- Heat center Bam Adebayo chimed in on social media amidst the NBA’s hiatus, as relayed by Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel. Adebayo understandably expressed boredom with the league being suspended indefinitely. The 22-year-old has averaged 16.2 points, 10.5 rebounds and 5.1 assists in 65 contests on the season.
- Ira Winderman examines the week that could’ve been for the Heat in a separate article for the Sun Sentinel, including the rematch between Jimmy Butler and T.J. Warren on March 20. Miami has enjoyed a successful season to date, owning the fourth-best record in the East at 41-24.
If the NBA season doesn’t resume, that will likely mark the end of Udonis Haslem‘s long career, writes Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. The veteran forward, who will turn 40 in June, returned for another year because he didn’t want to leave the league after a non-playoff season.
Haslem didn’t commit to retiring when asked about the possibility last month, but he has gotten into just three games this year and has played a combined 21 minutes. It’s his fourth straight season with minimal court time as he has evolved into more of an assistant coach than a player. Winderman is confident that Haslem’s number will be retired after 17 years with the Heat.
There’s more this morning from Miami:
- After the Heat signed Kendrick Nunn off the Warriors‘ G League affiliate late last season, Golden State has done the same thing to Miami by taking Mychal Mulder from the Sioux Falls team, Winderman notes in a separate story. When Mulder signed a 10-day contract with the Warriors in late February, Heat officials expected him to eventually return to the organization. Instead, he had a strong performance in his tryout and earned a multi-year deal. Winderman adds that Miami elected to give a two-way contract to Gabe Vincent rather than Mulder.
- An associate of Goran Dragic tells Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald that the point guard expects a sizable one-year offer from the Heat this summer, likely around the $19MM he is currently making. Dragic will be a free agent after five and a half years in Miami, and Jackson notes that his friendship with Jimmy Butler provides extra incentive to keep him around. “We’ll see,” Dragic responded when asked about signing for one season. “A lot of different factors, my family, myself. I would say it’s too soon to talk about it. I’m not thinking about my next contract. I’ve always been a guy in the present.”
- The Heat can create more cap room this summer than any other playoff team, but they might opt to keep the current core together, Jackson adds in the same piece. Opening cap space would mean renouncing most of their free agents — a group that includes Derrick Jones Jr., Jae Crowder and Meyers Leonard as well as Dragic. Jackson doesn’t see any free agent targets worth that gamble, unless Anthony Davis decides to leave the Lakers, while the potential loss of revenue from the league shutdown makes the salary cap unpredictable.
If and when the NBA season resumes, the future of the Heat roster will involved some major decisions with free agency approaching. One of the biggest decisions will be how Miami allocates its potential cap space as Goran Dragic, Derrick Jones Jr. and Jae Crowder are set to hit unrestricted free agency.
Crowder, who was acquired from the Grizzlies, hopes for a potential long-term union with the Heat beyond the current season, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald writes.
“I really want to make this my home,” Crowder said. “I feel comfortable here, feel comfortable with the whole organization top to bottom. If everything goes as we plan, I’m sure everybody would like to stay together and build off what we’re doing this year and go into next year with the same mind-set.”
Since being acquired, Crowder has been his usual productive self. In 13 games (one start), Crowder has averaged 11.9 PPG and 5.8 RPG while shooting 39.3% from three. Since 2017, Crowder has bounced around the league, suiting up for the Cavaliers, Jazz, Grizzlies and now Heat.
The 29-year-old would likely favor a long-term deal. Given the NBA suspension due to the coronavirus pandemic though, a lot remains uncertain. If the season resumes, the Heat’s success down the stretch and in the postseason could play a major role in what the roster looks like in 2021.
One Heat All-Star was impressed with the other following Sunday’s win over Washington, as Jimmy Butler heaped praise on teammate Bam Adebayo, who racked up 27 points, 14 rebounds, and six assists against the Wizards.
“That’s what future max players do,” Butler said of Adebayo, according to Michael Lee of The Athletic. “He’s definitely all of that and more. We’re glad to have him. Glad he’s the leader of this team.”
After acquiring Butler and developing Adebayo, the Heat have more star power on their roster than they did a year ago, but the team will always be on the lookout for more. Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bradley Beal are two players who have frequently been cited as potential Miami targets if they become available, but Adebayo said this week that he doesn’t expect to be too involved in trying to recruit either player.
“I don’t want to pressure a man to make his own decision,” Adebayo said when asked specifically about the possibility of recruiting Antetokounmpo. “At the end of the day, when that situation does happen, if he wants to have a conversation with me, then I will have that talk with him. But I’m not going to try to put pressure on a man to make a decision. This is his life. He just had a child. You don’t want to move your child from city to city. It’s bigger than basketball for him at this point and time in his life, because he’s got kids, he’s got family, he’s got brothers. You want everybody to be together and be happy. It’s up to him.”
Here’s more on the Heat:
- Kelly Olynyk has $1.4MM in bonuses available this season as part of his contract with the Heat — $1MM for playing at least 1,700 minutes and $400K for a Miami playoff berth. The Heat are on the verge of clinching a spot in the postseason, which will earn Olynyk $400K, but at just 1,084 minutes played, he’s unlikely to get the other $1MM, writes Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sentinel.
