Miami Heat Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Hawks Trade AJ Griffin To Rockets In Three-Team Deal

June 27th, 2024 at 6:42pm CST by Luke Adams

6:42pm: The trade is now officially complete, according to press releases from the Hawks and Rockets. Because Atlanta ended up trading the No. 44 pick (Pelle Larsson) and cash to Miami in exchange for No. 43 pick Nikola Djurisic, that trade agreement between the Heat and Hawks has been folded into this one, making it a three-team deal.

1:14pm: The Hawks and Rockets have agreed to a trade that will send forward AJ Griffin to Houston in exchange for the No. 44 pick in Thursday’s draft, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

Griffin, the 16th overall pick in the 2022 draft, had a promising rookie season in which he averaged 8.9 points per game with a .465/.390/.894 shooting line in 72 contests (19.5 MPG).

However, he missed time due to leg and ankle issues and personal reasons in 2023/24 and didn’t play much when he was available, averaging just 8.6 minutes per contest in 20 appearances. His scoring numbers cratered to 2.4 PPG on 29.0% shooting (.256 3PT%).

Despite his forgettable sophomore season, Griffin had been a player of interest in Houston for a while, according to Kelly Iko of The Athletic (Twitter link).

The Rockets, who will be operating over the cap but have plenty of breathing room below the luxury tax line, will be able to acquire the 20-year-old without sending out a player because they have a $4.5MM trade exception from last year’s Kevin Porter trade that Griffin will fit into, as Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets. Using a trade exception created last year will hard-cap Houston at the first tax apron for 2024/25.

Griffin will earn a guaranteed $3.89MM salary for next season and the Rockets will have until the end of October to decide whether or not they want to exercise his $5.97MM team option for the ’25/26 season.

The Hawks have been exploring possible deals involving Griffin since February’s trade deadline, per Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). The move will help them out a bit financially — as Marks tweets, Atlanta’s projected team salary is now right at the luxury tax line, though it would increase to first tax apron territory in the event that Saddiq Bey gets a qualifying offer.

The Hawks, whose own second-round pick at No. 40 is controlled by Portland, will now have the opportunity to select a player in a similar range at No. 44 tonight.

Heat, Hawks Swap No. 43, No. 44 Selections

June 27th, 2024 at 4:25pm CST by Dana Gauruder

[Update: This trade has been folded into a separate agreement and officially completed as a three-team deal.]

The Heat are flipping the No. 43 pick to the Hawks for the No. 44 pick and cash, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium (Twitter links here).

The Hawks will thus be receiving guard Nikola Djurisic at No. 43, while the Heat will wind up with Arizona Wildcats guard Pelle Larsson, the No. 44 pick.

Significantly, Atlanta will now be hard-capped at the second tax apron as a result of sending out cash.

Djurisic, 20, has played three-plus seasons with Mega in the Adriatic League. He averaged 15.4 points and 3.5 assists last season. He’s a potental draft-and-stash candidate.

Larsson, 23, played three seasons with the Wildcats after one year at Utah. He’s a prolific 3-point shooter — 39.7% in 133 career college games. Last season at Arizona, he averaged 12.8 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.7 assists. He shot 51.9% from the field and 42.6% from deep.

Heat Unconcerned About Ware's Motor

June 27th, 2024 at 2:41pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Kel’el Ware gained a reputation of having a low motor during his one season at Oregon. He played with much more effort during his one season with Indiana and that’s why the Heat had no qualms about selecting him with the No. 15 pick, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel writes.

“I think that’s a low-hanging-fruit description of him,” Adam Simon, the Heat’s VP of basketball operations, said. “Kel’el is not that. I think he went to Oregon, was playing behind an established player, an older player. He played in every game out there, saw a better situation for himself to go to Indiana. For him, he showed what he can do. He played with a motor. He played with intensity. And I think we’re talking about a young player that has an edge to him.”

