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Southeast Notes: Bitadze, Carter, Jovic, Love, Sarr

November 12th, 2024 at 1:34pm CST by Luke Adams

Magic center Goga Bitadze, who stepped up when Wendell Carter was injured and started 33 games last season, finds himself in a similar position this fall. With Carter on the shelf due to left foot plantar fasciitis, Bitadze has started the past four games for Orlando and has averaged a double-double (10.5 points, 10.5 rebounds) to go along with 3.0 assists and 1.8 blocks per night in those starts.

“He’s just steady,” head coach Jamahl Mosley said on Sunday, per Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel (subscription required). “He just stays ready the entire time. Doesn’t say a word when he’s asked to do something; he goes out and does it. He’s a great rim protector, does a great job in the pick and roll … He’s a facilitator on offense, getting guys in position in places on the floor. He just stays ready and that’s part of this team. We always talk about the next man up and guys are starting to step up into that role with other guys being out.”

As Beede writes, Bitadze was a free agent over the summer and potentially could’ve found a larger role and/or more money outside of Orlando, but he chose to stick with the Magic on a three-year, $25MM deal. The big man feels comfortable with the team that took a shot on him in February 2023, days after he was cut by Indiana.

“The guys (and) the coaching staff make it easy,” Bitadze said. “When you’re having joy every single practice, every single day with these guys, playing time is not that important, if you understand what I mean. It’s not that hard.”

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Carter is “doing well” and “slowly progressing” in his recovery from his foot ailment, according to Mosley, but the Magic center will miss his fifth consecutive game on Tuesday as Orlando faces Charlotte, tweets Beede.
Heat forward Nikola Jovic came off the bench for the first time this fall on Sunday in Minnesota, but ended up having his best game of the young season, helping Miami claim a one-point win with 15 points and seven rebounds. After the game, head coach Erik Spoelstra challenged Jovic to maintain that level going forward. “This is the standard now,” Spoelstra said, according to Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. “I don’t want to retreat, I don’t want to have to do things to get something out of players. He was very good tonight from the detail standpoint, the effort standpoint, rebounding, size, defending multiple efforts.”
Heat forward/center Kevin Love, who made his season debut on Sunday following an early-season absence due to a personal family matter, lauded the organization for giving him the time off he needed, Chiang writes for The Herald. “They were so amazing in supporting me, letting me have my time and allowing me to come back refreshed in my mind,” Love said. “… The support was unbelievable from my teammates, coaching staff, organization. … Now that I’m back, I’m just trying to add that freshness, that lightness to the locker room and hopefully help out there, as well.”
After making just 2-of-9 shots from the field on Monday, rookie big man Alex Sarr has a .330 FG% and a .186 3PT% for the season. That’s okay with the Wizards, who knew Sarr’s offense was well behind his defense and are prepared to be patient with the No. 2 overall pick, writes Varun Shankar of The Washington Post. “This is part of the maturation of going through this league,” head coach Brian Keefe said. “You have to see all these different types of matchups. I’ve coached a lot of great players in this league … and you have to go through the fire. And you learn by doing and being out there and seeing what it feels like.”

Heat Notes: Love, Jaquez, Third Quarters, Rotation, Larsson, Ware

November 5th, 2024 at 8:45pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Kevin Love won’t make his season debut on Wednesday. The veteran power forward has already been ruled out by the Heat for their road game in Phoenix due to “return to competition reconditioning,” the Miami Herald’s Anthony Chiang tweets.

Love recently returned to the team after missing the first few weeks due to personal reasons.

Jaime Jaquez Jr. will also miss Wednesday’s contest due to a stomach illness. Jaquez didn’t travel to Phoenix but is expected to rejoin the group at some point during the team’s six-game trip, Chiang adds in a separate tweet. Love did make the trip to Phoenix and is expected to make his season debut during the road swing.

