Miami Heat Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Eastern Rumors: Millsap, Celtics, Hayward, Crowder

November 21st, 2020 at 2:37pm CST by Luke Adams

The Celtics are showing “strong interest” in signing veteran big man Paul Millsap, league sources tell Jared Weiss of The Athletic (Twitter link). Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe (Twitter link) hears from his own source that Boston is currently at the top of Millsap’s list as he weighs his options. A decision is expected later today, Himmelsbach adds.

While the Celtics aren’t expected to create any cap room as a result of Gordon Hayward‘s departure, the team now has some added cap flexibility to make sign-and-trade and/or use its full mid-level exception, opening up a few options in free agency.

Here are a few more notes from around the East:

Speaking of Hayward, Hornets owner Michael Jordan called the veteran forward late last night in an effort to close the deal for Charlotte, according to ESPN’s Zach Lowe (Twitter link). Jordan’s pitch must have been effective, though the $120MM the Hornets will apparently pay Hayward over the next four years probably didn’t hurt either.
The Heat offered Jae Crowder a two-year deal that would have paid him $14MM in 2020/21, according to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald (Twitter link). However, Miami wasn’t willing to guarantee any money beyond the first year, so Crowder opted for the Suns’ three-year, $30MM offer, which will pay him less in year one but is worth significantly more overall.
In a column for The Athletic, David Aldridge contends that Wizards owner Ted Leonsis must decide if the franchise wants to build around John Wall and Bradley Beal and then trade the odd man out. While Aldridge’s argument makes some sense, it seems obvious that Beal would be the team’s choice and that trading Wall won’t exactly be easy.

Heat Sign Avery Bradley To Two-Year Deal

November 21st, 2020 at 12:44pm CST by Luke Adams

NOVEMBER 23: The Heat have officially announced their deal with Bradley, issuing a press release to confirming the signing.

“This is a great signing that can help us right away,” team president Pat Riley said in a statement. “Being able to add a two-time All-NBA Defensive Team selection who is also a great shooter and fits perfectly with our current philosophy as a multi-positional player. Avery will be a great addition to fortifying our backcourt.”

As we relayed in a separate story, Boston and Charlotte were among the other teams that expressed interest in Bradley before he agreed to sign with Miami.

NOVEMBER 21: The Heat and free agent guard Avery Bradley have agreed to a two-year, $11.6MM deal, agent Charles Briscoe tells Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

The contract will include a team option for the second year, sources tell ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link). The Heat took a similar route with their new deals for Goran Dragic and Meyers Leonard as they prioritize preserving cap room for 2021.

The Heat will use a portion of their mid-level exception to sign Bradley. The Heat have also agreed to a one-year, $3.6MM contract with Maurice Harkless and Miami could preserve its bi-annual exception by splitting up the MLE between Bradley and Harkless, as John Hollinger of The Athletic tweets.

Bradley was considered a fallback option for the team in case it couldn’t re-sign Jae Crowder, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel tweets. While Crowder was a priority for the Heat, he wasn’t comfortable with only a one-year guarantee, says Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald (Twitter link). As a result, he’ll head to Phoenix on a three-year deal while the Heat replace him with Bradley.

As Charania explains (via Twitter), Bradley – who was recruited by Heat president Pat Riley and star swingman Jimmy Butler – was sold on the Heat’s culture and made the decision to leave Los Angeles after spending the 2019/20 season with the Lakers.

Bradley, who will turn 30 next Thursday, appeared in 49 games for the Lakers in 2019/20, starting 44 of them. He averaged 8.6 PPG and 2.3 RPG with a solid 3PT% (.364) and strong perimeter defense, but opted out of the restart and wasn’t part of the club’s championship run.

The Warriors were among the other teams that had interest in signing Bradley, tweets Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area.

Dana Gauruder contributed to this story. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Heat Sign Maurice Harkless To One-Year Deal

November 21st, 2020 at 9:24am CST by Luke Adams

NOVEMBER 23: The Heat have officially signed Harkless to his new deal, the team confirmed in a press release.

“We have always liked what Moe Harkless brings to a team,” Heat president Pat Riley said in a statement. “We like his experience in knowing the role he will play for us real well. Moe can guard multiple positions, play above the rim, great shot blocker for his position and most importantly for our offense, space the floor with his three-point shooting. He is a player with great character and toughness.”

NOVEMBER 21: The Heat have reached an agreement to sign Maurice Harkless to a one-year contract worth $3.6MM, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter).

As Wojnarowski explains (via Twitter), Harkless passed up on more lucrative offers for an opportunity to play a regular role for the defending Eastern champions and intends to re-enter the market in 2021 when more league-wide cap room is available.

Harkless, 27, began the 2019/20 season with the Clippers and was a regular starter during his first 50 games in Los Angeles. He was traded to the Knicks in a deadline deal.

In 62 overall games, Harkless averaged 5.8 PPG and 3.9 RPG on .502/.347/.591 in 23.0 minutes per contest. He’s considered a solid perimeter defender, though his three-point shot comes and goes — he has a career rate of just 32.5% from beyond the arc.