Don’t expect the Heat to re-sign both Haywood Highsmith and Caleb Martin in free agency, Chiang reports in a separate story. Highsmith is set to become an unrestricted free agent and Martin holds a $7.1MM option on his contract, which he will likely decline. With the Heat’s payroll already near the second apron, the best Miami can realistically hope for is to re-sign one or the other, Chiang writes.

Jimmy Butler To Stay With Heat, Won’t Sign Offseason Extension

June 26th, 2024 at 8:46pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Star Heat swingman Jimmy Butler is set to remain with Miami for the 2024/25 season, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic.

The six-time All-Star and five-time All-NBA honoree, who has a player option for 2025/26, will not complete a contract extension with the Heat or agitate for a trade prior to the 2025 offseason, sources inform Charania, who says Butler “has an affinity” for Miami and wants to remain with the organization.

While Miami could still unilaterally decide to trade Butler, there’s no indication they want to do so, Charania adds, especially since he’s reportedly unwilling to sign an extension with any team, which would limit his value on the trade market.

There had been speculation this spring that Butler may seek a change of scenery due to the fact that he was reportedly seeking a two-year, maximum-salary extension and Heat president Pat Riley publicly expressed reluctance to put that deal on the table for the 34-year-old, who has battled injuries in recent years.

ESPN’s Brian Windhorst (YouTube video link) stated earlier today during an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show that Butler had informed rival clubs of his preference to stick with the Heat, even without a new deal in place.

“Even if there’s no extension, he’s going to focus on next season. He’s got a player option in the summer of 2025 next year that he can use,” Windhorst reported on The Pat McAfee Show. “I think Jimmy Butler wants to be in Miami. There’s teams that have definitely said ‘Hey, are you looking to get out?’ And I think he said, ‘I’m solid in Miami.’ I think that’s been communicated with the Heat. We’ll see what happens next summer.”

The 6’7″ swingman submitted another impressive season when he was available. Across 60 healthy contests, Butler averaged 20.8 points (on .499/.414/.858 shooting), 5.3 rebounds, and 5.0 assists per game for the 46-36 Heat in 2023/24. However, he was unavailable for the team’s first-round series loss to Boston due to an MCL sprain.

Since joining Miami in a sign-and-trade during the summer of 2019, the Marquette alum has led the team to two Finals appearances, plus three Eastern Conference Finals berths.

According to Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel (Twitter link), Butler and the Heat could revisit extension talks at some point in the 2024/25 season.

Draft Rumors: Knicks, Sixers, Dillingham, Heat, Jazz, Lakers, More

June 26th, 2024 at 8:17am CST by Luke Adams

After surrendering several future first-round picks in their trade agreement for Mikal Bridges, the Knicks are now considered more likely to keep their three picks – No. 24, No. 25, and No. 38 – in this year’s draft, which begins on Wednesday night, Jonathan Givony writes in ESPN’s latest mock draft (Insider link).

The updated mock draft from Givony and ESPN’s Jeremy Woo includes several more notable tidbits, including the fact that the Sixers have conducted perhaps the fewest pre-draft workouts of any team with a first-round pick, resulting in speculation that the No. 16 selection will be traded.

Givony also provides an update on Kentucky’s Rob Dillingham, who wasn’t able to work out for teams for most of the pre-draft process due to an ankle injury. According to Givony, teams picking both earlier and later in the first round are trying to figure out where they might need to get to in order to land Dillingham, who has been considered a candidate to fall further than initially anticipated.

The Heat at No. 15 would be one option for Dillingham, as rival teams expect them to select a guard at that spot. Jared McCain, Isaiah Collier, and Carlton Carrington have also been mentioned as candidates for Miami at No. 15, Givony writes.

