Miami Heat Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Heat Sign Jaquez To Rookie Deal; Smith, Bouyea To Two-Ways

July 1st, 2023 at 5:06pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Heat have officially inked rookie small forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. to his rookie scale contract, the team has announced (Twitter link).

Jaquez, a 6’7″ swingman, was selected with the No. 18 pick out of UCLA in this summer’s draft. During his final season with the team in 2022/23, the 22-year-old averaged 17.8 PPG on .481/.317/.770 shooting splits, 8.2 RPG and 2.4 APG. He was a consensus All-American Second Team honoree during his last collegiate run with the Bruins, and a three-time All-Pac-12 Teamer.

Miami also just officially signed Dru Smith and Jamaree Bouyea to two-way contracts, according to the league’s official transactions log. Though there is a general NBA moratorium on signings between July 1-6, two-way and rookie signings are still permitted even during this period.

Smith, a 6’3″ shooting guard, initially inked an affiliate deal with the Heat’s NBAGL team, the Sioux Fall Skyforce, in 2021 after going undrafted out of Missouri in 2021. He signed two-way deals with Miami and the Nets last season. Across 22 total games between the Skyforce and Long Island Nets in 2022/23, Smith averaged 15.5 PPG on .482/.379/.682 shooting splits, plus 5.5 RPG, 4.8 APG, 2.0 SPG and 0.6 BPG.

Bouyea, a 6’2″ combo guard, played on separate 10-day contracts with the Heat and Wizards as an undrafted rookie last year, appearing in a total of five games between both clubs.

The two-way qualifying offers that the Heat previously extended to restricted free agents Jamal Cain and Orlando Robinson are still on the table, per Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel (via Twitter).

With word breaking that Trail Blazers All-Star point guard Damian Lillard would reportedly prefer to be dealt to Miami specifically, the Jaquez deal is a bit more notable, as it means that he now cannot be included as part of a trade for the next 30 days. That does not necessarily mean he cannot or will not be a part of a hypothetical package for Lillard, only that a move could not be officially finalized until July 31.

Damian Lillard Rumors: Heat, Herro, Martin, Nurkic, Grant

July 1st, 2023 at 3:31pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Shockwaves were sent throughout the league this morning when it was reported that longtime Trail Blazers All-NBA point guard Damian Lillard had requested a trade.

During an appearance on NBA Today, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter video link) spoke with host Malika Andrews about the curious timing of the deal.

“His conversations with the organization, at least going back several days [to] that last Monday meeting in Portland, the expectation was he was going to give the organization a chance to get through free agency, and see how they could improve the team,” Woj said. “And on the opening night of free agency, they committed in Portland $160MM to Jerami Grant to return to the Blazers, certainly with Damian Lillard in mind. And now, less than 24 hours later, Lillard has asked for a trade.”

Sources tell Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report that Lillard’s agent Aaron Goodwin informed Joe Cronin of his client’s decision on Saturday morning.

Haynes is one of many reporters hearing that Lillard hopes to be dealt to Miami. Heat All-NBA swingman Jimmy Butler, fresh off leading the team to its second Finals appearance in four seasons, has told Miami personnel that Lillard is his No. 1 target for the club’s offseason, Haynes adds.

Miami is prepared to make an offer centered around young shooting guard Tyler Herro, according to Haynes, who says sharpshooter Duncan Robinson and draft picks could be used to build out the package. The team is hoping to avoid including affordable forward Caleb Martin in trade talks, per Haynes and Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald (via Twitter).

The Trail Blazers, for their part, may angle to unload the contract of veteran center Jusuf Nurkic in a deal.

“If you want to go into a full rebuild, Brooklyn has the better assets going forward,” a front office executive told Sean Deveney of Heavy Sports. “But Portland is pretty clear that they are not looking to be terrible next year. They will be young but they want to stay competitive. Dealing with Miami gets you there.”

Surrounding third overall lottery pick Scoot Henderson with a play-making scorer at the level of Herro and perhaps a marksman with the pedigree of Robinson could help the Trail Blazers at least remain somewhat competitive next season.

