Miami Heat Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Heat Notes: Adebayo, Richardson, Spoelstra, Arena

September 11th, 2019 at 8:47pm CST by Arthur Hill

Exercising Bam Adebayo‘s fourth-year option displayed faith in a player that many in the Heat organization expect to show huge improvement this season, writes Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. Adebayo will make $5.1MM during the 2020/21 season and will be eligible for a rookie scale extension next summer. His role figures to increase after Miami traded away Hassan Whiteside in July.

“First off, he’s going to get more minutes, more exposure,” Goran Dragic told Jackson. “He already got tested, and we know what he can do. He’s a great player, great screener, roll to the basket. He brings a lot of energy to the team and I feel like this year is going to be different. More minutes, more responsibility. Everybody feels like, including me, that he’s ready for this big step in his career.”

There’s more from Miami:

Of all the moves the Heat made this offseason, Dragic sees the trade of Josh Richardson as the most surprising, Jackson adds in the same story. The fifth-year swingman was shipped to the Sixers as part of a complex four-team deal to acquire Jimmy Butler. Richardson is a valuable two-way player who is coming off his best season, posting a 16.6/3.6/4.1 line. “With Josh, I was a bit surprised,” Dragic said. “I was sad to see him go. But at the same time, I think he’s going to do well in Philadelphia. He’s a great player, great team player who is great around guys in the locker room.”
Coach Erik Spoelstra expressed appreciation for the support he has gotten from the Heat organization during an appearance with Doc Rivers on a recent edition of Adrian Wojnarowski’s ESPN podcast. “I think (owner) Micky (Arison) and (team president) Pat (Riley) are two of the best tandems in ownership and president in all of sports,” Spoelstra said. “… They understand the need for stability. They will weather storms, and we all struggled that first year. I struggled quite a bit, particularly in that Finals series. … The ownership and my bosses, I love who I work for because they do have my back.”
American Airlines won’t renew naming rights for the Heat’s arena, according to Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. The team will be in the market for a new title sponsor after a 20-year arrangement.

Heat Exercise 2020/21 Option On Bam Adebayo

September 11th, 2019 at 2:52pm CST by Luke Adams

The Heat have exercised their team option on the fourth year of Bam Adebayo‘s rookie contract, the team formally announced today in a press release.

Adebayo’s salary for the coming season had already been guaranteed, but this decision ensures that he’s now officially locked up for 2020/21 season as well. His cap hit for ’20/21 will be $5,115,492, per Basketball Insiders.

Adebayo, 22, appeared in all 82 games for Miami last season, averaging 8.9 PPG, 7.3 RPG, and 2.2 APG in 23.3 minutes per contest. The young center, who took part in Team USA’s training camp last month, is poised to assume a larger role for the Heat this season following the trade that sent Hassan Whiteside to Portland. Meyers Leonard and Kelly Olynyk will be among the other players in the mix at the five.

Now that his fourth-year option has been picked up, Adebayo will be eligible to sign a rookie scale extension during the 2020 offseason. If he doesn’t reach an agreement with the Heat before the ’20/21 season begins, he’d be on track to reach restricted free agency in the summer of 2021.

All teams with decisions to make on rookie scale options for the ’20/21 season must finalize those moves by October 31. Adebayo’s is the first to be formally exercised, but many will follow in the coming weeks. Our tracker can be found right here.

Heat Likely To Trade Out Of Luxury Tax

September 8th, 2019 at 5:31pm CST by JD Shaw

The Heat will likely try and trade out of the luxury tax if possible, Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel writes. Miami has little to no additional flexibility outside of its 14 players under contract, with players set to report to training camp in less than one month.
In a separate article for the Sun Sentinel, Winderman ponders whether the Heat are sacrificing developmental opportunities. Miami signed veteran forward Udonis Haslem to its 14th roster spot this offseason, as Winderman notes, valuing the 39-year-old’s experience and locker room leadership for their current group of players.

