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Eastern Notes: Heat Roster, Bosh, Simmons, Clifford

September 12th, 2021 at 1:52pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Now that the Heat have significantly reshaped their roster in the offseason, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel examines how willing Miami is to add a 15th player. Though Winderman allows that there are still players in free agency whose additions could improve the on-court product, he notes luxury tax worries could preclude the Heat from adding someone just yet. Winderman adds that a future trade could be the club’s route to making further roster tweaks changes instead.

The Heat’s most significant offseason change was undoubtedly the epic sign-and-trade agreement with 35-year-old veteran point guard Kyle Lowry. Miami also added versatile forward P.J. Tucker, fresh off a title run with the Bucks, and big man Markieff Morris, in addition to re-signing sharpshooter Duncan Robinson, reserve centers Dewayne Dedmon and Omer Yurtseven (though Yurtseven did not play a game with the Heat, he was on the roster at the end of the 2020/21 season), and guards Victor Oladipo, Max Strus and Gabe Vincent. Additionally, Miami inked All-NBA swingman Jimmy Butler to a lucrative maximum contract extension.

There’s more out of the East:

2021 Hall of Fame inductee Chris Bosh could very well have wound up with the Bulls in 2010 free agency. Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel explores the Heat‘s backup plans had the club been unable to secure Bosh’s services. Winderman reveals that, at one point during the 2010 free agent hunt, Bosh relayed to an NBA executive that he would be joining Chicago. Had that transpired, Miami would have pivoted to adding some of the other All-Stars available that summer. “If, in fact, C.B. would have gone somewhere else, we had been recruiting Amar’e [Stoudemire] and we had recruited Joe Johnson,” Heat team president Pat Riley said of his next contingency moves. “It could have worked with Dwyane [Wade] and with LeBron [James], that that team would have been successful. But I don’t know if it would have been as successful as it was with Chris, because Chris was the ultimate complement.”
There is currently no end in sight for the Sixers‘ standoff with All-Star Ben Simmons. During a podcast conversation with Darren Wolfson of SKOR North, Brian Windhorst of ESPN indicated that he expects Simmons to remain away from the team through at least the start of the forthcoming 2021/22 NBA season.
Newly-added Nets coaching consultant Steve Clifford recently explained his anticipated role with the club, per Ernie Clark of the Bangor Daily News. “I’m here [in Brooklyn] a lot this month and through training camp, and I’ll be more of a resource,” Clifford said. “I’ll be watching a lot of film but most of the time I’ll still be living in Orlando. I’ll visit with the team once or twice a month and just take direction from [head coach] Steve Nash, whatever he wants me to do.” Clifford was previously a head coach with the Magic and Hornets across the past eight NBA seasons.

How Bulking Up Could Benefit Tyler Herro

September 11th, 2021 at 1:45pm CST by JD Shaw

Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel examines how bulking up could be beneficial for Heat guard Tyler Herro. The third-year Kentucky product has prioritized getting stronger during the offseason, something that could certainly help him defensively. On the offensive end, Herro has averaged 14.3 points and 2.8 assists in 109 regular-season games to this point, playing 28.8 minutes per contest.

Heat Add Potter, Smart, Smith To Camp Roster

September 10th, 2021 at 4:40pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Heat have added forward Micah Potter and guards Javonte Smart and Dru Smith to their training camp roster, according to a team press release.

Potter appeared in six Summer League games with Miami and averaged 7.3 PPG and 3.5 RPG. He went undrafted out of Wisconsin.

Smart averaged 5.5 PPG, 2.8 RPG and 2.2 APG with Miami’s summer league squad. Smart played three seasons at LSU, becoming just the seventh player in school history to record at least 1,200 points, 300 assists and 111 steals.

Smith, who attended Missouri, also appeared in six Summer League games with the Heat and averaged 8.0 PPG, 2.5 APG and 1.17 SPG.

All three were signed to Exhibit 10 deals, bringing Miami’s camp roster to 19, one below the limit, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald tweets.