However, there have been rumblings that Portland may be “lukewarm” on Herro, so it’s possible a third team would have to get involved, as Jackson writes for The Miami Herald in an exploration of possible trade scenarios. Haynes (Twitter link) has indeed heard that any Lillard trade between the Blazers and Heat would probably have to include a third team, though he doesn’t specify whether that’s related to Portland’s feelings about Herro.

The Sixers are another club that hopes to get into the running for Lillard. However, Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link) is hearing that young combo guard Tyrese Maxey, who is still on his rookie scale contract, is currently off the table in any trade talks, even for Lillard. Fischer reiterates that rival teams, including Philadelphia, are convinced Lillard hopes to be moved to the Heat specifically.

Finally, Wojnarowski provides an important update on another key veteran whose future is affected by Lillard’s trade request, tweeting that today’s news won’t change Portland’s plans to re-sign Grant to the five-year, $160MM contract he and the team agreed to on Friday night.

That deal can’t be made official until July 6, so either side could back out of their verbal agreement before then. However, it would be a bad look for a club to rescind such a significant offer, and Grant seems unlikely to do anywhere near that well elsewhere on the free agent market.

Luke Adams contributed to this story.

Heat Sign Thomas Bryant To Two-Year Contract

July 1st, 2023 at 12:25pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 2: The Heat have formally announced Bryant’s deal with the team, issuing a press release to confirm that it’s official.

JULY 1: The Heat and free agent center Thomas Bryant have agreed to a two-year contract, agents Mark Bartelstein and Zach Kurtin tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

It’ll be a minimum-salary contract with a second-year player option, according to Wojnarowski. The first-year cap hit will be about $2.53MM, then Bryant will make a decision on a $2.85MM salary for 2024/25.

Bryant, who will turn 26 later this month, signed with the Lakers in free agency a year ago after returning from an Achilles tear that limited him to 37 total games for the Wizards in the prior two seasons. He played well in Los Angeles, averaging 12.1 points and 6.8 rebounds in 41 games, including 25 starts. However, when his rotation role was cut back, he reportedly sought a change of scenery.

The Lakers acquiesced, sending him to the Nuggets in a trade-deadline deal. Bryant didn’t end up playing much in Denver either, averaging just 11.4 MPG in 18 appearances down the stretch, but he got to part of the team’s championship run this spring.

In Miami, Bryant figures to get an opportunity to play rotation minutes behind Bam Adebayo at center, with centers Cody Zeller and Omer Yurtseven both on the open market and seemingly unlikely to return. The Heat’s newest center will bring some floor-stretching ability, having made 36.6% of his career three-pointers.

A strong season would put Bryant in position to opt out and return to free agency a year from now.

Trail Blazers’ Damian Lillard Requests Trade

July 1st, 2023 at 11:00am CST by Luke Adams

Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard has requested a trade out of Portland, sources tell Chris Haynes of TNT and Bleacher Report (Twitter link). The team is expected to work to accommodate the request, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Ramona Shelburne (Twitter link).

Lillard’s future in Portland has been the subject of speculation for several years, as the team hasn’t made it out of the first round of the postseason since 2019 and has missed the playoffs entirely in each of the last two seasons.

The seven-time All-Star, who has spent his entire 11-year NBA career with the Trail Blazers, has repeatedly expressed his loyalty to the organization and conveyed a desire to stick it out in Portland. However, Lillard – who will turn 33 later this month – has also made it clear that he wants to have a chance to contend for a championship during his remaining prime years.

Lillard spoke earlier this year about his preference that the Blazers look to build out their roster with veterans rather than prioritizing youth. So when the franchise landed the No. 3 overall pick in this year’s draft, there was a sense that what Portland did with that selection would significantly influence Lillard’s next move.

Rather than trading the No. 3 pick for an impact player, the Blazers kept it and drafted Scoot Henderson, a 19-year-old guard who has superstar upside but who will need some time to develop at the NBA level. Portland also reached an agreement on a five-year, $160MM deal with free agent forward Jerami Grant on Friday, but Lillard has apparently determined that the team’s moves early in the offseason won’t substantially increase its chances of contending in the short term.

According to Shelburne (Twitter link), Lillard considered asking for a trade when he met with the Blazers’ front office on Monday, but wanted to give them every opportunity to make roster upgrades this week. He decided on Friday night to request a move, Shelburne adds.

