Miami Heat Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Stein’s Latest: USA Basketball, Wood, B. Griffin

August 7th, 2023 at 1:59pm CST by Rory Maher

Multiple reporters have confirmed the news — originally reported by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski — that Pistons guard Cade Cunningham was offered a spot on Team USA’s World Cup roster. Cunningham said last week that he declined the invitation to manage his workload for the upcoming 2023/24 season after being to 12 games in ’22/23 following shin surgery.

According to Marc Stein at Substack, USA Basketball had a longstanding interest in Cunningham joining the senior men’s team, but the organization also recognized that it was an “extreme long shot” to land him.

As Stein explains, Cunningham would have needed to commit to the full six-week time frame, which includes several exhibition games and lengthy international travel. Given how long he was sidelined, it makes sense that the 2021 No. 1 overall pick decided to be cautious; Detroit wasn’t exactly enthusiastic about the idea either, according to Stein.

Here’s more from Stein:

Why was USA Basketball so interested in Cunningham? As Stein observes, he fits the mold of a physical guard that was a priority for the roster, which includes Jalen Brunson, Anthony Edwards, Austin Reaves and Josh Hart (though Hart is more of a wing than a traditional ball-handling guard).
The lack of physicality may explain why Hawks guard Trae Young isn’t on the World Cup roster, despite USAB managing director Grant Hill being a part owner of Atlanta, Stein writes. Young was disappointed to not make the team and recently said he’d welcome the opportunity to represent Team USA at the 2024 Olympics in Paris, Stein adds.
Former ESPN analyst Jeff Van Gundy will serve as Team USA’s scouting director for the World Cup, Stein reports. Van Gundy has been associated with USAB for several years, including serving as head coach from 2017-19 when the team was comprised of non-NBA players during qualifying rounds, Stein notes.
The Lakers remain interested in free agent big man Christian Wood, sources tell Stein. However, they used most of their non-taxpayer mid-level exception on Gabe Vincent and their bi-annual exception on Taurean Prince, so they can basically only offer Wood the veteran’s minimum. While the Mavericks are open to a Wood sign-and-trade, neither the Lakers nor the Heat are believed to be viable partners in that scenario, according to Stein.
The Celtics are interested in re-signing free agent big man Blake Griffin, league sources tell Stein, but it’s unclear if that interest is mutual. Griffin appeared in 41 regular season games with Boston in ’22/23, averaging career lows of 4.1 PPG, 3.8 RPG and 13.9 MPG. He also only played one game for six total minutes in the playoffs, despite the Celtics having 20 postseason contests.

Heat Notes: Swider, Cain, Audige, Herro

August 7th, 2023 at 12:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Heat have been quiet while hoping for a Damian Lillard trade to materialize, but they reached an agreement Sunday with Cole Swider on an Exhibit 10 training camp deal, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. The former Lakers forward spent most of last season in the G League on a two-way contract.

Chiang hears that Swider will have a chance to compete for a two-way deal with Miami and possibly even a spot on the 15-man roster. As a 6’9″ long-range shooter, Swider could have some value for a team that lost three-point threats Max Strus and Gabe Vincent in free agency. Duncan Robinson, a similar player, may be sent elsewhere in a potential Lillard deal, Chiang adds.

Swider made a verbal commitment to the Heat, according to Chiang, but if the team intends to include Exhibit 9 language in his deal, he can’t officially sign until the team has at least 14 players with standard deals. Drew Peterson, another 6’9″ sharpshooter who played for Miami’s Summer League team, is in a similar situation.

There’s more from Miami:

With the commitments from Swider and Peterson, along with 13 standard contracts and a pair of two-way deals, the Heat have four more roster spots to fill before training camp opens, Chiang adds. One of those could go to power forward Jamal Cain, who received a qualifying offer to return to the team on a two-way contract. Cain is still searching for a standard deal, which Miami has been reluctant to offer, according to Chiang. The deadline to rescind the two-way offer passed in July, so Cain is free to accept it at any time.
The Heat also contacted Northwestern guard Chase Audige about an Exhibit 10 contract, tweets Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. However, a source tells Jackson that Audige has decided to accept an Exhibit 10 offer from another team where he believes he has a better chance to earn a roster spot.
Zach Kram of The Ringer takes an in-depth look at Tyler Herro to determine whether he’s valuable enough to be the central piece in a Lillard trade. Miami is hoping to find a third team to take Herro and increase the number of draft assets going to Portland. Kram finds that Herro is part of a star-studded group that averaged at least 20 points, five rebounds and four assists per game at age 23, but his defensive limitations put a cap on his trade value.

