The Heat have waived Jamaree Bouyea and Caleb Daniels in order to sign Jon Elmore and Cheick Diallo, the team announced in a press release. Elmore was immediately released to make room for RJ Hampton, who will take Bouyea’s two-way slot.
It’s probably not a coincidence that Miami had all these moves lined up to be finalized after the team didn’t trade for Damian Lillard. The longtime Trail Blazers star is surprisingly being sent to the Bucks in a three-team blockbuster.
A former first-round pick (24th overall in 2020), Hampton was sent to Orlando from Denver during his rookie season as part of the Aaron Gordon trade. Last fall, the Magic declined their fourth-year team option on the young guard, and his playing time was subsequently reduced.
Orlando wound up waiving Hampton after the February trade deadline and he caught on with the Pistons, but his two-year contract was only guaranteed for the remainder of 2022/23. Detroit released him in late June before his salary for ’23/24 became guaranteed, making him an unrestricted free agent.
Overall, Hampton averaged 6.4 PPG and 1.9 RPG on .430/.353/.750 shooting in 47 games (16.0 MPG) last season. He has appeared in a total of 162 games with the Nuggets, Magic and Pistons over his three NBA seasons.
Still just 22 years old, the Heat will take a flier on Hampton and see if they can turn him into a more consistent player. 2023/24 will be his final season of eligibility for a two-way contract. Hampton’s two-way deal will pay him $559,782 and will make him eligible to appear in up to 50 regular season contest.
As for Diallo, he signed an Exhibit 10 contract and will compete for a roster spot in training camp, reports Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel (via Twitter). A native of Mali, Diallo holds five years of NBA experience with the Pelicans, Suns and Pistons, appearing in 183 regular season games with career averages of 5.2 PPG and 4.1 RPG from 2016-22.
Last season, Diallo played in Japan and Puerto Rico. The 27-year-old big man was the 33rd overall pick back in 2016.
As previously mentioned, Bouyea was on a two-way deal. It’s possible that he received a $75K partial guarantee as part of his contract — that’s the maximum protection a two-way player can have in ’23/24. Either way, that figure won’t count against the Heat’s salary cap. The 6’2″ point guard appeared in five NBA games as a rookie last season with Miami and Washington, both on 10-day deals.
Daniels and Elmore also received Exhibit 10 contracts, Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald confirms, which will make them each eligible for a bonus worth up to $75K if they spend at least 60 days with Miami’s NBA G League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce. Elmore, who holds some international experience, was a rotation regular for the Skyforce last season. Daniels, meanwhile, went undrafted out of Villanova in June.
As our tracker shows, Miami’s roster remains at the offseason maximum of 21 players under contract, with 12 players on guaranteed standard deals and all three two-way slots filled.
Pat Riley played hard ball and lost…
Good times…
Rofl how? By not wasting all their assets on a guard they don’t need? Also, they got the same deal the Heat were offering minus a pick or 2 for the Jrue-Lowry difference. I don’t get this sentiment at all
“A guard they don’t need” is a ludicrous statement, bordering on homerism.
-It’s one thing to argue Lillard might not be the best fit, or overpaid, or not the best use of assets. But to suggest they couldn’t use him is crazy. Even with his defensive shortcomings, you cannot possibly look at the Heat roster and say “They don’t need this guy”.
-“A pick or two”, when we’re talking about firsts, isn’t a small difference in and of itself. But when you layer unprotected firsts/pick swaps from a franchise like the Bucks versus the Heat, the former of which struggles to attract talent and which had been bad for decades prior to Giannis’s arrival, it makes a rather significant difference, particularly with this all-in move. The Blazers also get a guy like Ayton who they coveted, would be a better fit for their future, and who arguably has more upside than Herro, assuming he’s more motivated by a larger offensive role and different usage in Portland. No disrespect to Herro who I like and, frankly, think is viewed too harshly around the league, but this type of deal checks off all the boxes you could reasonably want, including getting rid of contracts they were already looking to move (ie, Nurkic).
Pat Riley made the right move. Lillard would have been a good pickup for this year, but hurt them down the road. Now they are in prime position to get Giannis.
Bucks on the other hand are in trouble after this year. They are going to be paying $120m to Lillard, Middleton and Portis alone.
Your comments continue to blow K,Lillard at 40 will still be capable of dropping 35 in his sleep. The bucks made their superstar happy. Giannis wont be going anywhere.
Haha, Giannis don’t even want Lillard. Now he got to make up for his defense while Lillard chucks up half court shots.
Lillard got two years left. I already laid out the math. Obviously that’s above your head. Wtf Bucks gonna do with old ass Lillard and Middleton in two years? Haha, this the beginning of the end. Miami gonna bounce them out the playoffs just like last year.
Bouyea is good tho…. Weird move
Agree on Bouyea. Some can’t get over his height. But he has more potential than any of the other guys that were part of these two-way manipulations.
He’s a great defender, and I thought he could take the Vincent role next year or at least be the backup, but I guess back to Sioux Falls.
Maybe Heat Culture can get to RJ. 22 yrs old. He should take full advantage of this opportunity…..
I could see Hampton taking Alondes Williams training camp spot, after Audige signed with Washington, but I would prefer multiple other options in the 2 way slot, if Bouyea was potentially replaced
Not sure why they felt the need for Diallo. They have enough bigs
I get wanting to keep Elmore with the Skyforce though
I can see RJ being the next Caleb Martin type progression and Diallo… meh depth peice
Not trying to dump fans superstar Herro + the okc pick protection make you a borderline play in team again while Bucks or a title contender …
Miami is exactly what RJ needs. He will be better than Strus and Vincent combined.
Hampton can become somewhat of an Oubre player with handles…