Haynes initially reported (via Twitter) the Heat and Nets are the preferred landing spots for the former No. 6 overall pick. Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports adds (via Twitter) that no other teams – including the Sixers – are on Lillard’s wish list for now, though Shelburne (Twitter link) adds that he has a “deep respect” for the Spurs.

While Brooklyn could put together a competitive offer of players and draft picks, it sounds like Lillard is focused specifically on Miami. League sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link) that the Blazers were told that Dame wants to end up with the Heat.

Lillard spoke to some Heat players recently about how a deal might work, tweets Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press. According to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald (Twitter link), the star guard loves the city of Miami, is good friends with Bam Adebayo, has “great respect” for Jimmy Butler, and views the Heat as a legitimate contender.

Lillard doesn’t have a no-trade clause, so he could be dealt to any team, but the Blazers likely won’t want to reward his 11 years of service to the franchise by sending him somewhere he doesn’t want to be. If Portland does open up the Lillard sweepstakes to other suitors, Philadelphia would have interest in exploring a deal, as would the Clippers, tweets Wojnarowski.

The Heat are expected to “vigorously” pursue a trade for Lillard, according to Jackson and Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Miami was reportedly in the mix for Bradley Beal in June, but after Phoenix traded for the longtime Wizards star, reports indicated that the Heat were focused on Lillard and were willing to wait for him to ask out of Portland.

A Miami offer for Lillard would almost certainly include at least two of Tyler Herro, Kyle Lowry, and Duncan Robinson. The Heat also have at least two tradable future first-round picks (2028 and 2030) and could sweeten their offer by attaching young prospects such as Nikola Jovic or 2023 first-rounder Jaime Jaquez, or a veteran on a team-friendly contract like Caleb Martin. They could also offer multiple first-round pick swaps.

According to Wojnarowski, the Trail Blazers will prioritize young players and draft picks in their Lillard trade negotiations. In Henderson and 2022 lottery pick Shaedon Sharpe, the club already has two young potential cornerstones to build around.

Free Agent Rumors: G. Williams, Lakers, Gordon, Vincent, Brooks

July 1st, 2023 at 1:39am CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Celtics are letting the market dictate how they proceed with the contract of restricted free agent power forward Grant Williams.

Sources tell Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe that, since Boston has the right of first refusal on Williams, the team is waiting to see if he gets an offer sheet before making a decision on his future.

The 3-and-D role player could be feeling some roster squeeze if he does return to the Celtics next season, as the club will now boast a frontcourt that features Kristaps Porzingis in addition to Al Horford and Robert Williams III.

Here’s more from around the league:

The Lakers may be open to bringing back unrestricted free agent shooting guard Malik Beasley for next season, even after deciding not to pick up their $16.5MM option on him for 2023/24. Sources tell Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports that team president Rob Pelinka still appreciates Beasley as a player and the club has some interest in re-signing him on what would have to be a significantly smaller deal. Fischer adds that the Lakers have not yet made a determination on the future of starting point guard D’Angelo Russell, though both Russell’s management and L.A. had been hopeful about reaching a new long-term deal earlier Friday.
Fischer adds that the Raptors were viewed as a prime suitor Gabe Vincent as it became increasingly clear that Fred VanVleet would sign a huge new contract with the Rockets. However, after Lakers mid-level target Bruce Brown joined the Pacers early on in free agency, Los Angeles weighed a pursuit of shooting guard Eric Gordon before ultimately deciding on Vincent. Sources tell Fischer that the Raptors didn’t end up reaching out to Vincent during free agency.
The Heat offered Vincent a four-year, $34MM contract to stay in Miami, a source tells Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press (via Twitter). The 27-year-old instead opted for a shorter-term deal with a higher annual salary, accepting a three-year, $33MM offer from the Lakers.
The Rockets‘ anticipated meeting with small forward Dillon Brooks is taking place either late on Friday or at some point on Saturday, reports Kelly Iko of The Athletic. According to Iko, the defensive-oriented 6’7″ swingman has had conversations with the Bucks and Lakers on Friday while Houston focused on locking up VanVleet. Now that the Lakers have committed most of their mid-level exception to Vincent, they’re likely no longer a viable landing spot for Brooks, Iko notes.