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The team has a third-quarter problem and might need to tweak the lineup to fix it, according to the Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson. Replacing Nikola Jovic with Jaquez or Haywood Highsmith might be the simplest way to address the problem, according to Jackson, who notes that Miami has outscored opponents by 17 points in the first quarter, 25 points in the second quarter and 17 in the fourth but has been outscored by 52 in the third. The Heat are the NBA’s lowest-scoring team in the third quarter.
Despite the absences of Love and Jaquez on Monday, coach Erik Spoelstra went 11 deep into his bench during the first quarter alone, Chiang writes. Highsmith and rookie Pelle Larsson were the first two players off the bench, followed by Alec Burks, Thomas Bryant, Josh Richardson and Duncan Robinson.
Larsson continues to look like one of the steals of the draft. The No. 44 overall pick had 13 points, two rebounds and two assists in 25 minutes on Monday, Chiang adds. “He is a two way player,” Spoelstra said. “Even though he’s a rookie by NBA standards, he has a great deal of competitive experience. He’s savvy, has the toughness we like, can guard multiple positions.”
The Heat’s first-rounder, Kel’el Ware, has been forced to take a wait-and-see approach. He has only made two brief appearances off the bench. “I can’t control what the Coach does,” Ware told Chiang. “So whenever coach Spo decides to put me in, I’ll be ready.”

Heat Notes: Adebayo, Richardson, Lillard, Love, Robinson

November 3rd, 2024 at 8:43pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Bam Adebayo erupted offensively during the Heat‘s game against Washington in Mexico City on Saturday. Adebayo poured in 32 points after averaging only 11 points in the first four games. Adebayo said his teammates were determined to get him the ball, according to Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald.

“My teammates got me going from the jump,” Adebayo said. “We’re pros, man. Once we see the ball go in a couple times, it becomes like an ocean. Then you just get in a flow and you just get locked in, and it just feels like the ball is going to go in every time for you.”

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Josh Richardson played 16 minutes in his season debut on Saturday and didn’t score. Richardson, who has been battling shoulder, heel and calf injuries, had one assist and a rebound. “Great to be back out there. Lot of rust to knock off, but I’m grateful!” Richardson tweeted.
Could the Heat make another run at Damian Lillard, as they did in the summer of 2023? Ira Winderman of the Miami Herald believes that could happen if Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo requests a trade. Winderman also anticipates the price tag for Lillard would be reduced, compared to the package Portland was seeking last year, given the guard’s age and contract.
Kevin Love could make his season debut on Monday. The veteran forward is listed as available after missing the first five games due to personal reasons, Winderman tweets. Duncan Robinson, who missed the game in Mexico City for personal reasons, will also be available for Miami’s contest against Sacramento.

Heat Notes: Ware, Defense, Love, Little

October 26th, 2024 at 6:11pm CST by Arthur Hill

The positive vibes that the Heat generated by winning the Summer League title in Las Vegas have carried over into the start of the regular season, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. That Vegas team included first-round pick Kel’el Ware and second-round pick Pelle Larsson, along with two-way players Josh Christopher and Keshad Johnson, and coach Erik Spoelstra said they’ve provided youthful energy since the start of training camp.

“What they have shown as a collective group as young guys, they’ve brought us some talent level that we’ve been able to restock our roster,” Spoelstra said. “They’ve given us an exuberance. But they’ve also found a way as a group to win, to impact winning, to find a way to gut out wins. I don’t know what it is, I just know it’s something. I think probably what’s different about this group is it’s been a pack, a pack of wolves. That’s what’s different.”

Ware was one of the stars in Las Vegas, earning a spot on the All-Summer League First Team after being drafted with the 15th pick. However, the 20-year-old center doesn’t have a clear path to playing time in Miami with Bam Adebayo, Kevin Love and Thomas Bryant ahead of him on the depth chart. He played the final 6:15 of a blowout in the season opener and will miss tonight’s game in Charlotte due to an illness.

“He’s put almost 10 pounds on since he’s been with us and he’s embraced how we do things,” Spoelstra said. “That was one of the encouraging things once we dove into his background — that he’s not afraid to work, particularly at [Indiana University].”

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The Heat had two days off to recover from Wednesday’s 32-point loss to Orlando, Chiang adds in a separate story. Spoelstra concentrated on the need to become more aggressive defensively to create open-court opportunities. Chiang notes that Miami led the NBA during the preseason by forcing turnovers on 21.7% of possessions, but only managed five steals and nine deflections against the Magic. “You want them to feel you,” Spoelstra said. “It’s not necessarily going to be the metrics or steals or deflections every single time. It’s more about doing tough things, being physical, getting teams out of what they typically want to do at every point of attack that we’re there, and that wasn’t the case.”
Love will miss his second straight game tonight for personal reasons, according to Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press (Twitter link).
Nassir Little, who was with the Heat in training camp on a non-guaranteed contract before being waived last Saturday, will join the team’s G League affiliate in Sioux Falls, tweets Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. The 24-year-old forward spent last season with Phoenix after four years in Portland.

