Miami Heat Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Kyle Lowry Expected To Return On Saturday

March 10th, 2023 at 10:02pm CST by Rory Maher

Heat point guard Kyle Lowry is traveling with the team and is expected to return to action on Saturday in Orlando, tweets Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel.

Lowry has been battling left knee soreness, having last played on February 2. He has missed the past 15 games as a result of the injury, with Miami going 7-8 over that span.

The Heat reportedly dangled Lowry in trade talks ahead of last month’s deadline, but were unable to find any takers due to the combination of his age (he turns 37 in a couple weeks), large contract ($28.33MM this season, $29.68MM in 2023/24), and health problems.

A six-time All-Star and 2019 NBA champion with the Raptors, Lowry has seen his production drop off in ’22/23, likely in part due to his knee issue. He’s averaging 12.0 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 5.3 APG and 1.1 SPG on .396/.333/.855 shooting through 44 games (33.3 MPG).

It’s unclear if Lowry will immediately reclaim his spot in the starting lineup; Gabe Vincent had been starting in his place. The 17-year veteran has started every game in his first two years with the Heat and hasn’t come off the bench since the ’12/13 season, but it’s reasonable to assume he might be on a minutes restriction after a lengthy absence.

Lowry’s return comes at a critical time for the Heat, as they’re fighting for a top-six seed and a guaranteed spot in the playoffs. After beating Cleveland on Friday, they’re currently 36-32, the No. 7 seed in the East.

Ups And Downs Of Oladipo's Season; Where Things Stand For Orlando Robinson

March 10th, 2023 at 9:30pm CST by Rory Maher

Victor Oladipo has had plenty of highs and lows in 2022/23. He missed the first 24 games of the season with a knee injury, but he played in his 35th game on Friday night versus Cleveland and appears on track to play his most games since 2018/19, when he suffered a major quad injury. As Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald writes, Oladipo has struggled with inconsistency on offense, but has played solid defense thus far. “Everybody goes through stuff, everybody goes things,” the Heat guard said. “It’s about how you have resolve and how resilient you are, it really defines who you are as a person and defines who you are as a man. So I’m just going to continue to keep getting better and staying aggressive.”
The Heat signed a couple of frontcourt veterans last month in Kevin Love and Cody Zeller, which removed Orlando Robinson from the rotation. The rookie center, who is on a two-way deal with Miami, only has four active games remaining as part of his contract, so the temporary plan is to send Robinson back to the G League for playing time, Chiang writes in a subscriber-only story for The Miami Herald. The Heat have enough wiggle room beneath the tax line to convert Robinson to a standard deal if they want to, but the problem is their 15-man roster is full, so they don’t appear to be in any rush on that decision, Chiang notes.

Kevin Love Getting Minutes In Miami, But Production Lagging

March 10th, 2023 at 7:49am CST by Luke Adams

After not playing at all during his last few weeks in Cleveland, Kevin Love has started his first seven games and averaged 22.2 minutes per night for the Heat. However, he’s not getting the results he hoped for so far, posting a shooting line of just .396/.242/.875, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Nonetheless, head coach Erik Spoelstra still believes Love is a “great fit” for Miami’s starting five. “It’s a short period of time, but he really complements that starting group,” Spoelstra said.

Kevin Love: Leaving Cavaliers Was “Incredibly Hard”

March 9th, 2023 at 10:07am CST by Arthur Hill

Kevin Love ended his time with the Cavaliers after nearly nine seasons when he accepted a buyout last month, but leaving Cleveland wasn’t an easy choice, he tells Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. Love, who signed with the Heat, talked about the decision to move on after facing his former team for the first time Wednesday night.

“Professionally, it was the hardest thing I ever had to do without question,” Love said. “I think you guys know how much I love Cleveland and Ohio. All the fans there have always supported me and the team. Naturally, winning there makes it bigger than guys like myself, Kyrie (Irving), Bron (LeBron James). Even here I look up and see the championship banners and I’m like, ‘That’s special.’ I go back to Brecksville and I’m like, ‘We did that. We really did that.’ That was incredibly hard to do after eight and a half seasons.”

Although Love still feels a strong attachment to Cleveland, he wanted to find a situation where he could still play. Love had been out of the Cavs’ lineup since January 24, missing several games due to lower back pain and then being pulled from the rotation when Dean Wade returned from injury.

Love wasn’t effective this season and it became harder for coach J.B. Bickerstaff to find minutes for him. The 34-year-old forward shot just 38.9% from the floor in 41 games and was a glaring liability on defense as rival teams targeted him in the pick-and-roll. A lingering thumb injury also limited his effectiveness.