Exhibit 10 contracts give NBA teams a chance to bring players to training camp and get a look at them without guaranteeing them a regular season roster spot or any real salary. All three could potentially earn a $50K bonus if they remain on the Sioux Falls Skyforce roster for at least 60 days. The Skyforce are the Heat’s G League affiliate.

The trio could also be competing for Miami’s open two-way slot.

Cavaliers Sign RJ Nembhard

September 8th, 2021 at 10:00pm CST by Luke Adams

10:00pm: The Cavaliers have officially signed Nembhard to a one-year, non-guaranteed deal, per RealGM.

3:01pm: The Cavaliers have reached an agreement on a deal with undrafted free agent RJ Nembhard, according to our JD Shaw (Twitter link), who reports that Nembhard will compete for a roster spot in training camp.

Nembhard was a redshirt junior for TCU in 2020/21 and averaged 15.7 PPG, 4.3 RPG, and 4.0 APG in 24 games (34.9 MPG). The 6’5″ guard boosted his three-point percentage to 33.9% and made the All-Big 12 Third Team.

News of Nembhard’s agreement with the Cavaliers comes as a bit of a surprise, since Adrian Wojnarowski reported shortly after the draft that the rookie had agreed to a deal with the Heat. However, Woj’s report didn’t specify that Nembhard would attend training camp with the Heat — the 22-year-old played for Miami’s Summer League team, but it appears he’ll sign his first NBA contract with the Cavs rather than the Heat.

The Cavaliers have been busy in the last week, having signed Tacko Fall and Tre Scott to training camp deals and agreed to terms with Mitch Ballock as well. Like those camp invitees, Nembhard figures to receive a non-guaranteed contract that could put him in the mix for a two-way contract or even a spot on the 15-man roster. He’d also be a candidate to join the Cavs’ G League affiliate, the Cleveland Charge, if he’s cut before the regular season begins.

Heat Notes: Garrett, Okpala, Lowry, Aldridge, Herro

September 5th, 2021 at 11:58am CST by Arthur Hill

Heat rookie Marcus Garrett may take over KZ Okpala‘s role as a defensive specialist off the bench, writes Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. Garrett was a standout for Miami’s Summer League team and signed a two-way contract this week.

The Heat gave up three future second-round picks to acquire Okpala in a 2019 draft-day trade, but he has struggled with his shot during his first two NBA seasons. He connected at 37.5% from the field and 24.0% from three-point range in limited playing time last year. Winderman states that Garrett’s point-of-attack defense may be a better fit for the team and speculates that the playing time will go to whichever player produces more on offense.

There’s more from Miami:

The opportunity to win a title was the main reason that Kyle Lowry chose the Heat in free agency, Winderman relays in a separate story. Lowry explained his reasoning in a recent appearance on CJ McCollum‘s podcast. “For me, it’s only championships or bust,” he said. “Going to Miami, that was a situation where I feel like this is what they want to do. I have a close friend, Jimmy Butler, there and I feel like Miami, that’s what they want to do. It’s about winning championships.” Lowry later added, “If you aren’t playing for championships, what are you playing for? And that’s the only thought process that went into my free agency, is where do I go to become a champion?”
The Heat’s history with players who have serious medical conditions may have made them reluctant to pursue LaMarcus Aldridge, Winderman adds in another piece. Aldridge received medical clearance this week to return to the NBA after being forced into retirement when he was diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat in April. He signed with the Nets, the team he joined after a buyout agreement with the Spurs last season. Miami has gone through similar health scares with Chris Bosh and Alonzo Mourning.
Picking up Tyler Herro‘s option for 2022/23 was an easy decision, but the Heat will face a tougher choice next summer when he’s eligible for a rookie scale extension, observes David Wilson of The Miami Herald. More than three quarters of Miami’s projected cap space through the 2023/24 season is tied up in Lowry, Butler, Bam Adebayo and Duncan Robinson, so extending Herro could result in a huge tax bill.