Heat Notes: Larsson, Herro, Jaquez, Bam, Backup Centers

October 11th, 2024 at 4:40pm CST by Rory Maher

Former Arizona wing Pelle Larsson, who received a standard contract from the Heat after being selected No. 44 overall in June’s draft, has made a strong impression on his new club ahead of his rookie season, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. The 23-year-old recorded 10 points (on 4-of-5 shooting), two assists and a steal in 16 minutes of action during Tuesday’s preseason opener in Charlotte.

“He’s as advertised,” head coach Erik Spoelstra said of Larsson. “I think that’s what is so interesting about the draft process for all the different teams. Each team has their own philosophy, each team values different things. He’s an elite role player. If you mention that to some organizations, they probably think that that’s horrible. I think it fits absolutely with our style of play, our culture, how we view players and how they impact winning.

“He knows how to defend multiple positions, he brings you physicality on that side of the floor. Offensively, he moves very well without the ball, so he could be a connector with whatever unit he plays. And also, he’s been really working diligently on his shooting.”

As Chiang notes, Larsson may not receive consistent rotation minutes when the roster is fully healthy, but he’s doing his best to make it a difficult decision for Spoelstra.

“Just that I can make winning plays,” Larsson said when asked what he wants to prove this preseason. “They’re not going to put anyone out there who doesn’t show that. That’s the first thing they look for. And then if you can knock down open shots, they’ll be really happy. But the main thing is making winning plays — on the ball and off the ball. As a cutter, as a passer, whatever it is, just stack up winning plays.”

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Tyler Herro (right groin strain) and Jaime Jaquez (left groin strain) were both able to practice on Friday and could make their preseason debuts on Sunday vs. New Orleans, Chiang writes in another story for The Miami Herald. Spoelstra previously said the injuries were considered relatively minor, and a little bit of rest seems to have gone a long way.
Three-time All-Star Bam Adebayo, who won his second Olympic gold medal over the summer with Team USA, appears committed to expanding his offensive repertoire, according to Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel (subscription required). Adebayo went 5-of-9 from the field in 17 minutes on Tuesday, recording 13 points. Notably, he went 2-of-5 from long distance. Adebayo attempted a career-high 42 three-pointers in 71 games last season, converting 15 (35.7%). He should easily set new career bests in makes and attempts if he continues to feel confident from beyond the arc.
In a mailbag column, Winderman says he expects Kevin Love to open the season as the primary backup center behind Adebayo, leaving rookie Kel’el Ware and veteran Thomas Bryant on the outside looking in for rotation minutes. Winderman believes Miami will run various small-ball lineups as well due to the team’s wing depth, which could further limit the opportunities for frontcourt players.

Heat Notes: Bryant, Love, Little, Smith, Quinn

October 3rd, 2024 at 7:13pm CST by Tristan Tucker

The Heat invested in the backup center position this offseason, committing two years to 36-year-old Kevin Love and bringing back free agent big man Thomas Bryant despite already having signed Love and drafting Kel’el Ware 15th overall.

Bryant’s decision in particular came under a microscope, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald writes, as it was assumed that he was asked to opt out of his previous contract that would have paid him $2.8MM with a promise that he could come back on a new minimum deal if no other offers materialized elsewhere.

Bryant will receive a similar salary on his new deal (approximately $2.8MM), but it actually saved the Heat $700K, Jackson explains. Salaries on one-year contracts count at the two-year minimum of $2.1MM for cap purposes. If he had simply picked up his player option, that $700K additional charge would have applied. However, while Bryant said the Heat gave him a deadline to make his free agent decision by, he denies that there was ever such an understanding between him and the team.

“I know it seemed that way but it wasn’t the case at all,” Bryant said, per Jackson. “They basically said: ‘We know you have options and we want you to be able to look at those.’ They said, ‘We would love to have you back here and from the top down, everybody loves what you’ve done here and see the work you put in and everyone wants you around.’ But there wasn’t any promise they would re-sign me.”