Free Agent Rumors: Lopez, Banton, T. Davis, Strus

June 30th, 2023 at 10:17pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Multiple NBA clubs are awaiting word on the future of unrestricted free agent center Brook Lopez, who has spent his past five seasons with the Bucks, per Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link).

Fischer reports that “increasing word” on Friday suggests the Rockets may bid in excess of the two-year, $40MM deal that has been floated as a possibility.

Lopez, 35, has enjoyed a fruitful relationship with Milwaukee. The seven-footer has been named to two All-Defensive Teams and won his first championship during his Bucks tenure, while totally transforming his game, from being a fringe All-Star post scorer while with the Nets to the gritty 3-and-D role player he is now.

In 78 regular season games for the 58-24 Bucks last season, the former Stanford big man posted averages of 15.9 PPG on .531/.374/.784 shooting splits, in addition to 6.7 RPG, 2.5 BPG and 1.3 APG. He was the runner-up for Defensive Player of the Year honors.

Here are further free agent rumors:

Free agent point guard Dalano Banton met with the Celtics on Friday, according to Rafael Barlowe of NBA Big Board (via Twitter). The 6’9″ vet out of Nebraska had spent both of his NBA seasons to date with the Raptors. In 31 contests, last year, he averaged 4.6 PPG, 1.5 RPG and 1.2 APG.
The Celtics, Suns, Bucks, Mavericks and Raptors are among the teams with some level of interest in free agent former Kings shooting guard Terence Davis, according to Mark Jones of ESPN and Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter links).
According to Fischer (Twitter link), the Spurs have emerged as a possible third team in a rumored sign-and-trade deal that would send Heat free agent shooting guard Max Strus to the Cavaliers. Sources tell Fischer that Cleveland has been looking to offload the contract of swingman Cedi Osman, whom Miami presumably has no interest in taking on. Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald reports (via Twitter) that the Heat are aiming to create a trade exception and a future second-round draft selection in any sign-and-trade involving Strus.

Kevin Love Signs Two-Year Deal With Heat

June 30th, 2023 at 7:57pm CST by Dana Gauruder

JULY 6: The Heat have made it official, issuing a press release to announce their new deal with Love.

JUNE 30: Veteran power forward Kevin Love is returning to the Heat on a two-year contract, according to Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press. The second year will include a player option (Twitter links).

The Heat are using their Non-Bird rights to re-sign Love, which will result in a $3.7MM cap hit for next season, the Miami Herald’s Anthony Chiang tweets. Miami could have gone as high as $3.84MM to retain Love, so they’ll get a little cap relief if the $3.7MM figure is correct.

In either case, it’ll be a bargain for a five-time All-Star and 34-year-old rotation player. After reaching a buyout with the Cavaliers, Love appeared in 21 regular-season games with the Heat, including 17 starts. He averaged 7.7 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.9 assists, though the 37% career 3-point shooter struggled from long range (29.7%).

Love played 20 postseason games with Miami, including 18 starts, and produced an average of 6.9 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 17 minutes. His 3-point shooting perked up to his usual level (37.5%).

While it remains to be seen how the rest of the Heat’s roster moves shake out, Love will likely be a starter or key second-unit player once again for the defending Eastern Conference champions.

Josh Richardson Signs Two-Year Contract With Heat

June 30th, 2023 at 7:42pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

JULY 2: Richardson’s deal with the Heat is now official, according to a press release from the team.

JUNE 30: Veteran free agent swingman Josh Richardson is reportedly inking a two-year, minimum-salary contract to return to the Heat, report Shams Charania of The Athletic and Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald (Twitter links).

Jackson notes that the deal includes a player option for 2024/25. Miami head coach Erik Spoelstra reached out to Richardson at the start of the free agent period to recruit Richardson, per Jackson. Jackson tweets that a rival club offered the 6’5″ shooting guard/small forward more money, but he was swayed by the conversation with one of the league’s best coaches.

Mike Scotto of HoopsHype reports that the Timberwolves and Celtics also were hoping to sign Richardson. Scotto reveals that team president Pat Riley was also involved in the recruitment call to reacquire Richardson.

