Miami Heat Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Heat, Lakers Among Teams Likely To Bypass G League Bubble

December 6th, 2020 at 5:51pm CST by JD Shaw

Several franchises are expected to bypass the option of competing in the proposed NBA G League bubble, which would likely be located in Atlanta next month, league sources told Hoops Rumors.

The Celtics (Maine Red Claws), Heat (Sioux Falls Skyforce), Lakers (South Bay Lakers), and Pistons (Grand Rapids Drive) are among the teams that have indicated plans of not participating in the bubble, sources said, with discussions ongoing about the final structure of a season. The Athletic first reported that Boston planned on bypassing the bubble.

Among the topics still being discussed are player salaries, committed teams, and a precise calendar for the season. Franchises would have an entry fee of $500K. The newly-introduced G League Ignite team is a major consideration in the league’s push to salvage a season.

Teams would be expected to play a minimum of 12 games during the campaign, which could then be followed by a tournament, sources said. As in past years, a G League draft would be held at a date to be later determined.

Despite some teams gradually beginning to reject the idea, other franchises such as the Sixers (Delaware Blue Coats) and Raptors (Raptors 905) have committed to playing this season, sources said. All in all, optimism remains that a G League bubble will commence, with a minimum of double-digit teams participating and an announcement coming in the near future.

B.J. Johnson Signs With Heat

December 4th, 2020 at 4:30pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Swingman B.J. Johnson has signed a contract with the Heat, according to a team press release.

It’s believed to be an Exhibit 10 contract. Johnson will compete with several other players for Miami’s remaining two-way contract, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald tweets. Point guard Gabe Vincent has already signed a two-way deal. The Heat now have a full 20-man camp roster.

Miami’s latest transaction comes as a surprise. Johnson was reported to be signing with the Suns, so either there was never an agreement in place with Phoenix or that deal fell through.

Johnson, 24, was on a two-way contract with Magic last season but entered unrestricted free agency after he did not receive a qualifying offer last month. He appeared in just 10 games for Orlando, averaging 8.3 MPG.

He also appeared in 28 games (all starts) with the Magic’s G League team, Lakeland, and averaged 22.9 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 2.1 APG, 2.1 SPG and 35.9 MPG while shooting 42.3% from 3-point range. The 6’7″ wing went undrafted out of La Salle in 2018.

In his rookie year, Johnson spent time with the Hawks, Kings and Magic.

Heat Exercise 2021/22 Team Option On Tyler Herro

December 2nd, 2020 at 10:59pm CST by Luke Adams

The Heat have officially exercised their 2021/22 team option on Tyler Herro, per Keith Smith of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link).

The move locks in the third-year option on Herro’s rookie contract, ensuring that he’ll earn $4MM a year from now. He’s set to earn $3.82MM in 2020/21. Miami will have to make a decision on his $5.72MM fourth-year option for ’22/23 next fall.

Rookie scale team option decisions for ’21/22 are due by December 29. Not every former first-round pick will have his third- or fourth-year option exercised this month, but in cases like Herro’s, picking up that option is a mere formality.

Herro, who will turn 21 in January, earned a spot on the NBA’s All-Rookie Second Team last season, averaging 13.5 PPG on .428/.389/.870 shooting in 55 games (27.4 MPG). He elevated his game to a new level in the postseason, recording 16.0 PPG, 5.1 RPG, and 3.7 APG in 33.6 minutes per contest as the Heat came within two wins of a title.

Lakers, Celtics Among Teams Hosting Christmas Day Games

December 1st, 2020 at 7:35pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets that the NBA has set its Christmas Day schedule for 2020/21.

Woj emphasizes that the currently starry five games scheduled are “tentative.” That’s likely due to the risk of COVID-19 cases preventing certain contests, rather than the league continuing to finalize the schedule.

ESPN reporters Andrew Lopez, Eric Woodyard, Nick Friedell, Dave McMenamin, and Ohm Youngmisuk have weighed in on the five scheduled games.

