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Southeast Notes: Heat Free Agency, LaMelo, Collins, Avdija

December 27th, 2020 at 4:19pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

With Giannis Antetokounmpo now signed to the Bucks on a record $228MM five-year extension, the Heat could pivot their 2021 free agency focus to alternative options, such as star forwards Kawhi Leonard and Blake Griffin, writes Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel.

Leonard can opt out of the contract he signed with the Clippers in the summer of 2019, and has sounded non-committal to L.A. beyond this season in recent interviews, in Winderman’s view. Meanwhile, though injuries limited Griffin to just 20 games last season, the 6’9″ power forward made the All-Star team for the Pistons in 2019.

The 2020 Eastern Conference champions should have significant cap space next summer to add a high-level player, though they will need to address the restricted free agency of sharpshooter Duncan Robinson.

There’s more out of the Southeast Division:

  • Though rookie Hornets point guard LaMelo Ball has struggled through some growing pains in this early season, Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer suggests that the No. 3 overall pick should see more playing time from coach James Borrego. Ball is averaging just 15.5 minutes so far. “It’s tough. There are a number of guys that are capable of handling minutes,” Borrego said. “LaMelo’s got to do his part. It’s my job to do what’s best for this club.
  • Hawks power forward John Collins may have rejected an extension offer in excess of $90MM prior to the season, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said on his Hoop Collective podcast. The high-scoring big man will become a restricted free agent in the summer of 2021, and could command a similar number – or a higher one – on the open market.
  • Rookie Wizards swingman Deni Avdija is getting the first-year treatment from league referees, per Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington. Head coach Scott Brooks contends that Avdija is receiving quick whistles from league officials. Early foul trouble limited Avdija to just 15 minutes of action in a loss to the Magic yesterday. “It’s just part of the rookie initiation,” Brooks commented. “I [reviewed the plays] at halftime… I didn’t think two of them were fouls.”
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Community Shootaround: Christmas Day Games

December 25th, 2020 at 8:30am CST by Luke Adams

When the 2019/20 NBA season ended in October, it didn’t seem likely that we’d see another NBA game played until some time in the new year, perhaps even as late as February or March. But the league accelerated its plans for the 2020/21 regular season in the fall, ensuring that an annual tradition was preserved: the five-game Christmas Day slate.

Today’s schedule is as follows:

  • New Orleans Pelicans at Miami Heat (11:00am central time)
  • Golden State Warriors at Milwaukee Bucks (1:30pm CT)
  • Brooklyn Nets at Boston Celtics (4:00pm CT)
  • Dallas Mavericks at Los Angeles Lakers (7:00pm CT)
  • Los Angeles Clippers at Denver Nuggets (9:30pm CT)

A couple of these matchups look even more tantalizing today than they did a week ago. The Pelicans, for instance, looked awfully impressive in their opening-night game against Toronto on Wednesday and will be going up against the defending Eastern champion Heat, who are hungry for their first win of the season.

A Stephen Curry/Giannis Antetokounmpo showdown between the Warriors and Bucks will be followed by a matchup of two potential Eastern Conference contenders who looked great on opening night, the Nets and Celtics.

Luka Doncic and the Mavericks and LeBron James, Anthony Davis and the Lakers will all be looking for their first win of the season in the evening.

And the night is capped off with a rematch of last year’s Western Conference Semifinals, with Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, and the Clippers visiting Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, and the Nuggets.

Which game are you most looking forward to watch today? Which five teams are you picking to win the Christmas Day games? Use the comment section below to weigh in with your thoughts and make your predictions!

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Bam's Next Development: Shot Creator?

December 24th, 2020 at 9:06pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The next phase in the development of Heat All-Star center Bam Adebayo could be improving his shot creation, and veteran point guard Goran Dragic should still have a huge role for the club even as he returns to the super-sub role he had ahead of the Heat’s Finals run this summer and fall, per Seth Partnow and Dave DuFour of the Athletic.

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Hollinger Talks Heat Offseason, 2020/21 Projections

December 23rd, 2020 at 8:14pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

John Hollinger of the Athletic reviewed the 2020 offseason for the Heat and previewed the 2020/21 season for the club, which opened tonight against the Magic in Orlando. Hollinger notes that the team’s 2020 offseason seemed to prioritize future assets over building for the immediate present, despite the fact that Miami made the Finals this season.

The Heat will be able to carve out about $30MM in available cap room for the 2021 offseason, Hollinger projects. Hollinger also expects the team to use its roster, loaded with expiring contracts and intriguing players on cheap contracts, to improve ahead of the playoffs.

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Adebayo Vows Not To Become Complacent

December 22nd, 2020 at 9:50pm CST by Dana Gauruder
  • The Heat locked up Bam Adebayo with a five-year max extension last month. The big money won’t make Adebayo stop looking for ways to improve his game, Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald writes. “Just because I got money doesn’t mean that I got complacent,” Adebayo said.
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Heat No Longer Engaging In Harden Talks With Rockets

December 21st, 2020 at 2:33pm CST by Luke Adams

The Heat are no longer engaging in discussions with the Rockets about a possible James Harden trade, according to Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel (Twitter link).

Miami was said to be among Harden’s preferred landing spot, and a report earlier this month indicated the Heat would be open to exploring the possibility of a deal. However, Winderman hears that the discussions were “never more than cursory.”

The Heat had some interest, but not at the Rockets’ asking price, tweets Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. Jackson adds (via Twitter) that one high-ranking Heat official had “strong interest” in a deal and that the team might re-engage if Houston lowers its asking price. For now, Miami is standing firm.

As Winderman points out (via Twitter), the Heat have taken this approach before, shutting down trade discussions on a potential target once the regular season begins — they did so with Jimmy Butler right before the start of the 2018/19 campaign, preferring to push that speculation aside once the season tipped off. Butler eventually made his way to Miami in the 2019 offseason after being traded from Minnesota to Philadelphia during the season.

In order to realistically have a shot to acquire Harden without giving up Butler or Bam Adebayo, the Heat would have to gut their supporting cast, likely including veterans like Andre Iguodala and Kelly Olynyk for salary purposes and then sweetening their offer by including young players like Tyler Herro, Duncan Robinson, and/or Kendrick Nunn, along with future draft picks.

The inclusion of Robinson in a potential deal was said to be a sticking point, though it sounds like the Heat and Rockets may not have gotten far enough in their talks to seriously haggle over specific aspects of an offer.

The Rockets have also had Harden discussions with the Nets, Sixers, and Nuggets, among other teams, says ESPN’s Brian Windhorst. Denver isn’t believed to be among Harden’s preferred destinations, but could put together an interesting trade package for a star player.

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And-Ones: Dixon, G League, Owners, Rookie Transition Program

December 20th, 2020 at 6:49pm CST by JD Shaw

Former William & Mary guard Daniel Dixon has retired from professional basketball and will join the Hornets as a video coordinator and basketball operations assistant this season, he told Hoops Rumors.

Dixon holds NBA G League experience with Maine (Celtics), Northern Arizona (Suns) and Windy City (Bulls), spending four years in college before going undrafted in 2017. He also signed a contract in France during the summer of 2018.

At just 26 years old, Dixon joins a revamped Hornets franchise for the 2020/21 season. Charlotte drafted LaMelo Ball at No. 3 overall and signed Gordon Hayward to a four-year, $120MM deal this offseason, working to become competitive in the Eastern Conference. The team last made the postseason in 2016.

