Miami Heat Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Craig, Atkinson, Billups Expected To Join Lue’s Clippers Staff

October 26th, 2020 at 2:52pm CST by Luke Adams

Heat assistant coach Dan Craig is leaving Miami to take a job as an assistant on Tyronn Lue‘s Clippers staff, Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald confirms (via Twitter). According to Jackson, the Clippers offered more money than the Heat, and Craig hopes the role will help him eventually become an NBA head coach.

Mike Robinson of The Ball Out first reported today that Craig and former Brooklyn head coach Kenny Atkinson would be joining the Clippers as assistants.

Marc Stein of The New York Times, who revealed last week that Craig and Atkinson were drawing interest as potential additions to Lue’s staff, tweeted today that Chauncey Billups has also interviewed for an assistant coach position with the Clippers. The expectation in coaching circles is that Craig, Atkinson, and Billups will all formally finalize deals to join the Clips, Stein adds (via Twitter).

Shams Charania of The Athletic first reported back on October 15 when Lue was promoted by the Clippers that Billups would join him in Los Angeles. Billups was still a candidate in the Pacers’ head coaching search at that time. Now that Indiana has gone in another direction, hiring Nate Bjorkgren, it appears Billups is on track to complete an agreement with L.A.

Craig, who reportedly received head coaching interest from the Bulls and Pacers this year, has been with the Heat for the better part of two decades after initially being hired as a video intern in 2003. He has been an assistant on Erik Spoelstra‘s staff since 2012, spending one year during that time (2015/16) as the head coach of the Sioux Falls Skyforce, Miami’s G League affiliate.

Like Craig, Atkinson generated some head coaching interest around the NBA this summer, having been linked to the Knicks, Rockets, Bulls, and Pelicans jobs. The former Knicks and Hawks assistant was hired by the Nets as their head coach of the Nets in 2016 and held that role until he was let go by the organization in March of this year. He compiled a 118-190 (.383) record in Brooklyn as he led the franchise through a challenging rebuild.

As for Billups, he’s a former NBA Finals MVP who expressed interest this year in becoming a head coach. Since his retirement as a player, Billups had reportedly “toyed with the idea” of getting into coaching, and it appears he’ll do so alongside Lue, a longtime friend with whom he shares an agent. A report in August suggested that Billups thought working on Lue’s staff might help him eventually land a head coaching job — he apparently has that in common with Craig.

Assuming the Clippers officially lock up Craig, Atkinson, and Billups, they’ll have gone a long way toward putting together Lue’s staff for 2020/21. Former NBA head coach Larry Drew is also expected to be hired by the Clippers as an assistant coach.

Heat Notes: Riley, Untouchables, Herro, Nnaji

October 26th, 2020 at 2:10pm CST by Luke Adams

In speaking to reporters last Friday about the Heat‘s NBA Finals loss to the Lakers, team president Pat Riley said “there’s always going to be an asterisk, that caveat” from the Heat’s perspective due to the fact that neither Bam Adebayo nor Goran Dragic was fully healthy for the series. However, Riley made it clear in his follow-up comments on Sunday that he wasn’t saying that an “asterisk” should be placed next to Lakers’ championship itself.

“The asterisk is next to the Heat’s name, not the Lakers,” Riley said, per Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press (Twitter link). “Their title is legitimate. Our loss has an asterisk (next) to it. The Lakers were the better team. Period.”

While Riley’s initial wording left some room for interpretation, reading it as a dig aimed at the Lakers would’ve meant ignoring the surrounding context, according to Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel, who noted that when Riley wants to make a point, he’s rarely subtle about it.

Here’s more on the Heat:

In a separate article for The Sun Sentinel, Winderman considered which Heat players could be had in hypothetical trades and which would be off the table, identifying the team’s “untouchables” as Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, and – for entirely different reasons – Udonis Haslem.
After a surprise run to the NBA Finals, the Heat will have to decide how aggressive they want to be with their current roster, writes Zach Harper of The Athletic. Within the story, Harper says league sources believe that if the Heat were to explore a trade for Victor Oladipo, they wouldn’t consider including Tyler Herro in any offer.
Former Arizona forward Zeke Nnaji worked out for the Heat on Sunday, according to Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated (Twitter link). The reigning Pac-12 Rookie of the Year, Nnaji is the No. 35 prospect on ESPN’s big board but could be an option for Miami at No. 20 in next month’s draft.