Here’s the full list of anticipated Christmas Day matchups, per Woj’s reporting:

New Orleans Pelicans at Miami Heat, 12 p.m. EST
Golden State Warriors at Milwaukee Bucks, 2:30 p.m. EST
Brooklyn Nets at Boston Celtics, 5 pm. EST
Dallas Mavericks at Los Angeles Lakers, 8 p.m. EST
Los Angeles Clippers at Denver Nuggets, 10:30 p.m. EST

All four 2020 conference finalists will be present, though none will be facing each other. The champion Lakers, led by LeBron James and Anthony Davis and filled out by a revamped roster of role players, will host the Mavericks, looking to take a leap in the standings after rising superstar Luka Doncic‘s first All-Star season.

The Eastern Conference champion Heat, fronted by Jimmy Butler and newly-extended Bam Adebayo, will host another Western Conference club with a promising rep from the NBA’s next wave of superstars, the Pelicans and second-year forward Zion Williamson.

The Nuggets/Clippers matchup should feature plenty of fireworks, as Los Angeles faced ample scrutiny for letting go of the rope enough for Denver to climb all the way out of a 3-1 deficit to win their second-round matchup during the 2020 playoffs.

The Celtics will square off against the formidable Nets, piloted by a newly healthy Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.

Reigning two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, meanwhile, will do battle with Durant’s old club, the Warriors, led by a former two-time MVP of their own in Stephen Curry. Antetokounmpo’s Bucks have recorded league-leading regular season records, only to fall short of the Finals in the playoffs during each of the last two seasons. Milwaukee is no doubt hopeful that its offseason makeover will amend that. The Warriors, meanwhile, saw their championship hopes jeopardized after All-Star shooting guard Klay Thompson incurred an Achilles tear that will sideline him for the entire season.

The Raptors, Rockets and Sixers, three perennial playoff clubs that (currently) have two All-Stars apiece, appear to be the biggest snubs this season, although the fate of Houston’s two All-Stars remains in flux.

Assuming every game happens as scheduled, which December 25 bout are you most excited for in 2020? Are there any teams or matchups you’re disappointed to see (or not see) listed? Let us know what you think in our comments section!

Heat Sign Max Strus

November 30th, 2020 at 10:13am CST by Luke Adams

The Heat have signed free agent wing Max Strus, the team announced today in a press release. The club’s roster is now at 19 players.

While terms of the deal weren’t disclosed in Miami’s announcement, it figures to be a non-guaranteed training camp contract. Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald tweets that Strus will compete with Paul Eboua, Breein Tyree, and possibly one more player to claim the Heat’s second two-way contract slot. Gabe Vincent currently occupies one of those two slots.

Strus, 24, spent last season on a two-way contract with the Bulls. The former DePaul standout appeared in 13 games for the Windy City Bulls in the G League and two contests for Chicago in the NBA before a torn ACL prematurely ended his season. He suffered that injury more than 11 months ago, so presumably, if Miami is comfortable signing him, he’ll be ready to go for training camp.

Southeast Notes: Heat, Beal, Wizards, Magic, Hayward

November 29th, 2020 at 5:28pm CST by JD Shaw

If Giannis Antetokounmpo opts to sign a five-year, $228MM super-max contract extension with the Bucks over these next few weeks, Wizards All-Star Bradley Beal will likely become the No. 1 target for the Heat, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald writes.

Miami has diligently preserved cap space for the summer of 2021, when superstars such as Antetokoumnpo could reach free agency and ultimately meet with the team. The Heat did choose to sign centerpiece Bam Adebayo to a five-year extension and limit their cap space last week, with Adebayo and Antetokounmpo sharing the same agent.

Beal, 27, averaged a career-high 30.5 points per game this past season, shooting 46% from the floor and 35% from downtown. The Heat have several trade assets that could be used in a deal, including Tyler Herro, Kendrick Nunn and Kelly Olynyk. Antetokounmpo has yet to make a decision thus far.

There’s more from the Southeast Division tonight:

Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington lists five questions for the Wizards entering training camp this week. John Wall reportedly requested a trade earlier this month, with general manager Tommy Sheppard recently downplaying the report and insisting their relationship remains intact. Besides Wall, the team must also decide who to start at small forward next season, with Rui Hachimura, Deni Avdija and Troy Brown Jr. being the most likely candidates.
Josh Robbins of The Athletic examines whether the Magic tend to overvalue their own players. Orlando finished with the eight-best record in the Eastern Conference at 33-40 last season, losing point guard D.J. Augustin to Milwaukee in free agency. The team retained Evan Fournier after he exercised his $17.15MM player option, however, with the 28-year-old averaging a career-high 18.5 points per game last season.
Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer explores the implications from the Hornets agreeing to a four-year, $120MM deal with Gordon Hayward, breaking it down from a cap and roster perspective. Charlotte officially acquired the former NBA All-Star in a sign-and-trade with the Celtics on Sunday.