Miami, which as of now is already in luxury tax terrain in terms of its current contracts, has done well in adding a quality 3-and-D rotation wing on a team-friendly deal. The annual cap hits on a minimum deal for Richardson will be $2,891,467 in 2023/24 and $3,051,153 in 2024/25.

Miami first drafted Richardson out of Tennessee with the No. 40 pick in 2015, and flipped him to the Sixers as part of the deal that brought All-NBA wing Jimmy Butler to South Beach.

Across 65 games split between the Spurs and Pelicans in 2023/24, Richardson averaged 10.1 PPG on .431/.365/.852 shooting splits, along with 2.7 RPG, 2.7 APG and 1.1 SPG.

Gabe Vincent Signs Three-Year Contract With Lakers

June 30th, 2023 at 6:24pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 6: Vincent is officially a Laker, having formally signed his new contract, according to the team (Twitter link).

JUNE 30: Free agent point guard Gabe Vincent will leave the Heat for the Lakers, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link), who reports that Vincent has agreed to a three-year, $33MM contract with Los Angeles.

Miami, wary of increasing the team’s projected tax bill, had offered Vincent a three-year deal that started at $7.7MM, tweets Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. The Lakers will give him an $11MM annual salary, presumably using a significant portion of their non-taxpayer mid-level exception.

The deal will be fully guaranteed with no player or team option on the third year, tweets Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports.

Vincent, 27, began the 2022/23 season as rotation player off the Heat’s bench, but was elevated to the starting lineup in early February due to a Kyle Lowry injury. On the year, he averaged 9.4 PPG, 2.5 APG, and 2.1 RPG with a .402/.334/.872 shooting line in 68 regular season games (25.9 MPG).

Vincent held onto his starting job during the Heat’s run to the NBA Finals and played well in the postseason. Notably, he averaged 13.8 PPG and shot .438/.426/.909 in the Heat’s final two series vs. the Celtics and Nuggets, despite spraining his ankle vs. Boston.

Even after agreeing to sign Vincent, Los Angeles still has interest in bringing back point guard D’Angelo Russell, tweets Jovan Buha of The Athletic. However, Buha expects Vincent’s deal means that Dennis Schröder won’t be back with the team.

Vincent was the No. 23 free agent on our top-50 list.

Eastern Notes: Dinwiddie, Bol, Pistons, Harris, Heat, Maxey

June 30th, 2023 at 4:30pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Spencer Dinwiddie is eligible for an extension later this offseason and there’s support within the Nets organization to add years to his current contract, according to Ian Begley of SNY.TV.

Dinwiddie is entering his walk year with a cap hit of $20,357,143. After being reacquired from Dallas last season, Dinwiddie started 26 regular-season games and averaged 16.5 points and 9.1 assists in 35.3 minutes.

We have more from the Eastern Conference:

The Magic have pushed back their decision regarding Bol Bol‘s contract, Jamie Seh of WKMG-TV tweets. Bol has a non-guaranteed $2.2MM salary for next season and the original deadline to guarantee his deal was Friday. If they don’t guarantee his contract, he’ll end up on waivers.
By trading for Joe Harris and his expiring contract rather than pursuing a high-level free agent, the Pistons are protecting the cap space for next summer while avoiding a potentially bad contract, according to James Edwards III of The Athletic. Handing a huge offer sheet to restricted free agent Cameron Johnson, as had been anticipated, would have meant overpaying for a role player. They could easily have $60MM in cap space to play with next summer for a better free agent market. Detroit won’t give up a player to the Nets in the trade for Harris, who will provide shooting and wing depth.
Agent Mark Bartelstein said Harris has spoken with Pistons GM Troy Weaver, coach Monty Williams and executive Arn Tellem, Mark Medina tweets. According to Bartelstein, the Pistons have wanted Harris “for a couple of years” and “he’ll have a great role there.”
The Heat only have veteran’s minimum contracts to offer to free agents, Barry Jackson of Miami Herald tweets. The cap-strapped Heat don’t have a trade lined up to clear enough cap space to use exceptions within league cap rules.
While the Sixers aren’t expected to pursue a rookie scale extension with Tyrese Maxey, they haven’t made him available in trade discussions, Kyle Neubeck of Philly Voice tweets.