And-Ones: Herro, Season Start, Coaching Carousel, Superstars

October 25th, 2020 at 7:07pm CST by JD Shaw

Heat guard Tyler Herro leads a group of nine players who raised their stock during the 2019/20 restart in Orlando, John Hollinger of The Athletic opines.

Herro, 20, averaged 16 points per game during the playoffs, shooting 43% from the field and 38% from downtown in 21 contests. He came off the bench in 16 of those outings, averaging 33.6 minutes per game.

In addition to Herro, Nuggets guard Jamal Murray, Nuggets wing Michael Porter Jr. and Clippers center Ivica Zubac also emerged during the restart, proving their worth in the postseason. While it’s still unclear when the 2020/21 season will begin, all of these players have unquestionably increased their stock entering next year.

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

A panel of ESPN writers debated the pros and cons of starting next season before or on Christmas Day. The NBA is examining a number of different options for next season, including starting it earlier than originally anticipated. The players’ union would ultimately have to agree to the league’s proposal to finalize details for the campaign.
Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated assesses the NBA coaching carousel of 2020, with several teams replacing their coaches throughout the offseason. Among the new head coaches for the 2020/21 season are Stan Van Gundy (Pelicans), Nate Bjorkgren (Pacers) and Tom Thibodeau (Knicks).
Seth Partnow of The Athletic rates the league’s best players this year, with LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo. Kawhi Leonard and James Harden leading the way in the first tier. Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant, both of whom nursed injuries during the 2019/20 season (Curry played just five games), are located in the next tier.

Pondering Whether Heat Could Find Correct Complement To Adebayo

October 25th, 2020 at 5:55pm CST by JD Shaw

Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel ponders whether the Heat will be able to find the correct complement to Bam Adebayo. Miami started Meyers Leonard alongside Adebayo for the first half of last season, later acquiring Jae Crowder at the trade deadline and choosing to go small entering the Orlando restart. The team could re-sign Crowder in unrestricted free agency or turn its attention to a player like Danilo Gallinari, who held mutual interest with the Heat on a potential trade last February before the sides were unable to agree to financial terms. Gallinari has since hinted that he may prioritize signing with a contending team over financial stability, though it’s unclear what his thinking will be when free agency opens.

Pat Riley Talks Heat Future: “I Think We’ll Stay The Course”

October 24th, 2020 at 11:25am CST by marksuleymanov

Coming off an unprecedented season that ended with an NBA Finals loss to the Lakers in six games, the Heat enter the offseason with questions to answer but a promising outlook entering 2020/21.

Led by last summer’s prized acquisition of Jimmy Butler, Miami seems to be in a position to once again be competitive for a championship. In addition to Butler, the play of youngsters Tyler Herro and Duncan Robinson, along with Bam Adebayo‘s breakout, helped the Heat ascend to the class of the Eastern Conference.

Team president Pat Riley indicated to reporters during a Zoom conference with reporters on Friday that the organization anticipates keeping most of the 2019/20 core intact, NBC Sports’ Kurt Helin writes.

“I think we’ll stay the course with our picks, stay the course with our young players,” Riley said. “We have decisions to make, obviously, with player contracts and free agents, and really do a deep dive into this season, myself and (coach Erik Spoelstra) and (GM) Andy (Elisburg) about how good we really are right now…flexibility with draft picks, free agency is coming next…and my thinking really hasn’t changed.”

However, there will be several key decisions for Miami involving free agents. The most prominent one involves veteran point guard Goran Dragic, whose injury-related absence for most of the NBA Finals noticeably impacted the Heat’s chances. In addition to Dragic, Jae Crowder, Derrick Jones, Meyers Leonard, Solomon Hill and de facto player/coach Udonis Haslem are also free agents.

Riley said the Heat value all of those players and will seek reunions where appropriate, including a possible extension of Adebayo.

“I really don’t want to get into any kind of discussions at this point about [an Adebayo extension,” Riley said. “I think all the hypotheticals out there about what people think is going to happen, that’s what they are. You all know our numbers. You know what the situation is, the free agents in ‘20 and ‘21. So when it comes to our players, we want to take care of them, and especially the ones that we really value.”

Heat Notes: Riley, Crowder, Dragic, Adebayo, Roster

October 23rd, 2020 at 6:24pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Heat team president Pat Riley isn’t planning on making any major changes to the roster this offseason, according to Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald. Speaking to the media on Friday, Riley said he’s committed to keeping his young core intact.

