Miami Heat Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Omer Yurtseven Expected To Undergo Ankle Surgery

November 13th, 2022 at 10:05am CST by Luke Adams

Heat center Omer Yurtseven is expected to undergo surgery on his injured left ankle this week, barring a last-minute change in plans, reports Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald.

As we relayed on Thursday, Yurtseven is reportedly dealing with a bone spur issue in his ankle and was weighing the possibility of a surgical or non-surgical approach to the injury, having sought out multiple opinions. While the 24-year-old would likely be facing an extended absence either way, there was a belief that undergoing surgery could end his season.

According to Chiang, there’s now hope that Yurtseven will stay be able to play this season even if he goes under the knife. The expectation is that the big man be sidelined for about three months after surgery, meaning he’d have a chance to return by March.

Yurtseven has yet to play at all in 2022/23 after suffering his ankle injury during the preseason, but was productive when given playing time as a rookie last season. During one 10-game stretch as a starter with Bam Adebayo sidelined, he averaged 13.6 points, 13.5 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.0 steal in 30.9 minutes per contest.

Yurtseven is in a contract year and will be eligible for restricted free agency in the summer of 2023.

Having Yurtseven unavailable until well into the second half of the season will leave the Heat a little shorthanded, since they’re only carrying 14 players due to luxury tax concerns and aren’t particularly deep at center.

Dewayne Dedmon has been a regular contributor off the bench when healthy this season, while Udonis Haslem has also gotten into a couple games. Head coach Erik Spoelstra has leaned a little more heavily on Adebayo, who’s averaging a career-high 34.9 minutes per night so far.

Cody Martin's Injury Prevents Matchup With Twin Brother

November 12th, 2022 at 9:52pm CST by Arthur Hill

Caleb Martin was looking forward to facing his twin brother as the Heat and Hornets met twice in three days in Miami, but an injury changed those plans, per Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Cody Martin has played just one minute this season because of a knee injury, and Charlotte announced Friday that he had an arthroscopic procedure. He’ll reportedly miss approximately six weeks. “It’s tough on him, man,” Caleb said. “He’s obviously like me in terms of competing and wanting to be out there and contributing. It’s hard for him to need to sit out and watch other guys play.”
Tyler Herro missed his third straight game tonight with a sprained left ankle and he’ll need some more time to recover, Chiang tweets. Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said Herro is doing “everything he needs to do” to get back on the court.

Suns Covet Strus In Potential Crowder Deal With Heat?

November 12th, 2022 at 7:56am CST by Luke Adams

The Heat have repeatedly been cited as a potential suitor for Suns forward Jae Crowder, and Ian Begley of SNY.tv confirms that Miami has touched base with Phoenix about a possible deal. Begley hears from sources that some people in the Suns’ organization view Max Strus as a player who would have to be part of any Heat package for Crowder.

Like Crowder, Strus is on an expiring contract and will be an unrestricted free agent next summer. However, as Begley notes, the Heat would likely to be averse to moving the young swingman, who is on a minimum-salary contract and has established himself as an important piece of Miami’s rotation, averaging a career-high 14.2 PPG on .447/.359/.786 shooting in his first 12 games (32.2 MPG) this season.

Heat Looking For New Arena Name After FTX Files For Bankruptcy

November 11th, 2022 at 7:13pm CST by Rory Maher

The Heat will have a new arena name in the near future. On Friday, the Heat and Miami-Dade County, which owns the Heat’s arena, announced (via Twitter) that they are severing ties with cryptocurrency giant FTX after the company filed for bankruptcy.

“The reports about FTX and its affiliates are extremely disappointing. Miami-Dade County and the Miami Heat are immediately taking action to terminate our business relationships with FTX, and we will be working together to find a new naming rights partner for the arena,” the statement reads.

As Ken Sweet of The Associated Press writes, FTX CEO and Founder Sam Bankman-Fried has resigned from his post. His estimated net worth was recently listed at $23 billion, but it “has all but evaporated.”

According to Eben Novy-Williams and Jacob Feldman of Sportico (subscription required), FTX’s 19-year, $135MM naming rights deal with Miami-Dade County was shaky from the beginning. The entire process came about very quickly, with county commissioners reportedly only given 16 hours to review “voluminous pages of background, contract, and other materials.” All but one commissioner ultimately approved the deal last March.