Miami will likely slide Harkless into the rotation role vacated by Derrick Jones, who has agreed to sign with Portland.

The Heat intend to use the bi-annual exception (worth $3.623MM) to sign Harkless, tweets Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press. That would hard-cap Miami for the season at $138.93MM. The one-year commitment will allow the franchise to retain its cap flexibility for 2021.

Free Agent Rumors: Harris, Crowder, Hayward, KCP, Cousins, Hartenstein

November 20th, 2020 at 6:06pm CST by Luke Adams

There are “strong indications” that the Nets will get a commitment soon from sharpshooter Joe Harris, despite the fact that he’s receiving considerable interest from other suitors, tweets Marc Stein of The New York Times.

As we wait to see if Harris and the Nets come to an agreement, here are a few more free agency rumors:

After agreeing to re-sign Goran Dragic and Meyers Leonard early in free agency, the Heat are “in the game” to bring back Jae Crowder as well, tweets Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press. Miami is remaining over the cap and prioritizing retaining its own free agents so far this offseason.
As rumors swirl that Gordon Hayward prefers to land with the Pacers, Marc Berman of The New York Post (Twitter link) hears that the free agent forward has little interest in joining the Hawks.
Teams that are monitoring Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in free agency expect the Knicks to have interest in the veteran wing, Ian Begley of SNY.tv writes.
DeMarcus Cousins is receiving some attention from teams early in free agency tonight, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). It’s not yet clear which teams may be in the hunt for the former All-Star.
Free agent big man Isaiah Hartenstein is receiving some interest from the Nuggets, a league source tells Kelly Iko of The Athletic (Twitter link). Denver just lost backup center Mason Plumlee and appears to be in the market for some frontcourt depth.

Heat Re-Sign Meyers Leonard

November 20th, 2020 at 5:06pm CST by Luke Adams

NOVEMBER 22: Leonard has put pen to paper on his new contract, making it official, the Heat announced (via Twitter).

NOVEMBER 20: Free agent center Meyers Leonard tells Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press (Twitter link) that he plans to re-sign with the Heat.

He’ll get a two-year deal that includes a team option on year two, according to Reynolds, who adds (via Twitter) that the deal is expected to start at around $9MM. It’ll be worth close to $20MM overall, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter). The second-year team option will allow the Heat to protect their cap room for 2021.

“I wanted nothing more than to come back to Miami. Literally nothing more,” Leonard told Reynolds (Twitter link).

Leonard, 28, was the Heat’s starting center for most of the 2019/20 season, averaging 6.1 PPG and 5.1 RPG with a solid .509/.414/.643 shooting line in 51 games (20.3 MPG). He saw his role reduced in the postseason, but Miami was still interested in continuing the relationship going forward.

Heat president Pat Riley indicated earlier this week that he wanted to “run this thing back” with the squad that made it to the NBA Finals this year, and it sounds like the team is making good on that vow. In addition to reaching an agreement with Leonard, the Heat have already struck a deal to re-sign Goran Dragic.

Heat Re-Sign Goran Dragic

November 20th, 2020 at 5:05pm CST by JD Shaw

NOVEMBER 22: The first free agent to reach a deal on Friday has now officially signed his new contract, as the Heat issued a press release confirming Dragic’s deal.

“It was essential for us to bring Goran back,” Heat president Pat Riley said in a statement. “He is part of our team, part of our culture and part of our family. He provides backcourt veteran leadership and can still play at a very high level. I’m glad to have him back in the fold.”

NOVEMBER 20: The Heat are re-signing free agent point guard Goran Dragic, he announced on social media today. The deal is a two-year agreement with a team option in the second season, Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press tweets.

Shams Charania of The Athletic adds (via Twitter) that the agreement is worth $37.4MM, while Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald reports that the deal will pay Dragic $18MM in 2020-21 and $19.5MM in 2020-21.

Dragic, 34, will enter his seventh campaign with the Heat. He was originally acquired via trade back in 2015, mostly serving as starting point guard ever since.

Dragic was a key cog in Miami’s postseason run this year, averaging 19.1 points and 4.4 assists per game. He also shot 44% from the field and 35% from behind-the-arc during those games, proving his worth as a veteran piece on the court and off.

The Heat also agreed to re-sign Meyers Leonard early in free agency. Miami strategically included team options in both players’ deals, working to preserve salary-cap space for the summer of 2021.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Heat’s Gabe Vincent Signs Two-Way Qualifying Offer

November 20th, 2020 at 4:46pm CST by Luke Adams

Heat two-way player Gabe Vincent has signed his qualifying offer, according to the team (Twitter link).

The qualifying offer is a one-year, two-way contract with a $50K guarantee. So Vincent has secured that modest guarantee and currently occupies one of Miami’s two-way slots, though it wouldn’t be expensive for the team to eventually replace him with another two-way player if it so chooses.

Vincent was the G League’s Most Improved Player in 2019/20, averaging 20.9 PPG and making 40.3% of an impressive 10.3 three-point attempts per game in 31 contests for the Sioux Falls Skyforce. He saw limited action for the Heat in nine games at the NBA level.