Southeast Notes: Adebayo, Bertans, Rondo, Mane

November 29th, 2020 at 11:45am CST by Arthur Hill

Heat president Pat Riley said signing Bam Adebayo to an extension was an easy decision, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. At age 23, Adebayo has already become one of the league’s best big men, averaging 15.9 points, 10.2 rebounds and 5.1 assists last season while making his first All-Star appearance.

“One of the most important things a franchise can do is to make sure that your best, youngest, cornerstone players sign on the dotted line,” Riley said. “Getting Bam his extension was a no-brainer for us because we know he will be around for years to come. That’s great for the Heat, great for the fans and great for Bam.”

Adebayo will only receive a full super-max deal, paying him 30% of the salary cap, if he earns MVP honors, tweets John Hollinger of The Athletic. That figure is 28.5% if he is a first-team All-NBA selection and 27.5% if he wins Defensive Player of the Year. If none of those things happen, Adebayo will be paid 25% of the cap. Those figures are confirmed by Chiang, who adds that Adebayo’s new contract doesn’t contain any player or team options (Twitter link).

There’s more from the Southeast Division:

Re-signing Davis Bertans gives the Wizards one sure thing on a roster filled with uncertainty, states Ava Wallace of The Washington Post. Bertans developed into one of the NBA’s most dangerous three-point shooters during his first season in Washington and was rewarded with a five-year, $80MM contract. “There’d been talk from (general manager Tommy Sheppard) and the Wizards that they wanted me to stay,” Bertans said. “But until it comes to free agency, you actually get the call that the team wants you, you can’t be sure. I was happy that it wasn’t just some talk from Tommy and the whole team, that they really, really wanted me to come back.”
Rajon Rondo‘s new contract with the Hawks includes a $750K incentive if he plays at least 33 games and the team reaches the playoffs, tweets Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders.
Karim Mane, who signed a two-way contract with the Magic on Friday, has similarities in his game to Victor Oladipo and Jrue Holiday, observes Josh Cohen of NBA.com. Mane is relentless on defense, excelling in traps, and is hard for defenders to stay in front of when he drives to the basket.

Heat Re-Sign Udonis Haslem

November 28th, 2020 at 4:38pm CST by JD Shaw

NOVEMBER 28: The new contract is official, the Heat announced on Twitter.

“It’s great to have UD back,” team president Pat Riley said. “His role is so critical for our team. Besides being able to still play, UD keeps everyone together in the locker room and on the road, teaching and mentoring.” (Twitter link from Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald)

NOVEMBER 20: The Heat have agreed to a new deal with veteran big man Udonis Haslem, Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press tweets. Haslem will officially return for an 18th consecutive season with the team.

Haslem, 40, committed to re-signing with the Heat earlier this month, bypassing potential retirement. He’s won three championships during his time with Miami (2005-06, 2011-12 and 2012-13), transitioning into a veteran role with the club this the past decade.

Several Heat players have raved about Haslem’s impact in the locker room as the team’s captain, particularly during the club’s impressive postseason run in Orlando. Miami was expected to explore its options and keep Haslem around in some capacity — even if he did choose to retire. On the court, he’s only appeared in 44 regular-season games since the 2016-17 campaign.

In addition to Haslem, the Heat also managed to strike deals with free agents Goran Dragic and Meyers Leonard early in free agency. The team still has Jae Crowder, Derrick Jones Jr. and Solomon Hill on the open market, with Crowder starting in the playoffs and the latter two seeing inconsistent time.

Jae Crowder Signs Three-Year Deal With Suns

November 28th, 2020 at 3:37pm CST by Luke Adams

NOVEMBER 28, 3:37pm: Crowder has officially signed, per team press release.

NOVEMBER 21, 1:03pm: The Suns have reached an agreement to sign Jae Crowder to a three-year contract, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (via Twitter). The deal will be worth just shy of $30MM, tweets Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press. Phoenix will use its full mid-level exception to complete the signing.

