Miami Heat Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Eastern Notes: Heat, Crowder, Embiid, Magic, Bulls

January 4th, 2023 at 5:52pm CST by Luke Adams

The Heat have frequently been cited as a potential trade suitor for Suns forward Jae Crowder, but a source who has spoken to Miami’s front office believes the Heat may only be interested in Crowder if he’s bought out, reports Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald.

Jackson adds that the Heat would likely still have interest in trading for Crowder if the Suns are willing to accept a “bad contract,” which is presumably a reference to Duncan Robinson‘s deal — it still has three years and $57MM+ left after this season. However, the Suns won’t want to take on Robinson and are a good bet to eventually find a deal they like for Crowder without having to resort to a buyout. In other words, if Jackson’s source is right, it sounds like Miami is a long shot to land the veteran forward.

Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference:

The Sixers will be without star center Joel Embiid on Wednesday vs. Indiana due to left foot soreness, tweets Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Embiid landed on Jaxson Hayes‘ foot during the fourth quarter of Monday’s game vs. New Orleans, according to Tim Bontemps of ESPN (Twitter link), who says the big man will be considered day-to-day moving forward.
Magic center Wendell Carter and swingman Gary Harris have played limited roles since returning from injuries on December 23 — neither player has seen more than 25 minutes of action in any of their three games back. However, Carter and Harris will have their minutes restrictions lifted on Wednesday, per head coach Jamahl Mosley. Orlando still has four players serving suspensions and will have just nine players available vs. Oklahoma City, tweets Khobi Price of The Orlando Sentinel.
Rob Schaefer of NBC Sports Chicago evaluates 11 hypothetical – and perhaps far-fetched – deadline trades for the Bulls submitted by fans.

Bam Adebayo Has Claimed A Significant Role In Miami's Offense

January 4th, 2023 at 12:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

Heat center Bam Adebayo has responded to management’s desire for him to take on a larger role in the offense by averaging career highs this season with 21.5 points and 15.6 shots per game, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Adebayo posted his second consecutive 30-point game in Monday’s victory over the Clippers. “I saw him this summer,” Victor Oladipo said. “I saw the work he put in, I saw his growth. It’s no shock to people who’ve seen his grind. So, it’s no shock. I’m not surprised he’s having the year he’s having.”

Heat’s Nikola Jovic Out At Least One Month With Back Injury

January 3rd, 2023 at 7:25pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Heat rookie Nikola Jovic has a lower back stress reaction. He will be sidelined four weeks and then will be reevaluated, the Heat’s PR department tweets.

The Serbian forward was the 27th pick in last June’s draft. He has appeared in 15 games this season with the Heat, including eight starts, averaging 5.5 points and 2.1 rebounds in 13.6 minutes per game. He has also appeared in six G League games with the Sioux Falls Skyforce.

It’s a tough setback for Jovic, though he figured to spend more time in the G League as the Heat got healthier.

Jovic is making approximately $2.24MM in his first season and $11.5MM across his four-year rookie deal. The 19-year-old averaged 11.7 points per game last season while playing for Mega Basket in Europe’s ABA League.

Heat Notes: Butler, Jovic, Garrett, Martin

January 2nd, 2023 at 6:44pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Jimmy Butler has missed 10 games this season due to right knee soreness and injury management and he’s still dealing with it, he told Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel. “I still got some work to do,” the Heat forward said. “It’s not where it needs to be.”

Butler, who has been medically cleared to play back-to-backs, and the Heat’s staff will continue to monitor the situation. “I can go out there and compete.” he said. “I can’t say that I’m fully healthy. .. The more rest that I have and able to get that recovery that I need is always going to be better.”

We have more from the Southeast Division:

Rookie big man Nikola Jovic has returned to South Florida for further evaluation of a back injury, Winderman reports in the same story. Jovic experienced back soreness after playing Saturday with the Heat’s G League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce.
Guard Marcus Garrett has played two games with the Skyforce, Winderman notes. Garrett underwent surgery in October for a right wrist fracture and the Heat subsequently waived him. They may consider bringing him back on a two-way deal depending upon how he performs in the G League.
Caleb Martin said after the Monday shootaround that he’s a game-time decision against the Clippers, Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald tweets. He has missed the last two games with a quad strain.