Here’s more on the 2024 NBA draft, which gets underway in less than 11 hours:

According to Givony, the Jazz (No. 10) have looked into some trade-up scenarios involving the Pistons‘ No. 5 overall pick. Their likely target would be UConn’s Stephon Castle, who is considered a possibility for the Hornets at No. 6 but may also come off the board at No. 4 to the Spurs, Givony explains.
Some rival executives think the Lakers will attempt to move up from No. 17 in the draft in order to target a specific player, according to Dan Woike of The Los Angeles Times, who says Providence’s Devin Carter and Baylor’s Ja’Kobe Walter are two prospects the team likes.
Within his final look at the Spurs‘ draft options at No. 4 and 8, LJ Ellis of SpursTalk says a rumor that San Antonio has made a promise to French forward Tidjane Salaun has been “spreading like wildfire in the draft world,” though he hasn’t been able to confirm it himself. Ellis lists Salaun at No. 5 on his big board of Spurs draft prospects.
Salaun is also a potential target to watch for the Trail Blazers at No. 7, according to Sean Highkin of The Rose Garden Report (Substack link), who identifies Donovan Clingan, Cody Williams, Dalton Knecht, and Salaun as the prospects he believes Portland is most interested in. At No. 14, Highkin views Kyshawn George, Tristan Da Silva, Kel’el Ware, and Zach Edey as the Blazers’ most likely targets.

Fischer’s Latest: Draft Rumors, Marshall, Young, Kings, Topic, Knicks, Lowry

June 26th, 2024 at 7:10am CST by Luke Adams

As several of this year’s green room invitees gathered on Tuesday to speak to the media, there was a sense of uncertainty about how Wednesday’s draft will play out, according to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports, who says that many prospects don’t have a real sense of where they’ll be picked.

According to Fischer, the Spurs conducted a meeting with Donovan Clingan over Zoom this past weekend and have been linked to the UConn center more in recent days than they were earlier in the pre-draft process. However, many people around the league believe that’s a smokescreen to entice a team like the Trail Blazers or Grizzlies to trade up to No. 4 to draft him.

If the Grizzlies end up trading down from No. 9, the Heat (No. 15) are viewed as a team that may have interest in moving up, Fischer writes, adding that the Cavaliers at No. 20 have also received a number of calls from teams drafting near the end of the first round with interest in trading up.

The Thunder, who hold the No. 12 pick, have more than enough ammunition in future picks to move up from there if they want to, but if they stand pat, Pittsburgh’s Carlton Carrington is viewed as one possibility for that pick, Fischer reports. Meanwhile, Indiana big man Kel’el Ware has been repeatedly mentioned by league personnel as a candidate to be drafted at No. 19 by the Raptors, Fischer says.

As for the Bucks at No. 23, with rumors circulating that they could move Brook Lopez this offseason, rival teams believe they may be targeting a possible center of the future at that spot. Sources tell Yahoo Sports that Dayton’s DaRon Holmes is one player Milwaukee tried to bring in for a workout, but he declined that invitation. However, Fischer confirms – as Michael Scotto of HoopsHype previously reported – that Holmes, who has also been linked to the Kings, doesn’t have a promise from the Nuggets.

Here’s more from Fischer:

If the Mavericks are unable to re-sign Derrick Jones and have a hole to fill on the wing, they’re expected to show interest in Pelicans free agent Naji Marshall, sources tell Fischer, who adds that the Pistons are another potential suitor to watch for Marshall.
The Lakers, Pelicans, and Spurs are among the possible destinations that would appeal to Trae Young if the Hawks decide to move him, Fischer says.
While the Kings continue to explore the market for a potential deal involving the No. 13 pick and one or both of Harrison Barnes and Kevin Huerter, they don’t appear to have gained any momentum toward a deal for either Hawks guard (Young or Dejounte Murray), Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram, or any other player of that caliber, Fischer writes.
The Magic hired Milenko Topic – Nikola Topic‘s father and a former coach in Serbia and Hungary – to a front office role this past season, per Fischer. That’s a key reason why people around the league believe Orlando at No. 18 is the floor for Nikola in Wednesday’s draft, though he may not make it that far.
After agreeing to acquire Mikal Bridges from Brooklyn, the Knicks might not be done adding former Villanova Wildcats. In a separate Yahoo Sports story on the Bridges deal, Fischer cites sources who say veteran point guard Kyle Lowry has been mentioned as a possible free agent target for New York.