Sportico’s duo takes a deep dive into how the naming rights deal was reached, its appeal to the county ($14MM upfront, above-market value on an annual basis, nearly $90MM to address gun-related violence), and why it’s difficult to vet companies that are so new and volatile.

FTX also has several other sponsorship deals across multiple sports, including with Warriors guard Stephen Curry, per Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press. Obviously, all of those deals are now in jeopardy.

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Miami Heat

Heat’s Omer Yurtseven Likely Out For Extended Period

November 10th, 2022 at 3:11pm CST by Rory Maher

Heat second-year center Omer Yurtseven, who injured his ankle during Miami’s first preseason game and has yet to make his regular season debut in 2022/23, is facing an “extensive” recovery timeline, writes Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel.

According to Winderman, there’s a chance Yurtseven might miss the entire season if he opts to undergo surgery, but even if he takes the non-surgical route, he’ll likely be out for an extended period. The Turkish big man is an impending restricted free agent, so surgery might be the safer choice to preserve his long-term health, Winderman writes.

The Heat have been listing Yurtseven as out with a left ankle impingement, but a source familiar with the injury tells Winderman that it appears to be a bone spur that’s been so problematic for the 24-year-old. Yurtseven continues to seek opinions on the exact nature of the injury, Winderman adds.

The injury wasn’t initially believed to be serious, yet it has continued to bother Yurtseven.

“They said structurally [it’s fine],” Yurtseven said last month. “I went to like five different doctors just to make sure everything was fine just to double, triple and quadruple check.”

Just a couple of weeks ago, Yurtseven was traveling with the team while rehabbing the ankle and hoped to return to action within a week. Obviously, that has not happened.

“I think I’m going to be back in less than a week, hopefully,” Yurtseven said at the time. “But I’ve got to sacrifice and I’ve just got to take the pain that comes with it, and that’s what I’m going to do. But hopefully sooner rather than later. But less than a week is my hope.”

As Winderman observes, because the Heat are so close to the luxury tax line, even if Yurtseven were to undergo surgery and be ruled out for the season, and the Heat were subsequently granted a disabled player exception, they still wouldn’t be able to add a 15th man without going into the tax.

Yurtseven was very productive when given playing time as a rookie last season. During one 10-game stretch as a starter with Bam Adebayo sidelined, he averaged 13.6 points, 13.5 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.0 steal in 30.9 minutes per contest. Head coach Erik Spoelstra had said he planned to experiment with lineups featuring both Adebayo and Yurtseven prior to the injury.

Cain Will Have To Get Used To G League Life

November 8th, 2022 at 8:16pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Miami rookie Jamal Cain is on a tw0-way contract and he will have to get used to bouncing back and forth between the NBA and G League, as Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel details. The Heat‘s G League team is in Sioux Falls. “It tests you mentally,” Caleb Martin said. “You might be going down and playing 30-plus minutes and you might be coming up and watching the whole game. It’s just a good way to keep your mind ready.”

Strus Remains Part Of Closing Unit

November 6th, 2022 at 7:12pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Tyler Herro and Caleb Martin are still adjusting to their new roles as starters for the Heat, according to Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald. Herro is getting used to playing alongside other high-usage players, while Martin is getting most of his offensive opportunities around the 3-point line. “I think that’s what you need early on,” Martin said. “I think you need growing pains to figure things out and I’m glad we’re going through those now. It’s good to get that stuff out of the way, so you kind of nip a lot of stuff in the bud.”
Max Strus has only started three of 10 games for the Heat but he’s becoming an integral part of the closing unit, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel notes. Strus has played the entire fourth quarter the past two games. “He does a lot of things for us defensively,” coach Erik Spoelstra said. “He can guard bigger guys. He can play really anywhere we want to in a zone. We also can put him in different matches in our man, and he’s really proficient, really good on the back side of our defense. And then offensively he’s just gaining confidence.”

Jimmy Butler Back, Tyler Herro Questionable For Heat Monday

November 6th, 2022 at 2:08pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

After missing two straight contests for the Heat with left hip tightness, All-Star swingman Jimmy Butler is set to suit up for Miami tomorrow night against the Trail Blazers, reports Adam Lichtenstein of The South Florida Sun Sentinel.

