Heat Notes: Richardson, CBA, Cain, Highsmith, More

Josh Richardson, who returned to the Heat as a free agent this summer after playing for the team from 2015-19, has been used exclusively as a point guard this fall, writes Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. While Richardson spent some time at the point during his first stint in Miami, he had morphed in recent years into more of a swingman who plays the two and three.

“First day of camp, [coaches said] I’m with the point guards and I’m like, ‘All right,'” Richardson said. “And every day since that, it’s, ‘I’m with the point guards. All right.'”

Richardson added that he doesn’t mind the move back to point guard, since serving as the primary ball-handler in the Heat’s system is “not too difficult.”

“It’s quick. Space and pace,” he said. “It’s not like I’m just walking down calling plays every time.”

Unfortunately, Richardson left Wednesday’s game early due to a foot injury, as Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald notes (via Twitter). The 30-year-old will be reevaluated on Thursday and the Heat will be hoping the injury is minor, given their relative lack of point guard depth.

Here’s more out of Miami:

• Jackson and Chiang of The Miami Herald take a closer look at how new rules in the Collective Bargaining Agreement affecting teams over the tax apron(s) will impact the Heat during the 2023/24 season and going forward. We recently covered how the trade rules will change for tax-apron teams after the season. As the Herald writes note, Miami also won’t be able to sign players on the buyout market this season if their pre-waiver salaries were greater than the mid-level exception ($12.4MM)
• While two-way player Jamal Cain was hoping to be part of the Heat’s standard roster by now, he remains confident in his ability and believes that promotion will happen sooner or later, according to Chiang. “It doesn’t change my work ethic. I feel like it amped my work ethic a little higher,” Cain said. “No frustration. I know I’m an NBA player. I know I can play at this level, so it’s just a matter of time.”
• Heat forward Haywood Highsmith scored a team-high 15 points in Wednesday’s preseason loss to Brooklyn and may be on his way to earning some of the rotation minutes that had been earmarked for Nikola Jovic, says Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel. “He just has great fortitude,” head coach Erik Spoelstra said of Highsmith. “He’s just been so consistent with his work.”
• Appearing on SiriusXM NBA Radio (Twitter video link), big man Bam Adebayo said that he wishes the Damian Lillard trade had been completed earlier in the offseason for the sake of the players involved in the final deal — as well as the Heat players rumored to be part of a potential package for Lillard. “Guys got kids, guys got families, guys need to know what’s about to happen,” Adebayo said. “Some people in that mix of what happened got that phone call and… it was like three or four days before camp. … That’s a lot to move in 72 hours.”