Yurtseven Wants To Be Versatile

September 4th, 2021 at 9:46am CST by Dana Gauruder

Heat 7-footer Omer Yurtseven believes he can contribute in a number of ways, Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald writes. “The biggest focus has been on being big inside, and I think that’s the presence that the Heat can use and I can provide,” Yurtseven said. “Being able to do that and guard the pick-and-roll, be the big presence inside and rebounding obviously has been a huge emphasis, as well. Also, with my talent and skill set, being able to stretch the floor, being able to post up and use my touch around the rim and also the midrange and step outside, as well.” Yurtseven averaged 22.4 PPG, 11.2 RPG and 2.4 BPG in five summer league games, which earned him a two-year contract.

Heat Exercise Tyler Herro’s 2022/23 Option

September 3rd, 2021 at 2:34pm CST by Luke Adams

The Heat have exercised their team option on guard Tyler Herro for the 2022/23 season, according to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald (Twitter link).

Herro, who has a cap hit just above $4MM this season, will earn about $5.7MM on that ’22/23 option. Now that it has been picked up, the former Kentucky standout is on track to become eligible for a rookie scale extension in 2022 or restricted free agency in 2023.

The 13th overall pick in the 2019 draft, Herro had a big postseason in the Walt Disney World bubble as a rookie in 2020 and was viewed as a candidate for a breakout year in ’20/21. Although his numbers in 54 games were solid (15.1 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 3.4 APG), Herro’s three-point percentage dipped a little from his rookie year and he didn’t take a major step forward. Still, he’s only 21 years old and remains an important part of Miami’s rotation going forward.

Herro is the first player this offseason to have a rookie scale team option for 2022/23 exercised. While decisions on standard team options are typically due right before free agency begins, teams must make their decisions on rookie scale team options a year in advance. By October 31, clubs must either exercise or decline third-year options for first-round picks from 2020 and fourth-year options for 2019’s first-rounders.

Marcus Garrett Signs Two-Way Deal With Heat

September 2nd, 2021 at 11:12am CST by Arthur Hill

11:12am: Garrett’s signing is official, the team announced in a press release.

8:01am: The Heat will sign Kansas guard Marcus Garrett to a two-way contract, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The deal was confirmed by his agent, Mike George of One Legacy Sports Management.

Garrett had been expected to sign an Exhibit 10 contract with Miami shortly after the draft, but the deal was delayed while he changed agents. Now that his new agency is in place, the team opted to have Garrett fill one of its two-way slots.

The 22-year-old played for the Heat during Summer League, averaging 8.8 points and 4.6 rebounds in five games in Las Vegas and Sacramento. He also showed off his defensive skills with 2.8 steals per night.

Once the signing is complete, Miami will have 16 players under contract heading into camp, with rumored deals still looming for Javonte Smart, Micah Potter and RJ Nembhard. The Heat are planning an open competition for the other two-way opening.

Bucks Co-Owner Lasry Talks Budenholzer, Jrue, Tax, More

August 31st, 2021 at 9:43am CST by Luke Adams

After watching the Bucks win a championship for the first time in 50 years during the 2020/21 season, co-owner Marc Lasry is confident that the team will remain in the mix for a title again in ’21/22. Lasry told Sam Amick and Anthony Slater of The Athletic that he views the Bucks and Nets as the top two teams in the East entering the fall.

Asked if the Heat – who eliminated the Bucks from the playoffs in 2020 – are in that top tier alongside Milwaukee and Brooklyn, Lasry praised Kyle Lowry, Jimmy Butler, and P.J. Tucker, calling Miami a “really good” team. However, he said he believes the Bucks are better.

“Ultimately at the end of the day I’d rather have our team,” Lasry said. “… If we’re healthy, you know we should go pretty far.

“But I would say the same thing (about other teams). If the Nets are healthy, they should go pretty far. It’s who’s going to be the healthiest when you get there. And it’s been interesting trying to figure out (that part) because I bet you there’s going to be a lot of gaming of this… You want to be the No. 1 seed, but do you want to be the No. 1 seed, or do you want to make sure you’re the healthiest going into the playoffs?”