- For his part, Olynyk sounds content to earn the lesser bonus. “Financially, the bigger issue would be missing out on the minutes,” he said, per Winderman. “But for way of life and just as a person, I would say definitely make the playoffs and be part of a team that’s winning and having a vision of where it could go and be something special.”
- After missing the Heat’s game on Sunday, Jae Crowder was cleared from the NBA’s concussion protocol on Tuesday, as Andre Fernandez of The Athletic tweets. Crowder is listed as probable for Wednesday’s game against Charlotte, so he should be back in action tonight after a brief absence.
- In that same tweet, Fernandez notes that Tyler Herro participated fully in practice on Tuesday, which is a sign he’s nearing a return. Herro, who has been on the shelf for more than a month due to a right ankle injury, is listed as questionable for Wednesday’s contest.
- Heat center Bam Adebayo believes the next step for him is to become a 3-point threat, he told Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. Adebayo has made just one 3-pointer this season and four in his young career. “That will become a conversation [with coach Erik Spoelstra] because at the end of the day, he wants me to get better,” Adebayo said. “He wants me to be unguardable. He wants me to help this team win. In the future, it will be a conversation we will have.”
- Heat forward Jae Crowder has been placed in the NBA’s concussion protocol after colliding with Zion Williamson during Friday’s game with the Pelicans, tweets Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. Crowder has been a valuable addition to Miami since being acquired at the trade deadline, averaging 12.3 points and 5.5 rebounds in 12 games.
- Forward Jae Crowder has settled into a crucial role with the Heat, Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald writes. Crowder is averaging 13.2 PPG and 6.0 RPG in 11 games since he was acquired in a three-team swap. Moreover, he played 108 of a possible 120 fourth-quarter minutes during his first 10 games with the club, Chiang notes.
- Bam Adebayo and Giannis Antetokounmpo share the same agent but Adebayo insists that won’t mean anything if the Bucks superstar hits the free agent market in 2021, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel relays. Both players are represented by Alex Saratsis. “At the end of the day, I can’t force a man to make that decision,” the Heat center said of potentially recruiting the reigning MVP. “That’s going to be his decision, his family’s decision. I can’t persuade him to do that.”
- The Heat’s offense has been most efficient this season with Duncan Robinson on the court, Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald points out. Robinson owns the team’s best plus/minus rating. Additionally, the team’s offensive rating is 114.3 when he’s on the floor, compared to 105.9 when he’s on the bench. That bodes well for his future with the club, although his $1,663,861 salary for next season doesn’t guarantee until after training camp.
- The Heat still may be active on the buyout market, suggests Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. He mentions Solomon Hill, who has barely played since being acquired from the Grizzlies earlier this month, as a possible buyout candidate if Miami wants to open a roster spot. Winderman adds that the Heat can offer a portion of their mid-level or bi-annual exceptions, giving them an edge over teams that can only offer minimum contracts.
The NBA’s oldest player, Vince Carter, is expected to retire at season’s end. However, the league’s second-oldest player isn’t sure whether he’ll call it a career too. Asked earlier this month if 2019/20 will be his final season, longtime Heat big man Udonis Haslem was noncommittal, as Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald writes.
“I can’t say,” Haslem said. “The guys want me around. Bam (Adebayo) tells me every day, ‘I don’t know what the hell I’m going to do when you retire.’ Jimmy (Butler) always has me around. We’ll see. My kids are getting older. We’ll see.”
According to Jackson, Haslem – who has logged 21 minutes all season – has acknowledged he’d like to play more, but says he has found “a joy” in a role as a veteran leader and mentor. Although the 39-year-old hasn’t been a regular rotation player since the 2014/15 season, the Heat value his leadership and believe it has outweighed the value of filling out the 15th roster spot with a prospect. We’ll have to wait to see if Haslem once again occupies that final roster spot in 2020/21.
Here’s more from around the Southeast:
- The Hornets issued a statement in response to Malik Monk‘s indefinite suspension today, which reads as follows (Twitter link): “We are disappointed in Malik’s decision-making that resulted in his suspension. As an organization, we do not condone his behavior. However, we are committed to supporting Malik during this time.”
- Magic forward Jonathan Isaac isn’t expected to return this season due to a knee injury, but he’s back with the team and participating in some light shooting drills this week, per John Denton of OrlandoMagic.com. “I’m not completely sure,” Isaac said when asked if he could play again this season. “I just want to continue to be wise, listen to the coaching staff and what management is thinking and then move accordingly.”
- Wizards head coach Scott Brooks said on Sunday after losses to Cleveland and Chicago that his team was “playing soft,” writes Eric Woodyard of ESPN. The club lost again on Monday, but was far more competitive in that game, pushing Milwaukee to overtime.
- Michael Lee of The Athletic implores frustrated Wizards guard Bradley Beal to look on the bright side of a losing season that Lee argues should be considered at least a “partial success,” given preseason expectations.