Here are some other odds and ends from around the basketball world:

  • ESPN’s Jonathan Givony and Mike Schmitz obtained footage of both G League Ignite scrimmages from last week, dissecting how each player performed against the veterans and what’s ahead for the team. The decision-makers within the G League curiously opted not to publicly live-stream the games or release any footage, though the pair of ESPN scribes managed to examine the pros and cons for top 2021 prospects such as Jalen Green, Jonathan Kuminga and Isaiah Todd.
  • Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic explores which team owners are the NBA’s best and worst, tallying opinions from various league insiders. Steve Ballmer (Clippers), Micky Arison (Heat) and Mark Cuban (Mavericks) ranked in the top three, while Vivek Ranadive (Kings), Robert Sarver (Suns) and James Dolan (Knicks) finished in the bottom three. Among the league insiders polled were front office members and agents from around the league.
  • Ben Pickman of Sports Illustrated takes a deep dive into the NBA’s rookie transition program, which, like many other things, has been complicated by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. “Things are all moving parts right now, but you just gotta kinda go on the fly and that’s all us rookies have been used to the whole time,” Kings rookie Tyrese Haliburton explained. “We’ve been going on the fly since March. It’s just kinda a part of it.”
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Southeast Notes: Okpala, Strus, Hornets, Monk

December 20th, 2020 at 5:24pm CST by JD Shaw

Heat forward KZ Okpala is making a strong case to be in the team’s rotation this season, Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald writes. Okpala, the No. 32 pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, played in just five games last season, but the 21-year-old has impressed teammates and staffers alike during training camp.

“His physical tools are what impressed us, in particular the scouting department with Chet [Kammerer] and Adam [Simon] and Eric Amsler and Keith [Askins],” coach Erik Spoelstra said of why the team drafted Okpala. “They all just really thought it was unique how he can move his feet for someone his size. Then his length and he can seem bigger even than what he is. But he had to learn our system, learn the NBA and get in great shape and then be available day after day. 

“This has really been a process since the quarantine in May and June when he was really working just to get his body right doing a lot of player development. That’s a credit to his work and consistency. … I would say he’s probably, considering everything, he probably was arguably top-three best conditioned going into camp, which was important and much different than his previous camp last year.”

Okpala, a 6’8″ forward, could help fill the holes left by Jae Crowder and Derrick Jones Jr., both of whom left in free agency. The Heat lack clarity on a starting five; they could choose to start Meyers Leonard alongside Bam Adebayo, as they did at the beginning of last season, or they could play small and start one of Okpala, Maurice Harkless or Andre Iguodala. The team could also give rookie Precious Achiuwa a shot in the lineup depending on his play.

Okpala had his best game in a Heat uniform on Friday, scoring 24 points, grabbing five rebounds and shooting 9-of-15 from the floor in 34 minutes of work.

There’s more from the Southeast Division tonight:

  • In a separate story for the Miami Herald, Anthony Chiang examines how Max Strus earned a two-way contract with the Heat. Strus, a 24-year-old sharpshooter, finished with 22 points off the bench on Friday, shooting 6-of-8 from 3-point range. He split time between Chicago and Windy City during the 2019/20 season.
  • John Hollinger of The Athletic previews the Hornets‘ upcoming season, examining what steps the team could take with the additions of Gordon Hayward and LaMelo Ball. Charlotte finished just 23-42 last season and ranked 29th in the NBA in offensive efficiency (106.3).
  • Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer examines Malik Monk‘s future with the Hornets. Charlotte drafted Monk, 22, with the No. 11 pick in 2017, but he’s struggled to gain a rhythm early in his career. He shot under 40% from the field in both of his first two seasons, managing to raise the mark to 43% last season — though his 28% shooting from deep was a career-low.
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Heat Convert Max Strus To Two-Way Deal, Waive B.J. Johnson

December 19th, 2020 at 11:14am CST by marksuleymanov

11:14am: As expected, the Heat have waived Johnson, per Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel.

10:50am: The Heat have converted guard/forward Max Strus‘ Exhibit 10 deal into a two-way contract, the team announced in a press release on Saturday. Miami had an open two-way slot alongside point guard Gabe Vincent.