With their best player sidelined, the Heat went 1-1. The club sports an underwhelming 4-6 record overall on the young 2022/23 NBA season.

“I think it’s good for us to be able to compete and have legitimate chances to win games while he was out,” head coach Erik Spoelstra said. “But yeah, he gives you a great emotional boost when he’s back. It was good to have him running around. He looked fully healthy to all of us. We’ll get him ready for tomorrow night.”

Butler is returning just in time, as the Trail Blazers have looked formidable thus far, with a surprising 6-3 record. Through his eight available contests for the club, the 33-year-old Butler has maintained his All-NBA output. He is averaging 21.5 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 5.5 APG and 1.5 SPG. The 6’7″ vet is also enjoying an excellent shooting season, boasting splits of .470/.391/.873.

Lichtenstein adds that Miami shooting guard Tyler Herro, diagnosed with a sprained left ankle, has been downgraded to questionable ahead of the team’s game against Portland on Monday.

Victor Oladipo remains unavailable as he continues to battle the left knee tendinosis that has restricted him thus far from the taking the court all year. Reserve big man Omer Yurtseven is also still sidelined due to a left ankle impingement.

Oladipo Not Close To Return; Butler Misses Second Game

November 5th, 2022 at 8:12am CST by Luke Adams

In a Hoop Collective segment earlier this week (video link), ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said he doesn’t get the sense that Heat guard Victor Oladipo (left knee tendinosis) is “anywhere close” to returning to action. “They haven’t put a timetable on it, but I was kind of led to believe it ain’t happening in the near future,” Windhorst said. Jimmy Butler also missed a second consecutive game on Friday for the Heat due to left hip tightness.

Southeast Notes: Heat, Butler, Young, Murray, Banchero, Bol

November 3rd, 2022 at 11:33am CST by Luke Adams

The Heat stumbled a little out of the gate this season, losing five of their first seven games, including three of four at home. However, star swingman Jimmy Butler was unfazed by the team’s slow start, as he told Sam Amick of The Athletic.

“We’re still going to win the championship, and I don’t care what nobody says,” Butler said before the Heat beat Golden State on Tuesday. “Count us out. We’re going to win the f—ing championship. I’m telling you. I don’t give a damn that we started 2-5.”

While the Heat didn’t have much roster turnover this offseason, Butler said the team is still “different” this year, with P.J. Tucker gone and several players taking on new roles. According to Butler, some “growing pains” are to be expected.

“Y’all will look back at this, and be like, oh man, they started 2-5 and they ended the season f—ing 77-5,” he joked.

The Heat are 2-0 since Butler spoke to Amick, beating Sacramento on Wednesday without him in the lineup — he sat out due to left hip tightness.

Here’s more from around the Southeast:

Hawks star Trae Young was scratched in the left eye during Wednesday’s win over New York, but doesn’t think he’ll miss any time due to the injury, as Tim Bontemps of ESPN relays. “I think I’ll be able to play through it,” Young said, noting that Atlanta doesn’t play again until Saturday. “It’s more just letting the swelling go down. … I’ll probably have to wear goggles or glasses for some games, but it’ll be all right.”
With Young banged up, Dejounte Murray enjoyed his best game since joining the Hawks, racking up 36 points, nine assists, and five steals in a 13-point win. As Lauren Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes, Murray has been emerging as one of the team’s leaders despite having only played eight games with Atlanta so far.
In an appearance on teammate R.J. Hampton‘s podcast, Magic rookie forward Paolo Banchero said that he intends to represent Italy in international competitions, according to Orazio Cauchi of BasketNews.com. Banchero wasn’t born or raised in Italy, but is of Italian descent on his father’s side. “I’m planning to play for the Italian national team, I’m not sure when,” Banchero said. “I haven’t been out there yet, but man, the amount of love I’m getting from there it’s crazy, man. It’s crazy. I can’t wait to go to Italy.”
It came as a bit of a surprise when the Magic re-signed Bol Bol to a two-year contract with a guaranteed 2022/23 salary after acquiring him in what seemed to be a salary-dump deal at last season’s deadline, but the oft-injured big man has been playing and producing so far this season. Nekias Duncan of BasketballNews.com celebrates that fact and takes a closer look at the role Bol is playing in Orlando.