Lasry’s appearance on The Athletic’s Tampering podcast touched on several other topics of note. The discussion is worth checking out in full, but here are a few highlights from the Bucks’ co-owner, via Amick and Slater:

On head coach Mike Budenholzer getting a contract extension after being on the hot seat:

“Bud is really good. I mean, he is. He does have that quiet confidence, which is nice. So I think you go through all of this, and one of the things that I saw — and I told this to Bud — was I said, ‘Look, there was a huge amount of pressure on us, on him, on all of us, because everybody expects you to win.’ And what he showed us during that time is how well he handled the pressure, how well he prepared the team, and what a great job he did, so that after we won, we were like, ‘Look, it’s not like we want to reward you; we want to keep you.'”

On the 2020 acquisition of Jrue Holiday and how it influenced Giannis Antetokounmpo‘s decision to sign a long-term extension with the Bucks:

“(General manager) Jon Horst felt that (Holiday) was going to be the missing piece, and he was dead right. You know, I remember the first practice and Jrue is covering Giannis. And same thing — Giannis knew Jrue by reputation. After practice that day, Jon says to me, ‘Yeah, Giannis now knows how good he is. (Holiday’s) covering him. He’s good.’ It was actually great. It was. And I think 100 percent it was a huge factor in Giannis re-signing because he saw what we were willing to do.”

On the Bucks becoming a taxpayer in 2020/21 and going further into the tax in ’21/22:

“Look, (the tax) is a big part. I’m not going to tell you it’s not. I mean, it’s just — if you sign somebody for $5MM, you’re not signing him for $5MM, you’re signing him for $25MM, $20MM. You sort of look at that, and you’re trying to figure out, ‘Alright, look, if we’re going to do that, OK, there is a cost to it. Yeah, we want him, but that’s going to cost us $25MM or that’ll cost us $35MM.’ I mean, whatever the numbers are. And I think we’re very focused on that.

“Look, we’re a small-market team. It’s expensive. I mean, for us, this year we’re going to lose quite a bit of money. … But at the end of the day, the goal is that you want to keep winning a championship, so you’re going to spend the money.”

Southeast Notes: Bamba, Anthony, Haslem, Love

August 29th, 2021 at 1:06pm CST by Eli Cohen

The Magic are coming to something of a crossroads with Mohamed Bamba, writes Josh Robbins of The Athletic.

The former No. 6 overall pick has only started six games in three years, with five of them coming in the final 24 games of last season, after the Magic traded the team’s long-standing linchpin, Nikola Vucevic, to the Bulls. Of course, those starts only came when Wendell Carter Jr., who came back from Chicago in the deal, wasn’t playing.

With Bamba entering the final year of his rookie contract, Robbins talks to NBA scouts about the future for the big man.

“Talent-wise, he has a ceiling that he could be really good if he’s locked-in,” one scout said. “He has a chance, but I don’t know if his motor will let him get there.”

In examining Bamba’s strengths, Robbins quotes the big man’s 91st-percentile for percentage of opposing teams’ shots blocked, as well as his burgeoning jumpshot, but scouts worry that his tools are far ahead of his defensive instincts and reactivity. One scout says that Orlando may ultimately be better served to let another team try to develop Bamba once his rookie deal expires. However, Robbins observes that a new coach and system could be huge for his development, and that the team still seems at least relatively committed to him.

We have more news from around the Southeast Division:

In a similar piece from earlier this month, Robbins talked to scouts about Cole Anthony, who, like Bamba, faces a similar uncertainty given the Magic‘s depth at the point guard spot. The scouts came away more impressed with Anthony’s ability to get into the paint and play with physicality than expected, especially on the offensive glass, but almost unanimously said his lack of vision as a playmaker and his limitations defensively will probably keep him from becoming a starting point guard for a good team.
Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun-Sentinel believes that it’s possible we see a mid-season send-off for lifelong Heat veteran Udonis Haslem, he writes in a recent mailbag. He also says Haslem may have been biding his time and waiting for the perfect moment to get his big farewell.
In a separate piece, Winderman calls Kevin Love‘s recently-reported disinterest in a buyout “pure posturing,” while saying the Heat would likely be interested, especially with a bit of a hole at the power forward position. However, he’s unsure if Miami currently holds the “contender” status in the eyes of players that could woo Love over a team like the Lakers or Warriors.