Southeast Notes: Adebayo, Lillard, Young, Coulibaly, Magic

August 5th, 2023 at 11:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Heat’s pursuit of Damian Lillard could give Bam Adebayo a chance to team up with a close friend, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. They formed a bond while winning a gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics, which is one of the reasons Miami stands alone on Lillard’s list of preferred destinations. Adebayo said that along with Lillard’s obvious talents, his “demeanor” could help the Heat make another run at a title.

“How he walks, how he talks, how he presents himself, we have a lot of those similar characteristics,” Adebayo said. “Dame isn’t the loudest person. I’m not the loudest person. We’re two down to earth people that gelled well in the Olympics.”

Adebayo was speaking from his youth basketball camp, where he got plenty of questions about Lillard from the participants. Miami hasn’t made much progress toward a deal because its offers haven’t appealed to Portland and it hasn’t been able to find another team to help facilitate a trade. Adebayo couldn’t offer any inside information, but he urged the campers to remain patient.

“The biggest thing is business,” he said. “Everybody wants it to make sense. Everybody on their side wants it to make sense. Obviously, other sides want it to make sense, too. So I feel like it’s just a waiting game until they reach an agreement, if or when it does happen.”

There’s more from the Southeast Division:

Hawks guard Trae Young is interested in joining Team USA for the 2024 Olympics (Twitter link from ClutchPoints). Young discussed the possibility in an interview with Gilbert Arenas, saying, “Obviously, I definitely want to … It’s up to them if they want me to … I respect the OGs and understand that you got to take your turn, but I believe that I should be on.”
Bilal Coulibaly tells Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington that the Wizards were the only team he met with before the draft. Coulibaly’s Metropolitans 92 team was in the French League finals, so he wasn’t able to participate in the normal pre-draft process, but he flew to Washington for a private meeting a few weeks before draft day. Coulibaly said he understands the responsibility of being the first pick of the new front office led by general manager Will Dawkins and Monumental Basketball president Michael Winger. “That’s just that they can trust me,” Coulibaly said. “They know I’m going to do the job for sure. They want me to play defense at first because that’s my biggest tool, so I’m going to do it. They don’t gotta worry about it.”
Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel examines how Magic lottery picks Anthony Black and Jett Howard are planning to spend the rest of the summer as they prepare for their first NBA training camp.

Richardson On Lillard, Role; Winderman Says D. Robinson Is Replaceable

August 2nd, 2023 at 7:29pm CST by Rory Maher

Appearing at the Heat‘s youth camp on Wednesday, returning swingman Josh Richardson said Damian Lillard is the best player he’s played against, as Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel relays. Lillard’s status, of course, has been one of the primary stories of the offseason, as the longtime Trail Blazers star requested a trade to Miami. Richardson, a free agent signee, said his game is malleable and he’s ready for whatever role he’s given. “I mean, you know how (head coach Erik Spoelstra) Spo is, he’s kind of like, ‘I can put you out there and do anything,’” Richardson said of not sweating how the roster or his role ultimately could shake out. “So it’s kind of what I’m good at. I’m kind of a jack of all trades. Our talk was good before, but I’ll guess we’ll see more concrete once the games get started.”
In a subscriber-only mailbag for The Sun Sentinel, Winderman notes that while losing Max Strus‘ shooting could make Duncan Robinson more valuable to the Heat, the latter certainly isn’t irreplaceable. Robinson’s name has popped up in trade rumors for several months and he could be used as a salary-matching piece in a possible Lillard deal.

Community Shootaround: Which Non-Heat Team Should Pursue Lillard?

August 2nd, 2023 at 8:01am CST by Luke Adams

We’re now more than a month removed from Damian Lillard‘s trade request, which he submitted on July 1, and the Trail Blazers don’t appear to be much closer to moving the star guard today than they were at that time.

Lillard’s insistence that he only wants to play for the Heat has limited his market, as have the four years and $216MM left on his contract, which has reportedly made teams wary about giving up a significant package for him.

The Blazers are essentially stuck at an impasse, apparently “disinclined” to seriously engage with the Heat but also without any other viable options available to them for the time being, as ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said during an NBA Today appearance on Tuesday (YouTube link).

“As I look across the league and have conversations with executives and agents, I can’t identify another team that is seriously making an offer for Dame Lillard at this point,” Windhorst said. “And so my belief is that the Heat can’t either.

“And so while people can look at what the Heat’s offer might be and scoff at it, if their offer is the only one on the table, it therefore is the best one on the table. And the fact that Portland isn’t going forward with anything is a verification of that, that they don’t have another offer. So, very low incentive for the Heat to improve their offer at this point, and no incentive really right now for Portland to take that offer. And we have a stare-down.”

As ESPN’s Windhorst and Adrian Wojnarowski have said, and as Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald reiterates, Miami has no desire to bid against itself in an effort to bring Portland back to the negotiating table, but remains hopeful that the Blazers will be willing to reopen those conversations at some point in the coming weeks.

