Miami Heat Rumors | Hoops Rumors

COVID Updates: Cheatham, Brown, Simpson, York

January 1st, 2022 at 10:15am CST by Dana Gauruder

Here’s are the latest updates regarding players entering or exiting the league’s health and safety protocols or on 10-day contracts:

Zylan Cheatham‘s 10-day contract with the Heat expired after the team’s game against the Rockets on Friday, Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald tweets. The Heat still have six other players on 10-day contracts and six players in protocols. Cheatham never appeared in a game with the Heat and entered protocols on Dec. 29.
Charlie Brown Jr. won’t receive another 10-day from the Mavericks, JD Shaw of Hoops Rumors tweets. Brown made three cameo appearances for Dallas.
Gabe York agreed to a 10-day contract with the Magic on Dec. 29. However, he tested positive for COVID-19 the next day, scuttling the deal, Justin Spears of Tucson.com reports. York has been playing with the G League Fort Wayne Mad Ants, the Pacers’ affiliate.
Guard Zavier Simpson agreed to a 10-day with the Thunder on Monday. However, he has also entered protocols, according to Shaw. It’s still possible Simpson could sign a contract once he’s cleared.

Kyle Lowry, Jae’Sean Tate Exit Protocols

December 31st, 2021 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

The Heat, who have signed six replacement players in the last two days, will have some additional reinforcements for Friday’s game in Houston. Point guard Kyle Lowry has exited the health and safety protocols and is listed as available to play vs. the Rockets, per Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel (Twitter link).

Lowry only entered the COVID-19 protocols on Christmas Day, so he may have benefited from the NBA’s new shortened minimum quarantine period. It’s also possible he tested out of the protocols by returning two consecutive negative results at least 24 hours apart.

The Heat still have seven players in the protocols for the time being, including Duncan Robinson and P.J. Tucker.

Miami’s opponent on Friday also got some good news today, as Rockets forward Jae’Sean Tate has cleared the protocols, according to Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle (Twitter link). Like Lowry, he’ll be available for tonight’s contest.

Tate’s stay in the protocols was even shorter than Lowry’s — he just entered them on Wednesday, so he likely got the two negative tests he needed. His teammates D.J. Augustin, Garrison Mathews, and DeJon Jarreau remain in the protocols.

Heat Officially Sign Chalmers, Silva, Stauskas

December 31st, 2021 at 12:37pm CST by Luke Adams

The Heat have officially announced three previously-reported hardship signings, confirming in a press release that they’ve finalized 10-day deals with Mario Chalmers, Chris Silva, and Nik Stauskas.

Chalmers, 35, spent the first seven-plus years of his NBA career in Miami from 2008-15 and won a pair of championships with the franchise. The veteran guard appeared in a total of 646 regular season games and 99 postseason contests for the Heat and Grizzlies, but hasn’t played in the NBA since 2018. He recently joined the Grand Rapids Gold, Denver’s G League affiliate, in the hopes of making an NBA comeback.

Silva, who just completed a 10-day contract with the Timberwolves, began the season with the Iowa Wolves, averaging 15.1 PPG and 9.8 RPG in 12 games (25.6 MPG) for Minnesota’ G League affiliate. Like Chalmers, Silva has a history with the Heat — the former South Carolina standout began his career in Miami, appearing in a total of 55 games with the team between 2019-21 before being dealt to Sacramento at the ’21 trade deadline.

Stauskas, the No. 8 overall pick in the 2014 draft, appeared in 335 regular season games from 2014-19 for the Kings, Sixers, Nets, Trail Blazers, and Cavaliers. After a brief stint overseas, Stauskas signed in the G League for the 2021 bubble and then returned to the NBAGL this season. In 12 games (38.3 MPG) in 2021/22 for the Grand Rapids Gold, the 28-year-old has recorded 21.3 PPG, 5.8 RPG, and 4.4 APG on .429/.352/.915 shooting.

The Heat now have seven players on 10-day hardship contracts, as Chalmers, Silva, and Stauskas join Kyle Guy, Aric Holman, Haywood Highsmith, and Zylan Cheatham. Cheatham is in the health and safety protocols, but the other six players should be available for Friday’s game in Houston.

Heat Expected To Sign Chris Silva To 10-Day Deal

December 31st, 2021 at 9:19am CST by Luke Adams

The Heat‘s run of 10-day signings is expected to continue with forward Chris Silva, according to Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald, who reports (via Twitter) that the team is aiming to finalize a hardship deal with Silva ahead of Friday’s game in Houston.

Silva just completed a 10-day contract with the Timberwolves, but didn’t see much action during his brief stint with the team, logging only three minutes in one appearance. Before getting a call-up to the NBA, the 25-year-old had averaged 15.1 PPG and 9.8 RPG in 12 games (25.6 MPG) for the Iowa Wolves, Minnesota’ G League affiliate.