Herro Emerging As Go-To Clutch Scorer; Spoelstra Preaching Patience To Oladipo

January 2nd, 2023 at 1:32pm CST by Rory Maher

Heat guard Tyler Herro, who signed a four-year extension before the season started worth a guaranteed $120MM, is emerging as a go-to clutch scorer, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Herro hit his third game-winner of ’22/23 on Saturday in Utah, Chiang notes, capping off a 29-point, nine-rebound, six-assist effort.
Victor Oladipo has had a difficult stretch over the past four years, missing a significant amount of time due to a series of leg injuries. While he has played strong defense since returning from left knee tendinosis, he has mostly struggled offensively. However, the Heat guard broke out of his slump by recording 23 points, five rebounds and five assists on Saturday. Head coach Erik Spoelstra believes it could take most of the season for him to really find his rhythm, according to Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel. “I told him the other day, I want him to have a little bit of grace with himself going through this process,” Spoelstra said as part of a larger quote. “We love being on this journey with him and, ultimately, I think it will still take 40 or 50 games for him to get fully in rhythm. But we got a snapshot of what it could look like at the end of this.” Oladipo has now played 11 games in ’22/23, and the Heat have 45 games remaining on their regular season schedule.

Southeast Notes: Butler, Lowry, McDaniels, Oubre

January 1st, 2023 at 4:18pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

A consultation with a Los Angeles doctor over the weekend resulted in good news on the state of Heat All-Star small forward Jimmy Butler‘s sore right knee, reports Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald (Twitter link). Butler sat out Miami’s narrow 126-123 victory over the Jazz last night but has been cleared to play in back-to-backs going forward, a source tells Chiang.

In 23 games this year, Butler is averaging 21.8 PPG on .528/.340/.829 shooting splits. He’s also chipping in 6.7 RPG, 5.8 APG and 2.1 SPG for the 19-18 Heat.

There’s more out of the Southeast Division:

$28.3MM Heat starting point guard Kyle Lowry may need to step up his game or risk being rotated out of the team’s closing lineups for good, writes Ira Winderman of The South Florida South Sentinel. The 36-year-old was recently sat for the entirety of the fourth quarter in the Utah win, after experiencing consecutive down nights in back-to-back games against the Nuggets and Jazz.
Fourth-year Hornets reserve small forward Jalen McDaniels recently spoke with Alex Kennedy of Basketball News about his long road to major rotation time. “Playing in the G League [for much of his rookie season], it just got me real confident — just letting me play through my mistakes and play a lot of minutes,” McDaniels said. “I learned a lot of the game, coming from the G League, playing in a lot of games and just knowing what to expect. I feel like my game is just locked in and I know where I’m supposed to be.” This season, McDaniels is averaging a career-most 10.6 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 2.2 APG and 1.0 SPG in 25.9 MPG.
Starting Hornets small forward Kelly Oubre Jr. will be sidelined for at least a few games as he grapples with a sprained left hand, reports Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer. “He’s working, doing as much as he can now to try and get back,” head coach Steve Clifford said. “Hopefully we’ll know more in the next couple of days. The hand is funny, it just got banged a bunch of times, and this was twice in a short period of time. It was really sore. You could see he was struggling to catch the ball. He definitely needs time for sure.”

Injury Updates: Payne, Shamet, Jovic, Green, Antetokounmpo, Holiday, Middleton, Hill

January 1st, 2023 at 3:32pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Suns reserve guards Cameron Payne (right foot strain) and Landry Shamet (sore right Achilles) have seen their statuses updated to probable for Monday’s game against the Knicks, Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic reports (Twitter link). Payne has been unavailable since December 13, while Shamet has been sidelined since Christmas Day.

Long-term, Phoenix is still without All-Star shooting guard Devin Booker (groin strain) and power forwards Cameron Johnson (right meniscus surgery) and Jae Crowder. Crowder has been away from the Suns all season while hoping for a trade.

We have more injury-related news:

While getting some run with the Heat‘s G League team, the Sioux Falls Skyforce, rookie Miami power forward Nikola Jovic has been sidelined with back spasms, reports Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel (via Twitter).
Mavericks shooting guard Josh Green (sprained right elbow) remains shelved for a Monday matchup against the Rockets, the team announced (Twitter link). The elbow was reportedly reassessed on Friday. Dallas also confirmed that Dorian Finney-Smith (right adductor strain), expected to miss at least another week, and Maxi Kleber (right hamstring surgery), out indefinitely, remain unavailable.
The Bucks could be missing their three best players on Sunday night as they square off against the Wizards, reports Josh Robbins of The Athletic (via Twitter). Khris Middleton (sore right knee) and Jrue Holiday (non-coronavirus illness) will miss the contest against Washington, while All-NBA forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (sore left knee) and reserve point guard George Hill (non-coronavirus illness) are both questionable to play.