A veteran assistant coach who spoke to Jackson suggests that the Heat and Blazers both have some incentive to try to get something done before the regular season begins. If Miami is going to acquire Lillard, the assistant observes, the team would prefer to do it sooner rather than later in order to begin establishing chemistry with its new-look roster following the loss of guards Gabe Vincent and Max Strus. Portland, meanwhile, would presumably like to have a clean slate to begin the 2023/24 season rather than keeping a disgruntled star on the roster and remaining in a holding pattern.

The clearest way for the negotiations to move forward would be for a second suitor besides the Heat to emerge as a serious contender for Lillard. Even if the Blazers don’t ultimately make a deal with that non-Heat team, the presence of another bidder could help push Miami to increase its offer to the point that Portland would be more willing to seriously consider it.

So our Community Shootaround question for today is this: Which non-Heat team makes the most sense as a suitor for Lillard?

The team would presumably have to meet a few criteria.

It would need to have the young player(s) and/or draft picks necessary to put together a strong offer for Lillard, as well as a strong enough core to seriously contend for a title after giving up several assets to land the veteran guard.

It would need to be comfortable with the idea of paying Lillard $60MM+ per year in 2025/26 and ’26/27.

And it would need to be confident in its leaders and culture to sell the seven-time All-Star on embracing a new NBA home somewhere besides Miami.

What do you think? Which non-Heat team is the best bet – or the most logical candidate – to emerge as a contender for Lillard? Head to the comment section below to weigh in with your thoughts!

Latest On Damian Lillard

August 1st, 2023 at 11:09am CST by Tristan Tucker

The Trail Blazers remain “disinclined” to engage with the Heat about a potential trade package to send Damian Lillard to Miami, according to the Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson (Twitter link), who says that Portland is “acting disinterested” in dealing the star guard to the Heat.

Jackson’s update comes on the heels of a TV appearance by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski in which he reported that there has been little traction on a deal involving Lillard with Miami or any other team. According to Wojnarowski, the biggest impediment to a deal is Lillard’s contract — he’s due $45.6MM in 2023/24 and will make an average of $60MM in the final two years of his four-year deal — rather than his desire to end up in Miami.

Meanwhile, The Athletic’s Shams Charania hears that the Heat are preparing an offer for Lillard that would include three or four first round picks going to Portland. According to Charania, the framework of a potential Lillard-to-Miami deal would involve the aforementioned picks, expiring contracts, at least one young player, and Tyler Herro being re-routed to a third team, as well as possibly pick swaps and second-round picks.

The Heat only have one expiring contract with a significant salary, Kyle Lowry‘s $29.7MM deal. Miami’s 2023 first round selection Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Nikola Jovic fit the bill for young players who could interest Portland.

Miami is currently ineligible to trade more than two of its own future first-round picks due to the Stepien rule, but there are scenarios in which the club could free up an extra first-rounder or two — a third team that acquires Herro may also be willing to send a first-round pick to Portland.

All of this reporting comes in the wake of a July 28 memo sent out by the league warning Lillard and his agent, Aaron Goodwin, about discouraging non-Heat teams from pursuing the seven-time All-Star.

Portland general manager Joe Cronin is clearly in no rush to send one of the best players in franchise history away, especially if Miami’s package isn’t strong enough. With training camp just under two months away, Cronin could opt to hold Lillard until the last minute or, if nothing comes to fruition, could even hold him into the season. As Jackson notes (Twitter link), it took two other recent prominent trade demands (Kevin Durant and Anthony Davis) around seven months to be moved following their requests.

On the other hand, if Lillard and his camp continue to make things uncomfortable, you’d think Cronin would begin to become more receptive to Miami’s offers. The Heat lost key contributors from their 2023 Finals roster in free agency and haven’t been able to add many other players from this year’s free agent class due to not knowing how many roster spots will be up for grabs if a Lillard trade occurs. In other words, the Heat’s push for Lillard could get more urgent, allowing the Blazers to extract more value. If Cronin wants more picks, the Heat could look to trade pieces like Caleb Martin for assets, for example.

Regardless, it doesn’t appear as though anything on the Lillard trade front is imminent or even close to it, at this point.

Love's Role Could Fluctuate Next Season

July 31st, 2023 at 9:35pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Bam Adebayo believes the Heat simply wore down during their long postseason run, he told Leonard Solms in an ESPN story. “I feel like we just came up short because we had [among the most] injuries in the 2022-23 season. [Through] all those ups and downs throughout the season… I feel like fatigue had a toll,” he said of the Finals loss to the Nuggets.
Kevin Love‘s role with the Heat could fluctuate next season, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel opines. Love could start against bigger front lines with Caleb Martin starting against small-ball lineups, provided Martin isn’t dealt. Love could also see some action as the backup center. However, Winderman notes that coach Erik Spoelstra prefers continuity during the regular season.