“I think we’ll stay the course with our (draft) picks, stay the course with our young players,” he said. “We have decisions to make, obviously, with player contracts and free agents, and really do a deep dive into this season, myself and [coach Erik Spoelstra] and [GM Andy Elisburg], about how good we really are right now.”

Riley addressed a number of topics, including the team’s free agents. Here are the highlights:

At the top of the team’s free agent list are Jae Crowder and Goran Dragic and Riley hinted he’d like to re-sign them. However, he also wants to preserve cap space to make a run at a top-level free agent next season. “It’s going to be a little bit dicey for us because of wanting that flexibility,” he said. “But if things can happen prior to that, I think we have to take care of our own, as much as we can.”
The tricky timing of a possible Bam Adebayo extension also weighs heavily on Riley’s mind. If Adebayo signs a rookie scale extension this offseason, it would eat significantly into the Heat’s cap space for next offseason. Riley could try to convince Adebayo to delay signing an extension until next offseason but Riley isn’t keen on doing that. “I’m not going to approach it that way,” Riley said. “I really don’t want to get into any kind of discussions at this point about it. … We value Bam Adebayo. He’s an All-Star. And he’s young. And he’s great. And we’re going to do what’s in his best interest.”
Even though the team made a surprising run to the Finals in Orlando, Riley isn’t sure the team as presently constituted can pull that off again. That could play into his personnel decisions. “We were in the Finals. Are we a finalist?” he said. “Can we get through the Eastern Conference next year with what’s happening in Philadelphia or what’s going to happen in Milwaukee or what’s going to happen in Brooklyn or Boston? We already know that Boston has got their team together and they got three first-round picks in the draft. Toronto, there’s a lot of very good teams. So yeah, that’s a question that I’ll kick around in my mind. I’ll talk to Spo about it.”

Riley To Appear In First 2020 Presser

October 22nd, 2020 at 9:05pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Heat team president Pat Riley will hold his first 2020 media presser this Friday afternoon, according to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald (Twitter link).

NBA Agents Talk Offseason, Finances, Execs, More

October 21st, 2020 at 2:41pm CST by Luke Adams

NBA agents are generally in agreement that the 2020 offseason will be an unusual one due to the coronavirus pandemic and its ripple effect, but they don’t all agree on what exactly the offseason will look like.

Ben Standig, Mike Vorkunov, and other writers from The Athletic conducted a survey of 20 player agents to get their thoughts on the coming offseason and state of the NBA. And while some of those agents believe financial concerns will limit player movement this fall, others believe there will still be plenty of movement — even if it doesn’t happen in free agency.

“My fear is there will be a lot of teams and ownership groups that sit out free agency,” one agent said. “… In terms of player movement, I think there will be a lot. Not just signing guys. Nobody wants to pay the tax. Everybody is going to try to clear space for 2021. I can definitely see a sizeable amount of player movement. But not a lot of dollars spent.”

One agent who spoke to The Athletic suggested that some teams will be in cost-cutting mode and, for financial reasons, may move players they wouldn’t have traded in a normal year. However, another agent believes there will still be plenty of clubs willing to spend to compete for the postseason and for a title.

“Teams want to win and they’re going to spend to win,” the agent said. “Ultimately, as we saw with Denver, there’s a lot of teams within striking distance of contention and they’re not going to be cheap. The Clippers fired a coach with two years on his deal. We’re going to be fine.”

As for how many NBA franchises will be in legitimate financial peril during the coming year, one agent is skeptical that any will actually be in trouble.

“They’re going to blow so much smoke up our a– about how bad the business model is and everything like that, but Minnesota is going to sell for $1.5 billion and it’s the worst market, as far as basketball,” the agent said. “They sold 18 years ago for $88MM and they’re going to sell for $1.5 billion? You can’t tell (me) you have a bad business.

“There’s going be revenues that are greatly reduced, but I would say to any of these teams that feel like these businesses that they can’t pour cash into to carry it through this rough spot, they should sell. Because they have opportunities. We’ll find them a buyer in a month.”