“I think it was a really tough decision for him to take me out of the lineup,” Love said of Bickerstaff. “I think they wanted to go young and stick with those guys, especially Ricky (Rubio) and Dean getting back from injury. They wanted to get the guys more minutes. But the natural frustration is you want to be out there, you want to have those conversations in the locker room, you want to be in those timeouts, those type of situations.

“I think it like all came so fast for me and there wasn’t any prospect of me going back out there and playing — and I wanted that. I was hungry for that. I was foaming at the mouth for that. Those were really tough conversations, but those are ones that I’m grateful they had with me so I was able to find something else and find a place where I could be happy and play.”

According to Fedor, Love reached out to Wade after finalizing his buyout to let him know there was no animosity and to encourage him to take advantage of his opportunity. He also talked to Rubio, his teammate in Minnesota before they reunited in Clevland, about taking over as the team’s veteran leader.

Love remains close to his former teammates and is still on their group text chat, Fedor adds. He greeted several of them before Wednesday’s game and said it’s an odd feeling to see them on the opposing sideline.

Winding up in Miami was an unexpected development for Love, who was hoping to retire in Cleveland. Now he’s adjusting to a new team that could potentially meet the Cavs in a playoff series.

“That’s in my mind and my vision, I thought it would be Cleveland without a doubt, especially after last year and the start of this year,” Love said. “Now you’ve got to put that in the rearview. It is tough after eight and a half years, moving in the middle of the season and still living out of a hotel, but in terms of welcoming me with open arms and a class organization, the Miami Heat have been just unbelievable. I can see why they have that rich history and have had so much success because they have been so good to me.”

Latest Injury Updates On Kyle Lowry, Kevin Love

March 8th, 2023 at 1:05pm CST by Luke Adams

Heat guard Kyle Lowry will miss his 14th consecutive game due to left knee soreness when Miami hosts the Cavaliers on Wednesday, but there’s still optimism he’ll return before the end of the season, and perhaps even within the next week, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. In other Heat injury news, Kevin Love (right rib contusion) has been upgraded to probable, so there’s a good chance he’ll be available to face his old team on Wednesday.

Love Questionable To Play Vs. Cavs

March 7th, 2023 at 7:15pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Heat play Kevin Love‘s former team on Wednesday but it’s uncertain whether the veteran power forward will suit up. He’s listed as questionable against Cleveland due to a rib contusion, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel tweets. Love missed the Heat’s two-point win over Atlanta on Monday.

Heat Notes: Martin, Zeller, Love, Haslem

March 6th, 2023 at 10:50pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Caleb Martin provided 21 points in 28 minutes off the bench in the Heat‘s victory over Atlanta on Monday. Martin has been a solid contributor all season and his teammates appreciate his hard work, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports.

“Caleb has been probably the bright spot on our team,” center Bam Adebayo said. “Through the ups and downs, he’s always been consistent. And he’s one of those guys that you can always rely on. He’s going to play hard. He’s going to try to make the right plays.”

Martin is in the first year of a three-year, $20.4MM contract that includes a player option in 2024/25.

We have more on the Heat:

Cody Zeller has played seven games since joining the Heat as the backup center last month. Zeller, who was out of the league until Miami picked him up, feels comfortable playing limited minutes, Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald writes. “I’m still feeling a little rusty with some of my reads and stuff. But overall, I’ve been pretty pleased with where I’m at. I’m still only playing 15 minutes per game. It’s shorter minutes, so I should be able to play even harder. So yeah, it’s been good so far.”
Kevin Love missed Monday’s game with a rib contusion but X-rays were negative, Chiang tweets. It’s not considered to be a long-term issue. Love is averaging 7.5 points and 7.3 rebounds in six starts since signing with the club.
The team has planned a variety of tributes for forward Udonis Haslem, who is retiring after the season. Haslem told Chiang he hopes the Heat can make another playoff run but he won’t have any regrets, regardless of how the season plays out. “I’m done,” Haslem said. “I’m done no matter what happens. I gave my contribution. I think at this stage, there needs to be another voice for these guys. It’s time for somebody to step up and be the voice.”

Heat’s Omer Yurtseven On Verge Of Season Debut

March 6th, 2023 at 4:06pm CST by Rory Maher

Heat center Omer Yurtseven will be available on Monday versus Atlanta in what would mark his 2022/23 season debut, according to Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. The second-year big man underwent left ankle surgery in November to address an impingement, bone spur and stress reaction.