Silva and the Heat have a history — the former South Carolina standout began his career in Miami, appearing in a total of 55 games with the team between 2019-21 before being dealt to Sacramento at the ’21 trade deadline.

It has been a busy week for the Heat, who have already signed Kyle Guy, Aric Holman, and Haywood Highsmith to 10-day hardship contracts and are also expected to officially complete deals with Nik Stauskas and Mario Chalmers soon.

The club currently has eight players in the health and safety protocols and is missing a few more players due to injuries, so a handful of hardship signings were necessary to ensure no more games will be postponed, like Wednesday’s contest in San Antonio was.

COVID-19 Updates: Wizards, Trail Blazers, Heat, Rockets, Sixers, I. Thomas, More

December 30th, 2021 at 8:22pm CST by Rory Maher

The league continues to be battered by players entering and exiting the health and safety protocols. If any of the players entering the protocols registered a confirmed positive COVID-19 test, they’ll remain sidelined for at least six days or until they can return two consecutive negative tests at least 24 hours apart.

Here are the latest updates from around the NBA:

Bradley Beal, Anthony Gill, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope have exited the protocols and are active Thursday night for the Wizards, but Spencer Dinwiddie has entered the protocols, as reported by Shams Charania and Josh Robbins of The Athletic, Ava Wallace of The Washington Post, and Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (all four Twitter links).
Anfernee Simons and Brandon Williams have entered the protocols for the Trail Blazers, while Dennis Smith Jr. and Ben McLemore have exited and rejoined the team, per Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter links).
The Heat‘s outbreak continues, as Duncan Robinson and Marcus Garrett have entered the protocols, Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press tweets.
DeJon Jarreau has entered the protocols for the Rockets, as reported by Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link).
Shake Milton has exited the protocols and is active Thursday night for the Sixers, according to Gina Mizell of the Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link). Head coach Doc Rivers isn’t the only coach affected, as “several coaches,” including Sam Cassell and Brian Adams, are also in the protocols, Tim Bontemps of ESPN tweets.
Others entering protocols: Isaiah Thomas, who just signed a 10-day contract with the Mavericks Wednesday, Ivica Zubac of the Clippers, and Xavier Tillman of the Grizzlies, per the three teams’ PR departments (all Twitter links).
Others exiting protocols: Trevor Ariza for the Lakers, Lou Williams for the Hawks, and Ed Davis for the Cavaliers, according to Kyle Goon of the Southern California News Group (via Twitter), and Chris Kirschner and Kelsey Russo of The Athletic (Twitter links). Neemias Queta has cleared the protocols for the Kings, a source tells Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee (via Twitter). Nets center Day’Ron Sharpe has also exited the protocols, Brian Lewis of The New York Post tweets.

Heat Signing Mario Chalmers To 10-Day Deal

December 30th, 2021 at 3:45pm CST by Luke Adams

The Heat are reuniting with an old friend, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link), who hears from agent Jerry Dianis that Mario Chalmers will return to the team on a 10-day hardship contract.

Chalmers, 35, spent the first seven-plus years of his NBA career in Miami from 2008-15 and won a pair of championships during that time. Across nine total NBA seasons, the veteran guard averaged 8.9 PPG and 3.7 APG on .417/.351/.793 shooting in 646 regular season games (26.7 MPG). He also appeared in 99 postseason contests for the Heat.

Chalmers hasn’t played in the NBA since 2018, but – as we reported earlier this month – he recently signed a G League contract in the hopes of getting back into the league. He appeared in two games for the Grand Rapids Gold, Denver’s G League affiliate, before catching on with the Heat.

Miami has reached a series of 10-day agreements this week after having been hit hard by injuries and COVID-19. The team officially signed Kyle Guy, Aric Holman, and Haywood Highsmith today and also has a deal lined up with Nik Stauskas.

If Stauskas and Chalmers officially sign within the next 24 hours or so, we could see them in action as soon as Friday night in Houston.

Heat Sign Haywood Highsmith To 10-Day Contract

December 30th, 2021 at 1:23pm CST by Luke Adams

DECEMBER 30: Highsmith has officially signed his 10-day contract, the Heat announced in a press release. Miami also formally finalized their deals with Guy and Holman today.

DECEMBER 29: The Heat intend to sign forward Haywood Highsmith to a 10-day deal, agent Jerry Dianis tells our JD Shaw (Twitter link). The deal will be completed using a hardship exception.

Miami has been hit hard by injuries and COVID-19 as of late, resulting in a postponement of the team’s game in San Antonio on Wednesday. The Heat, who have already reportedly reached deals with Kyle Guy and Aric Holman, may need to continue adding replacement players to avoid risking any additional postponements.

