Josh McRoberts has been informed that the Heat intend to keep him for the upcoming season, according to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. The agent for the veteran power forward told Jackson that Miami officials recently called McRoberts to review his offseason training program and prepare him for the start of camp next month.
McRoberts has been the subject of trade rumors since early last season when Miami was trying to clear cap space to escape luxury tax penalties. More recently, there has been talk that McRoberts might be moved to clear up a shortage of minutes in the front court with the possible return of Chris Bosh, the re-signing of Udonis Haslem, the trade for Luke Babbitt and the free agency additions of Derrick Williams, James Johnson and Willie Reed.
Injuries have limited McRoberts’ effectiveness since he signed with the Heat in 2014. He played just 17 games in 2014/15 and 42 last season, when he averaged 3.6 points and 2.5 rebounds in a reserve role. McRoberts is set to make nearly $5.8MM in 2016/17 and holds a player option for a little more than $6MM for the following season.
Jackson notes that the Heat will have to get rid of someone with a fully guaranteed contract if they want to keep Briante Weber, whom they added in April. Weber signed for $874,636 next season, but only $218,659 is guaranteed if he is waived before opening night. Miami has 11 recently signed players who cannot be traded before December 15th.