Bulls Notes: Satoransky, Porter, Blakeney, Harrison

September 7th, 2019 at 5:18pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Bulls believe they pulled off a steal by landing Tomas Satoransky in a sign-and-trade with the Wizards, writes Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. Chicago gave up a pair of second-round picks for the fourth-year combo guard after reaching a three-year, $30MM agreement with him in free agency. Satoransky was a restricted free agent, but his price tag was too high for Washington to match in the face of salary cap concerns.

Satoranksy averaged 8.9 points and 5.0 assists in 80 games last season and took over as the Wizards’ starting point guard after an injury sidelined John Wall midway through the season. But Bulls coach Jim Boylen said the intangibles that Santoransky brings are just as important.

“In my conversation with (vice president of basketball operations John Paxson) and (general manager Gar Forman), it was about what kind of character we can bring in that can still play, that can help us win because what we’ve needed is durability and availability. We haven’t had that,” Boylen said. “In looking out over the free agents and the guys we felt we could get, just looking at where Washington was and what they were trying to do, having some (cap) issues, he was the guy we targeted for all those characteristics I believe in.’’

There’s more from Chicago:

The Bulls had a strong advocate for Satoransky in former teammate Otto Porter Jr., Crowley adds. Porter, who was acquired from Washington in a February trade, was also deemed expandable because the Wizards were looking to trim salary. “Otto loved him, and ‘Sato’ loved Otto,’’ Boylen said. “Otto is a big part of this team. His trade is not talked about enough. We were 7-5 in February because, first of all, we got rid of (Jabari Parker), and we added a guy who brings synergy and chemistry. Otto has that synergy and chemistry with ‘Sato.’’’
The impending release of Antonio Blakeney is good news for Shaquille Harrison, who is now ticketed for the 15th roster spot, tweets Bobby Marks of ESPN. Harrison is entering his second season with the Bulls after putting together a 6.5/3.0/1.9 line in 73 games last year. He is scheduled to make $1,620,564 this season, but carries just a $175K guarantee until January 10, when all NBA contracts become fully guaranteed.
Once Blakeney hits waivers, he’ll be eligible to be claimed by any team except for the Warriors and Heat, who are both have hard cap restrictions, according to Marks (Twitter link). If he is claimed, Blakeney’s contract will carry a $1.6MM cap hit.

Dwyane Wade On Playing Again: “Never Say Never”

September 7th, 2019 at 12:06pm CST by marksuleymanov

After a highly publicized and emotional farewell tour last season, Heat legend Dwyane Wade hung up his sneakers to retire from the NBA. Since the conclusion of last season, the possibility of Wade returning to play has lingered.

Wade, 37, was still productive in his final season, averaging 15.0 PPG and 4.0 RPG in 72 games (two starts) for the Heat. While promoting the new NBA 2K20 video game, which he graces the cover of for the Legend Edition, Wade addressed the possibility of coming out of retirement like Michael Jordan did (Twitter link).

“I don’t know, I think these young players are way too fast and way too athletic for me,” Wade said. “You never say never, but I don’t think so.”

Wade already teased that if he came out of retirement, it’d be to join the Heat and Miami’s big offseason acquisition, Jimmy Butler. For now, however, Wade will remain retired.

12 NBA Salary Guarantees To Watch In October

September 6th, 2019 at 11:29am CST by Luke Adams

The majority of the NBA players who are currently on non-guaranteed contracts won’t have their salaries for 2019/20 become fully guaranteed until January 10. That’s the league-wide salary guarantee date and the default deadline that applies to players who haven’t negotiated an earlier salary guarantee date.

Still, some players did negotiate an earlier trigger date, and the majority of those deadlines will arrive in October. At least a dozen players around the NBA are believed to have partial or full guarantees that will go into effect in October.

Now, it’s worth noting that salary guarantee dates are somewhat malleable. If the player’s camp agrees, a team can quietly move that deadline back, giving the club more time to make a decision on whether or not to fully invest in its player for the 2019/20 season. The player doesn’t necessarily have to agree, but he may be on board with postponing that deadline if the alternative is being waived and receiving none of his salary.

Most of our information related to salary guarantee dates is coming from the salary database at Basketball Insiders, and BI hasn’t published all the details on the latest signings from around the NBA yet. In other words, there could be a few more recently-signed players who have October salary guarantee dates.