What Will They Do At No. 15?

June 24th, 2024 at 10:48pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Heat own the No. 15 pick in the draft and The Miami Herald’s Anthony Chiang takes a deep dive into the prospects that might be available at that spot. The list is comprehensive, omitting only those prospects who seems likely to go in the top 10.
If finding another shooter is a priority, Kentucky’s Rob Dillingham, Duke guard Jared McCain, Colorado’s Tristan de Silva and the University of Miami’s Kyshawn George are potential targets with the Heat‘s first-rounder, according to Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
In a separate draft-related piece, Winderman notes that virtually every position on the Heat roster could use a boost, with only shooting guard currently having enough quality depth.
Nikola Jovic suffered a postseason left ankle sprain and he’s still in recovery mode, which makes the Heat forward’s status for Serbia’s pre-Olympic matchups uncertain. “I’m doing great,” he told Mozzartsport, as relayed by BasketNews. “The injury I got is getting better, the swelling is almost gone. But we’ll wait a few more days for the control scan and after that we’ll see how things are. Honestly, I’m not 100% sure that I’ll play, but I really believe in it.

Southeast Rumors: Shamet, T. Jones, Adebayo, Martin, Hawks, Buzelis

June 24th, 2024 at 3:47pm CST by Luke Adams

Wizards wing Landry Shamet has been the subject of exploratory trade interest from a number of teams around the NBA, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, who identifies the Clippers, Lakers, Mavericks, Jazz, Raptors, and Magic as possible suitors.

Shamet has historically been a reliable three-point threat, having entered last season with a career 38.8% rate from beyond the arc. However, he made just 33.8% of his tries last season while averaging a career-low 15.8 minutes per game. Still, Scotto says that if Shamet remains in D.C., the club is leaning toward guaranteeing his $11MM salary for 2024/25. That figure is fully non-guaranteed for now, as is his $11.75MM salary for ’25/26.

Here’s more from around the Southeast:

While the Wizards‘ decision to hang onto point guard Tyus Jones through the 2024 trade deadline suggested they’d like to re-sign him as a free agent this summer, rival executives are monitoring the situation to see if he’ll be a sign-and-trade candidate, sources tell Scotto.
Confirming a pair of items that don’t come as any surprise, Scotto says the Heat are expected to have contract extension discussions with star big man Bam Adebayo this offseason and that forward Caleb Martin is expected to decline his $7.1MM player option in search of a more lucrative payday as a free agent, either in Miami or elsewhere.
The Hawks brought in projected top-10 pick Matas Buzelis on Sunday for a pre-draft workout, a source tells Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report (Twitter link). Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer, who confirms the news of Buzelis’ workout, says it signals that Atlanta continues to evaluate all its options in the lottery, including trading down from No. 1. Buzelis has been most frequently linked to Detroit at No. 5.
After he spent the 2023/24 season coaching the College Park Skyhawks – Atlanta’s G League affiliate – Ryan Schmidt is expected to move to the Hawks‘ bench for the 2024/25 season, Scotto reports, adding that Hawks assistant Steven Klei is a candidate to become the Skyhawks’ head coach.

Sixers Rumors: George, Butler, Anunoby, KCP, LaVine, Maxey

June 24th, 2024 at 11:18am CST by Arthur Hill

A report last week suggested the Sixers‘ interest in acquiring Clippers star Paul George has “waned,” but sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype that Philadelphia still has “significant interest” in signing George if he opts for free agency.

George, the number one name on our list of this year’s top 50 free agents, has until Saturday to decide whether to exercise his $48.8MM option for next season. If George is unable to reach an extension agreement with L.A. by then, he can either decline the option and test free agency or opt in and demand a trade.