It’s an interesting commitment by the Heat, not only due to the resources they already committed to the center spot, but also because Bryant’s playing time for Miami last season was inconsistent. He appeared in just 38 games with four starts and averaged 5.7 points and 3.7 rebounds.

In essence, it seems like one of two scenarios is likely. The first option is that the Heat felt fine with the resources they had at the backup wing position (where they lost major contributor Caleb Martin to free agency) and wanted to bring Bryant back because they valued him. For what it’s worth, president Pat Riley expressed excitement a year ago about bringing in Bryant. The second option, which Bryant denies, is that Miami brought him back at that lower cap hit in exchange for him opting out.

That first option is interesting, because at the time of signing the contract, Miami hadn’t re-signed Haywood Highsmith or added Nassir Little. That would have left them with Jaime Jaquez and rookie two-way forward Keshad Johnson as their only real wing defenders. In other words, Miami seems ready to trust some of its returning players with large roles this coming year.

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As for bringing back Love, Jackson writes in the same piece that the Heat didn’t feel like skill has declined as he enters his late 30s (he turned 36 last month). They believe his two-year, $8MM valuation is correct. Love said his goal is to reach 20 years in the NBA, which would take him two years beyond his current contract. “I feel really good, fresh, fleet of foot,” Love said. “I don’t feel I’m necessarily in the [Udonis Haslem mentorship] role, where he was late in his career.“
Little, a former first-round pick for the Blazers, had other options besides signing a fully non-guaranteed deal with the Heat, Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald writes. Little, who averages 5.5 points for his career, has until Oct. 19 to audition for Miami as that’s the league-wide cut-down deadline. “With Miami, I just feel like they valued the type of player that I am the most,” Little said. “Yeah, there were other opportunities. But I just felt like the reputation that Miami has with players like myself and just the conversations that I had with the staff around here, it wasn’t to that extent with any of the other organizations. … I definitely feel like they wanted me the most.“
The Heat see Dru Smith being a capable ball-handler and defender on a two-way contract, Jackson writes in a separate piece. While he’s coming off a major injury, Smith showed promise last season and the Heat showed their value in him by letting him be a part of offseason meetings. His two-way spot might be the one that’s most in jeopardy, since Josh Christopher and Johnson had tremendous summer league stints, but it’s clear Miami cherishes him.
Chris Quinn earned a promotion from assistant coach to associate head coach this offseason, Chiang writes in another story. Head coach Erik Spoelstra said the promotion is more of a formality than anything, but the Heat wanted to reward someone who has been instrumental to their successful development system and who has earned several head-coaching interviews across the league over the years. “It means a lot,” Quinn said. “Obviously, the title is one thing. But the responsibility that comes along with it. … It’s a huge responsibility for me to keep moving in the right direction.”

Heat Notes: Love, Ware, Highsmith, Offseason

July 8th, 2024 at 8:58am CST by Arthur Hill

Kevin Love declined his $4MM player option for next season, but staying in Miami was always his first choice, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. The veteran big man not only remained with the Heat, he was able to get the deal he wanted — $3.85MM for the upcoming season and $4.15MM for 2025/26 — signing shortly after free agency began on June 30.

“In every free agency, there’s always a chance to look around the league and see opportunity,” Love said. “But in my mind, in terms of how the team operates, who [coach Erik Spoelstra] is, who [team president Pat Riley] is, who [general manager Andy Elisburg] is, it really in the last year and a half has felt like home. It felt like we were always optimistic that we would be able to get this done, get an extra year and just be able to provide as much as I possibly can for the team. I’m very, very happy to be back.”

Love has become a fixture in Miami since joining the organization late in the 2022/23 season. He was inserted into the starting lineup and sparked the team’s surprising run to the NBA Finals, then moved into a reserve role last season, coming off the bench for 50 of the 55 games he played. Love, who turns 36 in September, believes he can remain productive and envisions spending more time at power forward alongside Bam Adebayo.

“Being able to play high-low or being able to space the floor while a traditional five operates in the paint is something that I can add high value to,” Love said. “So I think it’s something that’s there. I’m sure it’s something that we’ll toy with and see in training camp. But I think it could be something that could happen this year.”