For now though, these are the 12 players believed to have salary guarantee dates coming up next month:

Full guarantees:

Ivan Rabb (Grizzlies): Partial guarantee of $371,758 increases to full guarantee of $1,618,520 salary if not waived by October 19.
Chris Boucher (Raptors): Partial guarantee of $125,000 increases to full guarantee of $1,588,231 salary if not waived by first day of regular season.
Malcolm Miller (Raptors): Partial guarantee of $150,000 increases to full guarantee of $1,588,231 salary if not waived by first day of regular season.
Duncan Robinson (Heat): Partial guarantee of $1,000,000 increases to full guarantee of $1,416,852 salary if not waived by first day of regular season.
Kenrich Williams (Pelicans): Partial guarantee of $200,000 increases to full guarantee of $1,416,852 salary if not waived by first day of regular season.

Partial guarantees:

Christian Wood (Pistons): $1,645,357 salary becomes partially guaranteed ($822,679) if not waived before first day of regular season.
Trey Burke (Sixers): Partial guarantee of $405,000 increases to $810,000 if not waived by first day of regular season (full salary is $2,028,594).
Jordan McRae (Wizards): Partial guarantee of $400,000 increases to $600,000 if not waived by first day of regular season (full salary is $1,645,357).
Dragan Bender (Bucks): Partial guarantee of $300,000 increases to $600,000 if not waived by first day of regular season (full salary is $1,678,854).
Ben McLemore (Rockets): Partial guarantee of $50,000 increases to $500,000 if not waived by first day of regular season (full salary is $2,028,594).
Kendrick Nunn (Heat): Partial guarantee of $150,000 increases to $450,000 if not waived by first day of regular season (full salary is $1,416,852).
William Howard (Jazz): Partial guarantee of $50,000 increases to $250,000 if not waived by first day of regular season (full salary is $898,310).

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

And-Ones: Melo, Howard, NBA Owners

September 5th, 2019 at 9:59pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Carmelo Anthony is still searching for a team and one Western Conference executive tells David Aldridge of The Athletic that the Heat may be the best team for the small forward while cautioning that Melo’s game may need to adjust.

“Miami, if he is willing to work with [Pat Riley] hard on conditioning. He can replace D-Wade’s scoring,” the exec said. “Or, Portland. They play a lot of isolation basketball and they need another scorer. Carmelo is a dinosaur in today’s NBA. Everyone wants ball movement and three-point shooting; not ‘Melo’s forte.”

Aldridges spoke to numerous executives, scouts and coaches and there weren’t many optimistic responses. One Eastern Conference executive did say that if Anthony can accept a role off the bench and be a positive influence in the locker room, the 10-time All-Star could land a $5-7MM deal.

Here’s more from around the league:

Anthony isn’t the only veteran left on the market, as Zach Harper of The Athletic details in his look at which players are available. J.R. Smith, Ryan Anderson, and Kenneth Faried are among the notable players who remain free agents.
The Lakers made a mistake by signing Howard over Joakim Noah, Nick Friedell of ESPN.com contends on The Jump. Friedell believes adding Noah would have carried less risk, as the former Bulls center has shown he can accept a backup role.
The league is exploring a pathway that would allow would-be owners to buy a minority, passive stake in NBA franchises, as Scott Soshnick of Bloomberg relays. The structure and terms have not yet been finalized and the idea will be discussed at an owners’ meeting later this month.

Heat Sign Davon Reed To Camp Deal

September 4th, 2019 at 2:54pm CST by Luke Adams

SEPTEMBER 4: The Heat have officially signed Reed, the team announced today in a press release.

SEPTEMBER 3: The Heat are expected to sign former Hurricanes guard Davon Reed to a training camp contract, reports Shandel Richardson of The Athletic (Twitter link). Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald confirms the agreement, tweeting that Reed will join the group of Heat players on Exhibit 10 contracts competing for a two-way deal.

Reed, 24, was the 32nd overall pick in the 2017 draft by the Suns, but lasted just one season in Phoenix before being cut last October. He quickly caught on with the Pacers on a two-way contract and spent most of the 2018/19 campaign playing for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, Indiana’s G League affiliate.

