Kevin Love didn’t join the Heat until late February this year and appeared in just 21 regular season games for the team. However, he saw enough during that time – and during Miami’s extended playoff run – to get comfortable with the organization and to decide he wanted to re-sign as a free agent, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald.
“I think naturally I wish that I would have found my rhythm and found my fluidity and feel on the court faster,” Love said. “But I think my impact was both on the floor and off the floor. Just being around the locker room, whether it be pregame or postgame, at practice, I felt like I could make a major impact there in helping bring us together.
“I also have a great relationship with the front office, with ownership, with all my teammates, coaching staff. It just felt like a good home for me and I wanted to continue that and see what was possible if I started the year out for the Miami Heat and see the impact that I could have there.”
When they re-signed him this summer, the Heat used their Non-Bird rights on Love to give him a salary that’s 20% above the veteran’s minimum, so he’ll earn $3,835,738 in 2023/24 instead of $3,196,448.
Here’s more on the Heat:
- William Guillory of The Athletic contends that, given its lack of interior size and rebounding at this year’s World Cup, Team USA needs to make sure that Heat big man Bam Adebayo is part of its roster for the 2024 Olympics — especially if Joel Embiid doesn’t commit to playing for the U.S.
- The holding pattern in the Damian Lillard trade talks isn’t the only reason why the Heat are holding off on pursuing veteran free agents, according to Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel. As Winderman explains, Miami likely assured early free agent additions such as Josh Richardson of a certain role, and adding another free agent at the same position – such as Kelly Oubre – would cut into that role.
- In a separate article, Winderman argues against the idea of considering a trade for Kevin Porter Jr. In Winderman’s view, even though Porter would never play a game for any team that acquires him, the downside of having him even briefly associated with your franchise isn’t worth it for some minor draft assets and possibly a bit of financial relief.
- The Heat announced on Friday that they’ll hold their training camp at the Florida Atlantic University campus in Boca Raton from October 3-7 following their Oct. 2 media day at the Kaseya Center in Miami, per Winderman.
“Taj has earned his reputation as a consummate professional and loyal teammate,” Wizards general manager Will Dawkins said in a statement. “We look forward to him adding to the competitive atmosphere when we begin training camp next month.”