Highsmith, who turned 25 earlier this month, had a brief stint with the Sixers in 2018/19, appearing in five games for the club on a two-way contract. He also spent the 2020/21 season in Germany, but has otherwise played mostly for the Delaware Blue Coats, Philadelphia’s G League affiliate, since going pro in ’18.

In 12 games (27.8 MPG) for Delaware this season, Highsmith averaged 14.0 PPG, 5.2 RPG, and 1.1 SPG with a shooting line of .472/.391/.737. He also played on USA Basketball’s 2023 World Cup qualifying team in November.

Nik Stauskas To Sign 10-Day Contract With Heat

December 30th, 2021 at 1:11pm CST by Luke Adams

Former lottery pick Nik Stauskas has an agreement in place with the Heat, who intend to sign him to a 10-day contract using a hardship exception, league sources tell Mike Singer of The Denver Post (Twitter link).

The Raptors had a deal in place earlier this month to bring Stauskas aboard on a 10-day hardship deal, but it fell through when he didn’t pass the COVID-19 screening process. Now he’ll head to a Miami team that has been hit hard recently by both injuries and the coronavirus — the Heat had 12 players unavailable on Wednesday, resulting in their game in San Antonio being postponed.

Stauskas, the No. 8 overall pick in the 2014 draft, appeared in 335 regular season games from 2014-19 for the Kings, Sixers, Nets, Trail Blazers, and Cavaliers. He was a fairly reliable three-point threat (.353 3PT%) during that time, but didn’t show enough other skills to stick in the NBA.

After a brief stint overseas, Stauskas signed in the G League for the 2021 bubble and then returned to the NBAGL this season. In 12 games (38.3 MPG) in 2021/22 for the Grand Rapids Gold, the 28-year-old has recorded 21.3 PPG, 5.8 RPG, and 4.4 APG on .429/.352/.915 shooting.

The Heat have already added Kyle Guy and Aric Holman on hardship contracts today and should be able to finalize their agreements with Stauskas and Haywood Highsmith before their game in Houston on Friday.

Heat Officially Sign Kyle Guy, Aric Holman

December 30th, 2021 at 10:28am CST by Luke Adams

The Heat have officially signed Kyle Guy and Aric Holman to 10-day deals using hardship exceptions, the team announced today in a press release. Both agreements were initially reported on Wednesday.

The 55th overall pick in the 2019 draft, Guy spent his first two NBA seasons on a two-way contract with Sacramento, but played a very limited role with the Kings, appearing in 34 games and averaging 2.7 PPG and 1.0 APG in 7.2 minutes per contest.

Guy has seen more action at the G League level, appearing in 37 games with the Stockton Kings as a rookie and 12 more games this season with the Cleveland Charge, the Cavaliers’ G League affiliate. The 24-year-old has averaged 21.1 PPG, 4.6 APG, and 4.3 RPG on .421/.392/.758 shooting in 35.7 MPG over the course of his NBAGL career.

Holman, who went undrafted out of Mississippi State in 2019, played in Germany last season but has otherwise been in the G League since going pro. In 14 games (20.4 MPG) for Austin this season, the 24-year-old averaged 7.5 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 2.0 APG, and 1.5 BPG on .463/.326/.250 shooting (that free-throw mark came on just four attempts).

In addition to adding Guy and Holman, Miami is expected to sign Haywood Highsmith to a 10-day contract soon. With 12 players unavailable on Wednesday, the Heat had their game in San Antonio postponed because they didn’t have the required minimum of eight players.

Guy, Holman, and Highsmith should get the Heat up to that minimum for Friday’s game in Houston, but the club is eligible to continue adding replacement players if it so chooses.

NBA Postpones Heat/Spurs Game

December 29th, 2021 at 2:26pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA has postponed the game between the Heat and the Spurs that was scheduled to be played in San Antonio on Wednesday night, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link). Miami doesn’t have the required minimum of eight players available.

The Heat have 12 players sidelined due to either COVID-19 or injuries. Zylan Cheatham, Udonis Haslem, Kyle Lowry, Max Strus, P.J. Tucker, and Gabe Vincent are in the health and safety protocols, while Bam Adebayo (thumb), Jimmy Butler (ankle), Dewayne Dedmon (knee), Markieff Morris (neck), KZ Okpala (wrist), and Victor Oladipo (knee) are injured.

That leaves Miami with just five players – Tyler Herro, Duncan Robinson, Omer Yurtseven, Caleb Martin, and Marcus Garrett – available from their standard roster. The Heat had agreed to 10-day deals for Kyle Guy and Aric Holman, but those signings aren’t official yet and would still leave the team one player short of the minimum.

Before the Heat resume their schedule on Friday in Houston, they’ll likely finalize their signings of Guy and Holman and add at least a couple more replacement players in order to avoid another postponement.

Wednesday’s Heat/Spurs game is the 10th contest to be postponed so far this season, as our tracker shows.