Here are a few of the other most interesting takeaways from The Athletic’s agent survey:

Thunder point guard Chris Paul is the highest-profile player that most agents expected to be traded this offseason, while the Sixers are considered the team most in need of a major roster move. “Philly is at the point where it’s a make or break year for just about everybody,” one agent said.
Of the 19 agents who weighed in on the subject, 18 said they expect Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo to remain in Milwaukee beyond his current contract.
LaMelo Ball comfortably received the most votes as 2020’s most intriguing draft prospect, but he’s viewed as a somewhat risky investment. “I think he has such a high ceiling but the difference from his top to bottom is the biggest of anyone in the draft,” one agent said. Another offered the following assessment: “That could go really good or really bad.”
One agent said he has “never heard less enthusiasm” from teams that have high picks in this year’s draft.
One agent speculated that centers will be hit hardest by teams’ financial limitations this offseason, since clubs are focusing on players who can defend several positions. Another said that he thinks many clubs may prioritize veterans over young prospects, since cost-conscious teams may not want to use back-of-the-roster spots on guys who won’t play at all.
Thunder GM Sam Presti easily received the most votes as the NBA’s “smartest” team executive, but Pat Riley of the Heat and Masai Ujiri of the Raptors got more votes when agents were asked which exec they’d want to hire if they were running a franchise.

Heat Notes: J. Grant, J. Smith, Offseason

October 20th, 2020 at 5:01pm CST by Luke Adams

The Heat are expected to be among the teams with interest in free agent forward Jerami Grant this offseason, says Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. If Miami operates as an over-the-cap team, landing Grant would be tricky, since he’s expected to receive offers worth more than the mid-level exception.

Grant could be a more viable option for the Heat if the team loses some of its top free agents and has the opportunity to open up cap space. Even if Miami remains over the cap, we saw a year ago with the acquisition of Jimmy Butler that the front office is willing to get creative with sign-and-trades when cap room is unavailable.

However, Grant will almost certainly require a long-term investment, so presumably he’d only become a realistic target for the Heat if the club decides it no longer needs to preserve max-salary space for 2021.

Here’s more on the Heat:

The Heat requested a Zoom interview with former Maryland forward Jalen Smith, Jackson reports in the same Miami Herald story. Smith is currently the No. 20 prospect on ESPN’s big board, while the Heat hold the No. 20 overall pick in this year’s draft.
Several aspects of the Heat offseason will be out of the team’s control, according to Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel, who writes that the team will have to adjust to the new salary cap projection, wait to see if free agents like Goran Dragic and Jae Crowder get aggressive multiyear offers from rival suitors, and potentially modify their plans for both 2020 and 2021 if Giannis Antetokounmpo signs an extension with Milwaukee.
Miami assistants Dan Craig and Chris Quinn reportedly had strong interviews with Indiana, but the Pacers went in another direction, hiring Nate Bjorkgren as their new head coach. That’s good news for the Heat, who should retain Craig and Quinn for 2020/21.

Pistons, Bulls Among Potential Suitors For Derrick Jones

October 20th, 2020 at 4:04pm CST by Luke Adams

The Pistons and Bulls are among the teams expected to have interest in free agent Heat swingman Derrick Jones this offseason, a source tells Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald.

Jackson also identifies Atlanta as a potential suitor for Jones, which is something we’ve heard before. Shams Charania reported last week that Jones is expected to receive interest from the Hawks, Cavaliers, and Hornets, among other clubs.

Jones is coming off a season in which he averaged 8.5 PPG and 3.9 RPG in 59 games (23.3 MPG) for the eventual Eastern Conference champions. He’s also a strong perimeter defender, having held the opponents he guarded in 2019/20 to a field goal percentage of just 40.8%, according to Jackson.

Jones fell out of Miami’s rotation during the postseason, but Jackson explains that a number of factors played a part in that decision. Health was a big one, as Jones contracted COVID-19 in June, suffered a neck injury in a scary fall during the seeding games, then sprained his ankle in the first round of the playoffs. Erik Spoelstra‘s decision to ride veterans Jae Crowder and Andre Iguodala as he shortened his rotation also helped push Jones out of the mix.

The Heat’s top priorities in free agency this fall figure to be re-signing Crowder and Goran Dragic to new deals, and it’s possible Jones’ role reduction in the playoffs will dampen his enthusiasm for a reunion with the club. If that’s the case, he should have plenty of options, as Charania’s and Jackson’s report suggest. His next contract seems unlikely to exceed the mid-level, so over-the-cap teams will be in play.

While I expect Jones to generate interest from some playoff teams, it’s probably not a coincidence that all of his reported suitors so far are younger clubs coming off lottery seasons. At age 23, the former UNLV standout projects to be one of the NBA’s youngest unrestricted free agents this offseason, and he’ll likely have a better chance of playing a regular role on a roster that’s not loaded with veterans.