Yurtseven was assigned to the G League last week as he ramped up his activity and closed in on his debut. In two games with the Sioux Falls Skyforce, Miami’s affiliate, the 24-year-old averaged an impressive 27.5 points, 13.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists, Chiang notes.

“It was really long and really grueling,” Yurtseven said of his rehab process. “It feels amazing playing those two games back-to-back. Playing 70 minutes total and afterwards feeling fine, feels amazing.”

Yurtseven, who can become a restricted free agent in the offseason, had a strong rookie showing, averaging 5.3 points and 5.3 rebounds in just 12.6 minutes per contest (56 games). That included one 10-game stretch filling in as a starter for Bam Adebayo when the Turkish center averaged 13.6 points, 13.9 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.0 steal.

However, Yurtseven might not be guaranteed any minutes on Monday. As Chiang writes, Cody Zeller has done a nice job as the primary backup center since signing a rest-of-season deal with the Heat.

“It’s impressive, what Cody has done,” head coach Erik Spoelstra said. “You just already can see it, optically, and you can feel it. He fits. He complements our guys. He’s a hard-playing dude. He really competes. He lets it all out there and even just the diving, going after loose balls, the rebounding, the extra effort. It becomes inspiring. Offensively, he’s just really smart, so he can run our offense very well.”

In other Heat-related news, Kevin Love will be out on Monday with a rib contusion, Chiang adds in the same story.

Goran Dragic Signs With Bucks

March 4th, 2023 at 11:03pm CST by Luke Adams

11:03pm: The signing is official, the Bucks announced in a press release.

12:14pm: Free agent guard Goran Dragic is meeting with the Bucks in Milwaukee this afternoon and intends to sign with the team for the rest of the season, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

Wojnarowski first reported on Thursday that the Bucks were the frontrunners to sign Dragic, and it seems no rival suitors have jumped the line since then. According to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald (Twitter link), Dragic would have welcomed an offer from the Heat, but Miami isn’t in the market for another point guard.

Dragic, who will turn 37 in May, began this season on a minimum-salary contract with Chicago and was part of the Bulls’ rotation at point guard. However, while he appeared in 51 games, Dragic was only averaging 15.4 minutes per night, his lowest mark since he was a rookie in 2008/09. After the Bulls added Patrick Beverley on the buyout market, Dragic was the odd man out, resulting in his release.

Dragic is no longer the player he was in 2017, when he averaged 20+ points per game, or 2018, when he earned his lone career All-Star berth, but he was somewhat productive in Chicago this season, averaging 6.4 PPG and 2.7 APG on .425/.352/.659 shooting.

He’ll join a Bucks team that starts Jrue Holiday at the point, with Jevon Carter backing him up. As long as Milwaukee is healthy, it seems unlikely that Dragic will have much of a role, especially once the playoffs begin. But he’ll provide some reliable veteran depth at a position that wasn’t especially deep for the Bucks.

If Dragic signs his minimum-salary contract on Saturday, he’ll earn $617,911 the rest of the way, with the Bucks taking on a $390,433 cap charge. Even after re-signing Meyers Leonard to a 10-day contract, Milwaukee has an open spot on its 15-man roster, so no corresponding move will be necessary.

Erik Spoelstra Won’t Commit To Kyle Lowry’s Return

March 4th, 2023 at 7:33pm CST by Arthur Hill

Meeting with reporters before Saturday’s game, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra refused to say whether he expects Kyle Lowry to play again before the end of the regular season, tweets Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald.

Spoelstra added that Lowry continues to make progress with the soreness in his left knee that has now caused him to miss 12 consecutive games. The 36-year-old point guard was able to practice with the team last weekend, but he hasn’t played since February 2.

Lowry, who’s appeared in 44 games this season, has experienced a sharp decline in his production since signing with Miami two years ago. In 107 total games with the Heat, the six-time All-Star is averaging just 12.8 points and 6.6 assists per night and he’s in the midst of the worst shooting season of his 17-year career, hitting 39.6% from the field and 33.3% on three-pointers.

Lowry still has one season left on the three-year, $85MM contract he signed as a free agent in the summer of 2021. He’ll make $29.68MM next season before reaching free agency again in 2024.

Miami reportedly explored the trade market for Lowry before last month’s deadline, but found little to no interest because of his age, contract and injury woes. The Heat may try again to find a taker this summer in the hopes of getting Lowry’s salary removed from next season’s cap.