George has long been considered an offseason priority for Philadelphia, which has the ability to create more than $60MM in cap room. The Magic are among the teams that are also expected to pursue George if he reaches the open market.

Sources inform Scotto that a trade for Heat forward Jimmy Butler remains a viable option for the Sixers if they can’t acquire George. Butler spent most of the 2018/19 season in Philadelphia before being traded to Miami and has maintained a strong relationship with Joel Embiid.

Another option, according to Scotto, could be a “short-term, higher market average annual salary” deal with Knicks free agent forward OG Anunoby. Scotto also hears the Sixers may also offer Nuggets guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope a two-year contract similar to what Bruce Brown got last year, with a large salary for next season and a team option for 2025/26.

There’s more on the Sixers, all courtesy of Scotto:

Sources tell Scotto that Philadelphia has less interest in trading for Bulls guard Zach LaVine now that Alex Caruso can no longer be part of the deal. Caruso was shipped to Oklahoma City on Friday in a trade for Josh Giddey. The Sixers are reluctant to take on the three years and $138MM left on LaVine’s contract without other assets attached.
Tyrese Maxey is considered virtually certain to sign a max extension this summer, but Klutch CEO Rich Paul may want something in return for waiting a year while the team worked to maximize its cap space, Scotto adds. He suggests Paul might ask for a player option on the final year of Maxey’s next contract, along with a 15% trade kicker.
With Buddy Hield possibly departing in free agency, Scotto sees Baylor guard Ja’Kobe Walter as a potential replacement in the draft. He notes that Walter has a 6’10” wingspan and is considered a much better perimeter defender than Hield.

Heat Notes: First-Round Pick, Hard Cap, Drafting Track Record

June 22nd, 2024 at 6:50pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Heat won’t let concerns about crossing over the second tax apron scare them into getting rid of their first-round draft pick, assistant general manager Adam Simon tells Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Whoever the team selects at No. 15 on Wednesday will receive a guaranteed contract valued at around $4.2MM. It’s a significant addition for a team that’s already projected to exceed the first apron with several holes on the roster left to fill.

Simon explains that the Heat like to emphasize roster balance, with a mixture of high-salaried stars, experienced complementary talents, and younger players. Draft picks can be cost-effective because they’re under team control at reasonable salaries for at least four years, and Chiang notes that Miami’s last two first-rounders, Jaime Jaquez ($3.7MM) and Nikola Jovic ($2.5MM) are the only current roster members with guaranteed contracts who will make less that this year’s first-round pick.

“You look at your roster, you look at the construction of your roster, you try to have a balanced roster of veterans, players who are in their prime and then young players,” Simon said. “You’re trying to develop young players, but we’re also trying to win every year. So I think it’s nice to add young players to your core every year. But sometimes it takes some time to integrate a 19- or 20-year-old player into a roster of experienced veterans.”

There’s more from Miami:

Changes in the new Collective Bargaining Agreement could result in a different second-round experience this year, Chiang adds. Any team that purchases a second-round pick will now be hard-capped at the second apron of $189MM for the entire season. That same restriction applies to any team that sends out cash in a trade. “If a team thinks they’re going to be hard-capped anyhow, then they might as well do it,” Simon said. “So I think it just depends on where your organization is aligned in their current state of their salary.” The Heat hold the 43rd pick in the second round.
Miami has found a rotation player with four of the last five first-round picks it has made, Chiang states in a separate story, citing Bam Adebayo in 2017, Tyler Herro in 2019, Jovic in 2022 and Jaquez last year. The only first-round selection during that stretch who’s no longer on the roster is Precious Achiuwa, who was taken at No. 20 in the 2020 draft and traded to Toronto a year later “These are not easy decisions,” Simon added. “After the fact, you can look back and think: ‘Hey, why didn’t we do this?’ I think this is a very challenging assignment to try to figure out how a player that played in one system is going to fit into your system.”
In another piece, Chiang talks to Simon about the conflict between filling team needs in the draft and selecting the best available player.