Heat Notes: Lowry, D. Robinson, Crowder, Oladipo

Kyle Lowry‘s second season with the Heat isn’t turning out the way he hoped, but the veteran guard doesn’t want to be anywhere else, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Lowry’s shooting percentages have declined since last season, and he’s been involved in fewer offensive possessions than at any time in the past 15 years.

Lowry has posted four single-digit scoring outings in the last two weeks and he hasn’t played at all in the fourth quarter of some close games. He has been mentioned in some recent trade talk, but the market appears limited for a 36-year-old guard with another year left on his contract at $29.7MM.

“I’ve been in trade rumors before,” Lowry said. “I have a very nice contract that can be moved. The organization believes in me and I’m glad to be here. “I want to stay. I enjoy this place. I picked this place. I feel we have a chance to always compete for a title. With Jimmy (Butler), Bam (Adebayo), Tyler (Herro) and (Erik Spoelstra) as a coach we always have an opportunity.”

There’s more on the Heat:

• Duncan Robinson, who’s recovering from finger surgery, and Nikola Jovic, who’s dealing with a back issue, are both nearing their dates for reevaluation, Chiang notes in a separate story. Both players remained in Miami for the current four-game road trip, along with Omer Yurtseven, who is weeks away from a return after ankle surgery. Spoelstra said he considered bringing Robinson along, but he can get more rehab work done at the team facility. “Duncan was really pushing to get on this trip,” Spoelstra said. “We thought about it, because the fellowship is important. But the work that he’s able to do in our facility consistently trumps that and I think it will speed up the process for them to get to that next step, most of all, which we all want.”
• Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald teams with Chiang to examine the Heat’s trade assets heading into next week’s deadline. A Western Conference source tells them that Miami still has interest in acquiring Jae Crowder from the Suns, but Phoenix hasn’t been impressed with its offers so far and other teams appear to be in better position to make a deal for Crowder. Robinson has been offered to the Suns, according to Jackson and Chiang, but Miami has shown “no inclination” to put Caleb Martin on the table for Crowder.
• Ira Winderman of the Sun-Sentinel also evaluates Miami’s trade potential and says the team faces a challenging decision on Victor Oladipo, who has outplayed his current $8.8MM salary and seems likely to turn down his $9.5MM player option for 2023/24.