Reed has put up modest numbers (2.4 PPG, 1.5 RPG) in limited playing time (9.3 MPG) in 31 NBA career games for the Suns and Pacers. He was a little more effective in 34 NBAGL contests last season, posting 13.9 PPG, 6.2 RPG, and 3.0 APG, but he struggled to score efficiently, with a shooting line of .398/.326/.753.

The Heat have 12 players on guaranteed salaries, with Duncan Robinson and Kendrick Nunn in position to claim the final two regular season roster spots. Jeremiah Martin, Kyle Alexander, Chris Silva, and Reed will be among the non-guaranteed camp invitees vying for the club’s two-way contracts. Miami could bring up to two more players to camp on Exhibit 10 deals.

Heat Notes: Leonard, Butler, Rotation

September 3rd, 2019 at 6:02pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Heat have been quiet about their plans for Meyers Leonard, though Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel notes that if the big man remains on the roster through the start of the season, he’ll likely be the team’s backup center.

Miami acquired Leonard in a four-way trade over the summer that allowed the team to net Jimmy Butler as well. The Heat cannot aggregate Leonard’s salary in a trade until September 6 — two months after the acquisition date. It’s possible that the team hasn’t been vocal about Leonard’s role because they are planning to flip him. However, at this point, any Leonard trade talk is strictly speculation.

Here’s more from Miami:

Leonard has privately made it known that he would like to make it work with the Heat, Winderman relays in the same piece. The big man has come off the bench for nearly the entirety of his career, so backing up Bam Adebayo at the five shouldn’t be a major issue.
Don’t expect the Heat to take a load management approach with Butler, Winderman explains in a separate piece. That could change if Miami is able to clinch a playoff berth early. Yet, with the team making the postseason just once over the past three years, the club may not have the luxury of resting players this season.
Assuming the team doesn’t make any major moves, Winderman (same piece) anticipates coach Erik Spoelstra will stagger the minutes of Butler, Goran Dragic and Dion Waiters. Winderman expects the Heat to have at least two of the three on the court the majority of the time.

Nets Notes: Carmelo, LeVert, Prince, LiAngelo

September 2nd, 2019 at 9:17am CST by Arthur Hill

In an interview with TMZ (video link), Carmelo Anthony offers little insight into a report last week that Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant are campaigning for the Nets to sign him. Anthony is close with the two stars and played with them, as well as new Brooklyn center DeAndre Jordan, on the 2016 Olympic team.

“That’s family,” Anthony said. “So, that’s bigger than basketball. If something happens, something’s gonna happen.”

A source told Frank Isola of The Athletic that Nets GM Sean Marks and coach Kenny Atkinson have watched Anthony this summer and are considering adding him to the team. Brooklyn has a full roster, but will be able to sign a player once Wilson Chandler serves five games of his 25-game PED suspension. Anthony’s representatives have spoken to the Sixers as well, according to Isola.

There’s more this morning from Brooklyn:

Fresh off signing a three-year, $52.5MM extension, Caris LeVert tells Bill Bender of The Sporting News that his next goal is to become one of the NBA’s best players. He also believes the Nets are ready to join the league’s elite teams after their success in free agency. “When you get guys like KD, Kyrie and DeAndre, expectations rise,” he said. “We’re looking forward to that. We’ve been working for that. I think everybody loves playing on a big stage. We’re definitely looking forward to this year and the challenges it’s going to bring.”
Taurean Prince was a less celebrated addition for the Nets, but he could play an important role in making the team a contender, writes David Yapkowitz of Basketball Insiders. Brooklyn agreed to acquire Prince from the Hawks before the start of free agency, so he got to enjoy watching the team’s success in free agency. He called being traded “bittersweet,” but said he’s eager to be part of a rising power in Brooklyn. “I’m someone who wants to win more than they want to score,” Prince said. “My big thing is getting to the playoffs and being able to play in those type of opportunities and environment.”
LiAngelo Ball claims the Nets were one of three teams that talked to him about a possible Summer League role, relays Ralph Orense of ClutchPoints. On an episode of “Ball in the Family,” Ball says the Thunder and Heat also expressed interest.