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First-round pick Kel’el Ware put on a dominant performance Sunday in his second Summer League game with 26 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and a block, Chiang adds in a separate story. The 20-year-old center said he had to “get the jitters out” after his first contest, and he focused more on controlling the lane area than shooting three-pointers. “Right now, my shot is feeling a little short,” Ware said. “So I wanted to get to the basket more and just be more of a target in my presence, be more in the paint today. I felt like I did that a little bit.”
Several teams remain interested in Heat free agent Haywood Highsmith, tweets Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. Although he doesn’t identify any of them, Scotto says that Highsmith is getting “recruitment pitches from Hall of Fame players and championship coaches.” Miami, which is $6.8MM away from the second apron, remains in talks with the 27-year-old forward, Scotto adds.
Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald examines some of the criticism being leveled at Heat management in the midst of a disappointing offseason to determine what’s legitimate and what isn’t.

Heat Re-Sign Kevin Love To Two-Year Deal

June 30th, 2024 at 5:06pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 6: Love is officially back under contract with the Heat, the team confirmed today in a press release.

JUNE 30: The Heat and big man Kevin Love have agreed to a new deal, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). Love will sign a two-year contract worth over $8MM, sources tell Charania. The agreement doesn’t include an option year, tweets Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel.

A minimum-salary contract for Love would be worth in the neighborhood of $7MM, so it sounds like Miami is going a little higher than that to bring him back.

Love, 35, initially joined the Heat on the buyout market during the second half of the 2022/23 season and played a key role on the team that made the NBA Finals that spring. He re-signed with Miami a year ago and averaged 8.8 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 2.1 assists in 16.8 minutes per game across 55 appearances (five starts) in 2023/24.

Love held a player option for the 2024/25 season that he decided to turn down on Saturday. That option was worth just north of $4MM, so it appears he’ll be back for around the same price, with an extra year tacked onto his new contract.

Love will provide depth in a frontcourt headed up by star center Bam Adebayo. Big man Thomas Bryant is an unrestricted free agent and Orlando Robinson has a non-guaranteed salary for 2024/25, but the Heat added a center in the draft by selecting Kel’el Ware out of Indiana.

Heat’s Kevin Love Declining Player Option

June 29th, 2024 at 10:07am CST by Tristan Tucker

Heat forward Kevin Love is turning down his player option for next season, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Love will become an unrestricted free agent as a result of declining that $4MM option.

Even though Love is declining his option, the two sides are enthusiastic about reaching a new deal in the opening days of free agency, Wojnarowski reports. Love has spent the past season and a half with the Heat after being bought out by the Cavaliers ahead of the 2023 trade deadline.

Love has been one of the more underrated buyout pickups of the last few years, immediately settling into a veteran leader role while averaging 8.5 points and 6.0 rebounds in 76 games with the Heat (22 starts). He was also a big part of Miami’s run to the NBA Finals in 2022/23, averaging 6.9 points and 5.6 rebounds per game while shooting 37.5% from deep (4.4 attempts) in 20 postseason appearances.

Love, 35, is a five-time NBA All-Star and former champion with the Cavaliers in ’15/16. He has played 929 games (684 starts) while holding career averages of 16.5 points and 10.1 rebounds. According to Basketball-Reference.com, Love has a 73.47% chance to be inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.

According to the Miami Herald’s Anthony Chiang, one option could be for Love to re-sign with the Heat at his minimum of about $3.3MM with an additional year attached (Twitter link). That would give the team some extra wiggle room under the second apron to keep some of its own free agents.

Sixers’ Tyrese Maxey Wins 2023/24 Sportsmanship Award

May 16th, 2024 at 11:30am CST by Rory Maher

After being named the league’s Most Improved Player last month, Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey has added another 2023/24 award to his trophy case, having been voted the Sportsmanship Award winner for this season as well, the NBA announced in a press release (Twitter links).

The Sportsmanship Award has been presented annually since ’95/96 and “honors a player who best represents the ideals of sportsmanship on the court.”

According to the NBA, each team nominated one of its players. The 30-player list was then trimmed down to six — one player from each division — by a panel of league executives. Finally, current players voted on the six finalists.

As the full voting results show, Maxey received the most first-place votes and most total points, making him the winner. Heat big man Kevin Love was the runner-up, followed by (in order) Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen, Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Kings forward Harrison Barnes, and Spurs point guard Tre Jones.

The 21st overall pick of the 2020 draft, Maxey will be eligible for restricted free agency this offseason. After his excellent performances this season, there’s no doubt that the 23-year-old will return to the 76ers.