Northwest Notes: Lillard, Wolves, Thunder Roster, OKC Arena

July 31st, 2023 at 5:52pm CST by Dana Gauruder

A month after Damian Lillard requested a trade from the Trail Blazers, specifically to the Heat, there’s little movement on a deal with Miami or any other team, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said on NBA Today (video link).

Lillard’s huge contract, not his desired destination, is the biggest impediment. His contract runs through the 2026/27 season and he’ll make an estimated $58.5MM the previous season before a $63.2MM option in the final year.

“It has simply been – for a lot of teams – his age and the idea of playing him over 60 million dollars at 35 and 36 years old, the last two years of his deal,” Wojnarowski said. “Right not, there’s just not been a lot of engagement among teams on a Lillard trade.”

We have more from the Northwest Division:

The Thunder might be in a position this upcoming season where they start trading assets rather than hoarding them, The Ringer’s Michael Pina writes. The team may be good enough to warrant some moves that increase its chances of winning in the short term, not just the long term. The Thunder could begin attaching salary to draft capital for more established players, rather than doing the reverse.
The Timberwolves’ best chance at improvement is to develop young players like Josh Minott, Wendell Moore, Luka Garza and Leonard Miller, Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic writes. The article details Minnesota’s efforts to coach up those reserves. “When you have the roster that we have, we’ve got to be able to develop some of these young guys and turn them into real players,” assistant coach Max Lefevre said. “It’s just huge.”
Oklahoma City mayor David Holt is more concerned about square footage than a seating capacity exceeding 20,000 in the Thunder’s proposed new arena, Steve Lackmeyer of The Oklahoman relays. Holt addressed a number of questions about the arena and other Thunder-related topics while answering readers’ questions. “Seating capacity is actually not that big of an issue in modern arena planning. The real issue for teams is square footage because the real revenue drivers for users are happening outside of the bowl,” Holt wrote. “That’s why it is so damaging for sports and concerts that our arena is dead-last of all NBA arenas in square footage. Some arenas are literally twice our size and most are 40-50 percent larger. I can’t tell you what the seating capacity of a new arena will be, but the current capacity is not really an issue and hasn’t really come up.”

Players Who Signed July 1 Are Now Eligible To Be Traded

July 31st, 2023 at 9:22am CST by Arthur Hill

The peak of the NBA’s transactions season has calmed down after an active start to July, but a few more players have become eligible to be traded on the final day of the month, notes Bobby Marks of ESPN (Twitter link).

The 30-day trade restriction window has expired for draft picks who signed their contracts on July 1, along with six players who inked two-way contracts on that date.

The designation won’t matter for those at the very top of the draft, as the Spurs and Trail Blazers obviously won’t consider trading Victor Wembanyama and Scoot Henderson, respectively. However, it could come into play for a few others, especially if more big-name players are on the move as the summer winds down.

In addition to those top-three picks, first-rounders who signed on July 1 are the Magic’s Anthony Black and Jett Howard, the Pacers‘ Jarace Walker and Ben Sheppard, the Trail Blazers‘ Kris Murray and the Heat’s Jaime Jaquez. The No. 18 pick out of UCLA, Jaquez has been mentioned as a potential asset in a trade to bring Damian Lillard to Miami.

Two-way players who signed on July 1, according to NBA.com’s transactions log, are the Sixers‘ Terquavion Smith and Ricky Council, the Heat‘s Dru Smith and Jamaree Bouyea, the Trail Blazers‘ Ibou Badji and the Rockets‘ Trevor Hudgins.

Most veteran free agents who signed this summer won’t become eligible to be traded by their teams until December 15 or January 15, depending on their circumstances. Those signings didn’t become official until July 6 or later because of the NBA’s summer moratorium.

Butler Likely To Pursue Extension

July 30th, 2023 at 9:56pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Caleb Martin, if he’s not included in a potential Damian Lillard blockbuster, could end up on the free agent market next summer, as Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel explains. The Heat forward can opt out of his $7.1MM salary for the 2024/25 season next summer. If he plays like he did in the postseason, he would obviously make that move. However, as Winderman notes, Martin may not be quite as effective now that he’s more of a known commodity and will be more of a focus in defensive game plans.

The Heat could soon find themselves in the same salary cap crunch as the Celtics in the wake of Jaylen Brown‘s huge extension, Winderman opines. Jimmy Butler is likely to pursue a costly extension whether or not the club acquires Lillard and his huge contract. Butler is entering the first year of three-year, $146.4MM million contract that includes a player option in 2025/26. A payroll that includes a Butler extension, along with contracts of Lillard and Bam Adebayo, would result in tough decisions regarding the remainder of the roster.