Heat Notes: Robinson, Butler, Adebayo, Oladipo

December 31st, 2022 at 5:15pm CST by Arthur Hill

Duncan Robinson is the Heat‘s new career leader in three-pointers, but it’s not a record he expects to keep very long, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Robinson sank three shots from long distance Friday at Denver to give him 807, one more than Tim Hardaway, and while it’s a function of the way the league has changed, it’s notable that Robinson was able to reach his mark in 265 games, while it took Hardaway 367.

Robinson savored the accomplishment, but he acknowledged that the record will eventually belong to Tyler Herro, who already has 491 career three-pointers in his fourth NBA season.

“Tyler is on my heels,” Robinson said. “I just told him that I got it for now, but you’re going to get it soon. I’ll enjoy it while it lasts.”

The record comes amid a season of adjustments for Robinson, who has returned to a reserve role after being a starter for the past three seasons. Robinson also faces an uncertain future in Miami, as he’s considered to be an important trade chip as the franchise tries to land another star.

“I haven’t really taken too much time in the process of it. But yeah, I’m proud of the journey,” Robinson added. “A lot of people helped me along the way. A lot of people in this organization, a lot of teammates, a lot of people in my corner. It’s not just me, so I celebrate it with them, for sure.”

There’s more on the Heat:

Instead of accompanying his teammates to Utah for Saturday’s game, Jimmy Butler flew to Los Angeles to have a doctor examine his right knee, Chiang adds. Butler hopes to receive medical clearance to begin playing in back-to-back games.
Friday’s loss to the Nuggets left Miami with a .500 record through 36 games, and center Bam Adebayo is among the players frustrated at the regression after having the best record in the East last season, per Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. “The thing about it, we don’t want to be mediocre,” Adebayo said. “We don’t want to be in the middle of the pack.”
Victor Oladipo is still a valuable defender, but his contributions on offense have been minimal since returning from left knee tendinosis, Winderman states in a separate story. In the 10 games he has played this season, Oladipo is shooting just 36.4% from the field and 24.4% from three-point range. Winderman also observes that Oladipo’s first step seems slower and he’s not as controlled on his drives to the basket.

Dedmon Enters Protocols; Profile On Strus

December 30th, 2022 at 10:40pm CST by Rory Maher

Heat backup center Dewayne Dedmon is away from the team as he continues to be plagued by plantar fasciitis in his left foot. On top of that, he has now entered the NBA’s health and safety protocols, per Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel. The 33-year-old might be a trade chip ahead of the deadline if the Heat look for a roster upgrade — his salary for next season is non-guaranteed, and he’s making $4.7MM this season.
Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports details how wing Max Strus went from an undrafted free agent to a rotation regular for the Heat, becoming a developmental success story in the process. Strus, an unrestricted free agent in 2023, has been in a prolonged shooting slump this month, posting a miserable .328/.266/.500 slash line leading up to Friday night’s loss in Denver, when he scored 19 points on .539/.500/1.000 shooting. Twenty-year veteran Udonis Haslem, another former undrafted player, says Strus can be hard on himself — a byproduct of having a chip on his shoulder due to his difficult path to the NBA. “My message to Max, a lot of the time, outside of leading and teaching, is don’t be so hard on yourself sometimes. It’s OK to give yourself a break,” Haslem said.

Lowry Out Weds. For Personal Reasons; Backup Center Might Be A Strong Point?

December 28th, 2022 at 7:21pm CST by Rory Maher

Heat stars Jimmy Butler (right ankle sprain) and Bam Adebayo (illness) were both out for Monday’s victory over the Wolves, but were back in action for Wednesday’s game against the Lakers, writes Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel (subscriber link). However, point guard Kyle Lowry was ruled out for personal reasons, the first time he’s missed a game with that designation in 2022/23 after missing extended time last season due to personal reasons. Gabe Vincent was moved into the starting lineup in Lowry’s place, Winderman adds.
Head coach Erik Spoelstra suggested that backup center Dewayne Dedmon could miss an extended period of time for the Heat as he continues to be hobbled by plantar fasciitis in his left foot, Winderman writes in another subscriber-only story for The Sun Sentinel. “There’s no point in resting him and then if we’re going to be right back to where he is where we’re managing it every single day,” Spoelstra said. “He would like to put it behind you. I don’t know necessarily if he’ll be able to fully put it behind him the way Gabe [Vincent] was with the week or two weeks rest. But our hope is that it will be a lot better than it was.” Still, being down Adebayo and Dedmon on Monday showed the that Heat might have decent depth in the middle, with rookies Nikola Jovic and Orlando Robinson capably filling in, according to Winderman, who notes that Omer Yurtseven shouldn’t be overlooked going forward either, despite being sidelined following ankle surgery.