Strus appeared in two preseason contests with the Heat, averaging a team-best 16.5 PPG along with 5.0 RPG and 2.5 APG while shooting 50% from the field. In Miami’s 117-105 win last night over the Raptors, Strus came off the bench to add 22 points while shooting 6-of-8 from three-point range.

Two-way contracts allow NBA teams to carry two extra players in addition to the 15 on their regular season roster. Those deals will likely be more important than ever this season, since two-way players will be permitted to appear in up to 50 regular season games at the NBA level. With the G League season expected to take place in a bubble, two-way players figure to spend most or all of the season with their respective NBA clubs.

Strus’ converted deal means that he beat out swingman B.J. Johnson, who was signed by the Heat in early December. Johnson appeared in just two preseason games with the Heat, averaging 1.5 PPG. It is a near-lock that he’ll be waived, given his non-guaranteed deal, along with the fact that Miami is carrying 15 players with guaranteed contracts.

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2020/21 NBA Over/Unders: Southeast Division

December 18th, 2020 at 4:01pm CST by Luke Adams

The 2020/21 NBA regular season will get underway on December 22, so it’s time to get serious about predictions for the upcoming campaign.

With the help of the lines from a handful of sports betting sites, including Bovada and BetOnline, we’re running through the predicted win totals for each of the NBA’s 30 teams, by division. In a series of team-by-team polls, you’ll get the chance to weigh in on whether you think those forecasts are too optimistic or too pessimistic.

Of course, there are plenty of wild cards to take into account this season. For one, teams are scheduled to play 72 games instead of 82, so if you’re picking a team to win 41 games, you’re not just expecting them to be a .500 club — you’re projecting them to finish 10 games above .500. For each team’s over/under below, we’ve noted the record they’d have to achieve to finish “over” their projection, as a reminder.

It’s also worth noting that the coronavirus pandemic could cause some games to be canceled in 2020/21. We don’t want you to have to take possible cancellations into account when making your picks though, so don’t let that stop you from taking the “over.” If a team has a couple games canceled, we’ll adjust their over/under figure downward, so you’re essentially just projecting that team’s winning percentage.

We’ll turn today to the Southeast…

Miami Heat

Trade Rumors app users, click here for Heat poll.

Atlanta Hawks

Trade Rumors app users, click here for Hawks poll.

Washington Wizards

Trade Rumors app users, click here for Wizards poll.

Orlando Magic

Trade Rumors app users, click here for Magic poll.

Charlotte Hornets

Trade Rumors app users, click here for Hornets poll.

Previous voting results:

Atlantic:

  • Boston Celtics (45.5 wins): Over (66.3%)
  • Brooklyn Nets (45.5 wins): Over (58.6%)
  • Philadelphia 76ers (44.5 wins): Over (57.4%)
  • Toronto Raptors (42.5 wins): Over (54.7%)
  • New York Knicks (22.5 wins): Under (59.5%)

Northwest:

  • Denver Nuggets (44.5 wins): Over (69.7%)
  • Utah Jazz (42.5 wins): Over (59.9%)
  • Portland Trail Blazers (41.5 wins): Over (70.1%)
  • Minnesota Timberwolves (29.5 wins): Under (50.3%)
  • Oklahoma City Thunder (22.5 wins): Under (64.4%)

Central:

  • Milwaukee Bucks (51.5 wins): Over (73.7%)
  • Indiana Pacers (39.5 wins): Over (57.9%)
  • Chicago Bulls (29.5 wins): Under (61.6%)
  • Cleveland Cavaliers (23.5 wins): Under (68.5%)
  • Detroit Pistons (22.5 wins): Over (53.9%)

Pacific:

  • Los Angeles Lakers (48.5 wins): Over (79.1%)
  • Los Angeles Clippers (47.5 wins): Under (50.4%)
  • Phoenix Suns (40.5 wins): Over (51.0%)
  • Golden State Warriors (38.5 wins): Over (60.3%)
  • Sacramento Kings (29.5 wins): Under (60.7%)
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