 13.0 points and 8.2 rebounds in 30.3 minutes per contest while nailing eight of 17 three-pointers in five appearances after a so-so four-game stint for the Heat in the Orlando summer league. He had seen limited action since an ACL injury to his left knee during the summer of 2013. Academic trouble clouded his time at Georgetown, and after his dismissal from the school, he joined the Westchester Knicks, though he never appeared in a game.
Tyler Johnson would appear to have the inside track on the 14th regular season roster spot for Miami, since he has a partial guarantee worth half of his minimum salary, but James Ennis, Keith Benson and Corey Hawkins all have non-guaranteed pacts. So, Whittington will ostensibly compete with that trio to make it to opening night.
Going into camp, who do you think is the favorite for the Heat’s last regular season roster spot? Leave a comment to let us know.
James Ennis is, and should be the favorite for that last spot (assuming the heat don’t move any of Rio, McRoberts, or Birdman).
That being said, I like this news. Greg Whittington was impressive in summer league, and seems like a potential versatile option, with length and athleticism. He played good defense, and knocked down shots too, which is definitely a need for the Heat, and most other teams. I have been wondering for a while about what was happening with him, and it’s good to hear that he’ll be in camp with the Heat. Assuming that there is only 1 roster spot available, and it’s likely for Ennis, hopefully we can sneak him into our D-league roster at the end of training camp. If the Heat find takers for Rio and McRoberts, I would think Whittington would get 1 of those spots, as we could use more depth on the wing
Yeah, he was really impressive for the Heat in Vegas. That’s a small sample size, but it looks like it was enough for the Heat to at least take a look at him in camp.
I had heard during summer league that they liked him. He plays both ends of the floor. Tyler Johnson, Josh Richardson, James Ennis, Justise Winslow, and Whittington would give the Heat some real youth, athleticism, and versatility in the backcourt/on the wing, and they would all be cost controlled (for the most part).