Crowder, who finished the season in Miami, reportedly explored a new deal with the Heat, but was seeking a guaranteed multiyear commitment that the Heat weren’t comfortable with, per Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald (Twitter link).

League sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link) that Crowder also drew interest from the Mavericks, Timberwolves, Clippers, and Hornets, but that Phoenix’s offer was ultimately too good to pass up.

Crowder, 30, provides value as a three-and-D player who has the size to guard bigger wings. He also played some of his best basketball at exactly the right time in his contract year.

After being traded from the Grizzlies to the Heat at last season’s deadline, the veteran forward made 44.5% of his threes for Miami in 20 games to finish the season, then started all 21 postseason contests as the Heat came within two wins of a title.

Having secured a commitment from Crowder and having traded for All-Star point guard Chris Paul earlier in the week, the Suns are looking like an intriguing playoff contender in the Western Conference this season. The team finished five games below .500 in 2019/20, but had an impressive 8-0 run in the Walt Disney World bubble, increasing expectations for ’20/21.

Paul and Crowder will join a promising group that includes star guard Devin Booker, former No. 1 pick Deandre Ayton, and young wings Mikal Bridges and Cameron Johnson, among others. The Suns also still hope to re-sign restricted free agent forward Dario Saric, per John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 (Twitter link).

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Heat Sign Bam Adebayo To Maximum-Salary Extension

November 28th, 2020 at 3:18pm CST by Luke Adams

NOVEMBER 28, 3:18pm: Adebayo has officially signed the contract, according to a team press release.

NOVEMBER 24, 2:39pm: The Heat and Adebayo have agreed to terms on the extension, reports ESPN’s Zach Lowe (Twitter link). It’s straight five-year deal, with no player or team option, according to Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald (Twitter link).

Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link) confirms that Adebayo’s new maximum-salary extension will have Rose Rule language and could start at up to 30% of the 2021/22 cap rather than 25%, as detailed below.

NOVEMBER 24, 12:29pm: The Heat are moving forward with a contract extension for fourth-year big man Bam Adebayo, according to Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel (Twitter link). Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press confirms (via Twitter) that the club is in the process of extending Adebayo’s deal.

Adebayo was one of two dozen players eligible for a rookie scale extension entering the offseason. Coming off a breakout year, he looked like one of the most deserving candidates for a new deal, along with Jayson Tatum, Donovan Mitchell, and De’Aaron Fox, all of whom have agreed to maximum-salary extensions in recent days.

However, the Heat’s salary cap situation complicated the team’s decision. Miami has been focused on preserving as much cap room as possible for the 2021 offseason, and a new deal for Adebayo will increase his cap charge from a hold worth about $15MM to a new salary worth at least $28MM (f he gets the max), eliminating the possibility of a max-salary slot for a free agent.

The fact that the Heat are now moving forward on an extension for Adebayo could mean a number of things. Maybe Adebayo wasn’t waiting a year for his new contract; maybe the Heat remain confident that if a star like Giannis Antetokounmpo is available and wants to play in Miami next year, they’ll be able to figure it out even without the necessary cap room, like they did for Jimmy Butler in 2019; or maybe the Heat believe Antetokounmpo is becoming more likely to sign a super-max extension with the Bucks and remain in Milwaukee.

According to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald (Twitter link), someone who knows Giannis well told him that the reigning MVP would be impressed by the Heat extending Adebayo early rather than making him wait until next year. Still, if Antetokounmpo is moving closer to accepting a deal with the Bucks, Adebayo’s agent Alex Saratsis would certainly know about it — he also represents Giannis.

Whatever the thinking, it’s good news for Adebayo, who was a full-time starter for the Heat in the first time in 2019/20 and responded with an All-Star performance, averaging 15.9 PPG, 10.2 RPG, and 5.1 APG in 72 games (33.6 MPG).

He also helped anchor Miami’s defense, blocking 1.3 shots per game and averaging 1.1 steals as well. His play was crucial in helping the Heat reach the NBA Finals, though his ability to contribute in that series against the Lakers was compromised by a neck injury.

The Heat are expected to give Adebayo a five-year maximum-salary contract that will match the ones signed by those other young stars from his draft class, as Winderman reports. That would put the 23-year-old on track to earn at least $163MM and as much as $195.6MM over the life of the deal, based on current cap projections. The new contract will begin in 2021/22, once his rookie deal expires.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.