2:49pm: The signing is official, the team tweets.
2:04pm: Jamal Cain is signing his qualifying offer and returning to the Heat on a two-way contract, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets.
Cain was searching for a standard deal, which Miami had been reluctant to offer. Cain didn’t have a lot of leverage as a restricted free agent, as Miami had the right to match any offer.
The deadline to rescind the two-way offer passed in July, so Cain had the opportunity to accept the qualifying offer at any time.
The 24-year-old power forward appeared in 18 NBA games as a two-way player last season. He averaged 5.4 points and 2.9 rebounds in 13.3 minutes in those appearances. He started 15 games for Miami’s G League affiliate in Sioux Falls, averaging 22.1 points, 9.1 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.3 steals per contest.
The Oakland (Mich.) University product, who also played for Marquette, fills the last of the Heat’s two-way slots. Guards Dru Smith and Jamaree Bouyea hold the other two-way slots.
If the Heat finally pull off a trade for Damian Lillard, spots on the 15-man roster could open up for Cain and the other two-way players.
Cain is good on offense. I can think of a couple teams that should have given him a standard contract to see if the Heat would give up on him. His defense, though. That’s a real concern.
I actually see it as the opposite. I see him as a slightly worse/maybe more raw for better phrasing/similar DJ Stewart Jr, and both as a not as good Derrick Jones jr
Active defensively at the 4/3, improving shooter, and may have some small sample abilities at smallball 5 if necessary, though would obviously prefer other options there
He looked absolutely exposed on D last season for the Heat. He was better in the G-League, but he got cooked in the NBA. It looked like every time he tried to contest a shot it went in.
Depends what lineups he was in and against who, but statistically, he was better than he was with the skyforce defensively b/c he played more out of position in the G-league as a wing…
I dont remember him struggling at all…his net rating and plus/minus numbers are good, and are in favor of what I’m saying about just having watched him. Maybe a little foul prone, but less than some others that have that issue
Miami was better in D without him (D-Rating was two points higher with him on the court, with similar numbers across all lineups he was a part of), and his contest numbers also look as bad as the eye test. Like, from every range opponents were better than league average when he was the closest defender. It’s a small sample, but he definitely did not look good from that angle. Good help defense and physicality, but his deficiencies in that regard were definitely masked by Miami’s #2 leaguewide defense.
Also, the reason is OBPM numbers are bad is because Miami’s offense as a whole was terrible last year, literally worst in the league. But looking at his lineup and matchup numbers, his offense played up. Similar trend with the Skyforce, though they were middle of the pack offensively.
I do sort of remember certain guys making some contested shots against him, but again, it depends on who those players were and what the situations were. The Heat defense is already great, so being worse with him on the floor isnt necessarily any indication, and I’m sure he was on the floor with guys like Orlando Robinson and Herro and Duncan more than Bam and Jimmy, and also was mostly inserted for 2.5 minutes to end games, more than having a real rotation spot, outside of a handful of games he got opportunities in
Like I said, I prefer DJ Stewart jr, and Justin Champagnie, but I still think he is a useful option for a team that has had nothing at that spot for years, and seemingly refuses to sign certain minimum FAs
Nice. I was worried he would end up somewhere else b/c I thought he should probably get 1 of the last 2 standard spots, unless they brought in 1 of a couple of options still remaining in FA, which I didn’t anticipate
To not only retain him, but also get Champagnie back is a really nice scenario I was hoping for at the end of last year, and didnt think would happen when the Celtics signed Champagnie, and also when the Heat used 1 of their last roster spots on an extra big I didnt think was necessary
Still salty about not being able to hold Audige though. Dont get why he isnt interested in staying around b/c I think the Heat need guys like him moving forward, whether they keep Herro or trade for Lillard. B/c finding guys at the 2/3 that can do some of that stuff is the hardest position in the league right now, in my opinion…they do have Richardson, Dru Smith, and obviously Caleb though, so that makes it a little easier to let that go for now
Still was hoping to somehow keep all of Cain, Smith, Peterson, and Audige, but that obviously isnt possible now. Getting Champagnie back helps in some ways though, even though it’s at a different position
I would guess Swider probably only stays if something happens with Duncan Robinson. Not sure he would get a spot even if they lose 1 or both of Jovic or Jacquez, but I could be wrong, and they could see him as a better current option as a spacer at the 4 than Peterson, who is a way better defender and can also play the 2/3 spots, but needs to work on his body