Free Agent Rumors: Bogdanovic, VanVleet, Augustin, Thompson

November 20th, 2020 at 2:03pm CST by Luke Adams

Now that Bogdan Bogdanovic has re-emerged as a free agent option for teams outside of Milwaukee, the RFA swingman and his representatives are expected to take meetings when free agency opens, according to Sam Amick and Eric Nehm of The Athletic, who say that the Hawks and Lakers are known to have interest.

Amick and Nehm suggest it’s “widely known” that Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo had been recruiting Bogdanovic to Milwaukee. Since it seems that union won’t happen, teams hoping to eventually lure Giannis away from the Bucks will probably become a little more interested in Bogdanovic, according to The Athletic’s duo, who mention the Mavericks and Heat as a couple of those clubs.

Here’s more on free agency:

Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News tweets that he has consistently heard the Raptors‘ goal is to re-sign Fred VanVleet on a Malcolm Brogdon-type contract. Brogdon’s four-year, $85MM deal was cited way back in August as a probable market-setter for VanVleet’s new contract.
The Suns have reached out to D.J. Augustin, who is also drawing real interest from the Bucks, according to John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 (Twitter link). Gambadoro adds that the veteran point guard is likely to accept the best offer he receives.
Even after winning a championship, the Lakers aren’t content to be passive in free agency, says general manager Rob Pelinka. As Dave McMenamin of ESPN relays, Pelinka vows his club will be “aggressive” as it looks to continue making upgrades. “We’re not going to just sit back and not expect others who are in position to try to better their roster or better their teams,” Pelinka said. “So we have to stay aggressive. I think the danger of winning is complacency, and I won’t — we won’t allow that to creep in here. We’re going to try to improve our team and put Coach (Frank) Vogel and his staff in the best possible position to defend.”
The Lakers would love to land Tristan Thompson in free agency, according to Chris Mannix of SI.com. Mannix says the Raptors are also expected to express interest in Thompson, though Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter link) hears Toronto hasn’t reached out to the Canadian center yet.

Bradley Beal Is Clear Heat Target For 2021, Riley Wants To Re-Sign Major Free Agents

November 19th, 2020 at 9:57pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

27-year-old star Wizards shooting guard Bradley Beal has become the clear second star target for the Heat behind reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, according to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald.

A two-time All-Star for Washington, Beal averaged 30.5 PPG, 6.1 APG, and 4.2 RPG for a depleted Wizards club last year. He also sported a great shooting slash line of .455/.353/.842. The Heat hope to have enough cap space to sign a max free agent in 2021. Though the Heat could offer a pricey contract extension to emergent All-Star power forward/center Bam Adebayo during the offseason, doing so now instead of waiting until the 2021 offseason could complicate their cap space next summer.

Beal won’t reach free agency until at least 2022, but the Heat have strong interest in trading for him if he expresses dissatisfaction in Washington and the Wizards make him available, according to Jackson, who says “all parties are aware of that.”

When asked about his plans for the 2020/21 season, Heat team president Pat Riley appeared to indicate that he would be interested in retaining most of the team’s key free agents, per Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press (Twitter link). “I’d like to run this thing back,” Riley said.

QO Updates: Wanamaker, Hernangomez, Fall, Chiozza, More

November 19th, 2020 at 4:39pm CST by Luke Adams

The Celtics won’t be making a qualifying offer to guard Brad Wanamaker, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link). The decision will ensure that Wanamaker becomes an unrestricted free agent on Friday, rather than an RFA.

The decision is a little surprising, as Wanamaker’s QO would only have been worth about $1.82MM. And he was a fairly reliable bench contributor in Boston in 2019/20, averaging 6.9 PPG and 2.5 APG on .448/.363/.926 shooting in 71 games (19.3 MPG). However, with Aaron Nesmith and Payton Pritchard entering the mix, the Celtics don’t have a ton of roster spots to go around.

There’s still a chance that Wanamaker could return to the Celtics, particularly if Gordon Hayward ends up elsewhere, tweets Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe.

Here are several more updates on qualifying offer decisions from around the NBA:

The Timberwolves, as expected, tendered a qualifying offer to power forward Juan Hernangomez, making him a restricted free agent, per Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link). That QO is worth about $4.6MM. Hernangomez could accept it, but is more likely to try to negotiate a new, longer-term deal with Minnesota.
The Celtics extended qualifying offers to both of their two-way players, Tacko Fall and Tremont Waters, the team announced in a press release. Those QOs are for new two-way deals with $50K guarantees.
The Pacers won’t extend qualifying offers to big man Alize Johnson or two-way players Brian Bowen and Naz Mitrou-Long, tweets Scotto. All three players will become unrestricted free agents.
Among other two-way players, Nets guard Chris Chiozza will receive a qualifying offer, but Pelicans guard Josh Gray won’t, according to Scotto (Twitter links). The Heat also won’t send a QO to two-way player Kyle Alexander, tweets Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel.