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Heat Notes: Love, Zeller, Home Stretch, Spoelstra

February 23rd, 2023 at 4:04pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

New Heat power forward Kevin Love unpacked the thinking behind his decision to sign with Miami, per Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald (subscriber link). Love inked a rest-of-season deal worth $3.1MM with the Heat after reaching a contract buyout agreement with the Cavaliers. He will be an unrestricted free agent this summer.

“I felt it was a great opportunity for me to come here and just further what the Heat has had in place for so long and help them with size and shooting and rebounding and everything that are strengths in my game,” Love explained over a Zoom chat with several Miami reporters. “A lot of things factored into it. But for me, I think it was that role of being able to be myself and play to my strengths on a team that could really use it.”

As Chiang notes, the 6’8″ big man will help add some size and shooting in the frontcourt for a Heat team desperate for both. Chiang writes that there is a possibility Miami eventually starts Love over 6’5″ Caleb Martin.

There’s more out of South Beach:

  • The Heat’s other new post-trade deadline addition, center Cody Zeller, also spoke on Wednesday about joining the team, Chiang writes in another piece. Zeller, who signed a prorated veteran’s minimum contract to play for the club this season, is not quite sure how he will fit into the team’s roster just yet, as he told reporters in his own Zoom call. “I’ll do whatever role they want me to,” Zeller said. “I feel like I’m healthy. I can help a team if I’m called on. I’ll fit in wherever they need me.” While still with the Trail Blazers, Zeller suffered a patellar avulsion fracture in his right knee in January 2022 that required surgery. “I talked a lot with coach [Erik] Spoelstra and Pat Riley when I came to work out here about how I’ve hated playing the Heat throughout my whole career because you always know it’s going to be a tough game, you always know it’s going to be hard-playing guys, it’s going to be a physical game… So it’s kind of fun for me to be on the other side of it to be able to add to that and to kind of be able to be on the other side of it.”
  • In another Herald article (subscriber link), Chiang writes that the 32-27 Heat have a lot of lineup elements, including incorporating Love and Zeller, to sort out over the home stretch of the 2022/23 season as the seventh seed in the East prepares for a playoff run.
  • Miami head coach Erik Spoelstra will need to tinker with his team’s rotation and even its starting lineup as the club gears up for the postseason, opines Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel. Though Winderman anticipates that Martin will retain his role as the team’s starting power forward over Love for the immediate future, he does think the team will take a look at whether to start Gabe Vincent over Kyle Lowry, how much run Victor Oladipo will receive as a high-upside reserve, and who will ultimately be the team’s primary backup center.
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Heat Notes: Love, Zeller, Tax, Adebayo

February 21st, 2023 at 9:17pm CST by Luke Adams

As expected, veteran center Cody Zeller received a minimum salary when he signed a rest-of-season contract with the Heat on Monday, tweets Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Miami’s other Monday addition, however, received a deal worth more than the minimum.

When the Heat signed forward Kevin Love, they gave him what was left of their bi-annual exception, according to Chiang (Twitter link). The team hadn’t used any of its $4.1MM bi-annual exception so far in 2022/23, but the exception’s value has been declining daily since January 10, so it had dropped to about $3.1MM by the time Love signed.

That $3.1MM more than makes up for the money Love gave up in his buyout agreement with the Cavaliers, which was $1.5MM, per Keith Smith of Spotrac (Twitter link).

Interestingly, the Heat also had about $3MM left on their mid-level exception, but chose to preserve that exception and use the bi-annual instead. That means they won’t be able to use the BAE in 2023/24, since it can only be used once every other season. However, Miami projects to be a taxpayer next year, and the BAE isn’t available to teams over the tax apron, which is likely why the team was comfortable using it now.

Here’s more on the Heat:

  • Although they expect to be in the tax next season, the Heat made it a priority to avoid the tax this year to avoid starting the clock on the repeater penalties, according to Chiang, who notes that team salary is about $1.2MM below the tax line following the additions of Love and Zeller.
  • An NBA scout who spoke to Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel doesn’t expect Love or Zeller to be a difference-maker for the Heat, but likes the veteran depth they’ll provide the team. “Neither guy might be any good. Or both of them might be good,” the scout said. “I think they were smart moves on their part. On paper, they plug up areas of need.”
  • In another story for The Miami Herald, Chiang explores Bam Adebayo‘s growth as a team leader, noting that Udonis Haslem has said the All-Star big man’s vocal leadership is “getting more and more organic, and he’s getting comfortable doing it.” Haslem has long been the veteran voice in the Heat’s locker room, but wants to ultimately pass that torch to a franchise cornerstone like Adebayo. “The more he does that, the less I have to do and that’s the goal,” Haslem said. “To get him into that leadership role and to be able to lead with his words, but also by example and even lift the level of play of everybody around you, which he has the ability to do. That’s just a powerful thing.”
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Heat Sign Cody Zeller

February 20th, 2023 at 6:33pm CST by Luke Adams

FEBRUARY 20: The Heat have officially signed Zeller, the team tweets.

FEBRUARY 19: In addition to reaching an agreement to sign Kevin Love, the Heat plan to fortify their frontcourt depth by adding Cody Zeller to their 15-man roster, per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press first reported (via Twitter) that Zeller was “targeting” signing with the Heat, after Michael Scotto of HoopsHype stated on Saturday that the veteran center had worked out for Miami.

The fourth overall pick in the 2013 draft, Zeller spent his first eight NBA seasons in Charlotte, then played for Portland in 2021/22. He had a limited role for the Blazers last season, averaging 5.2 PPG and 4.6 RPG in a career-low 13.1 minutes off the bench in 27 games before a right patellar avulsion fracture ended his season.

Zeller signed a non-guaranteed training camp deal with Utah this past September, but failed to earn a spot on the Jazz’s regular season roster and was waived at the end of the preseason. He has been seeking a new NBA home since then, having also worked out for the Lakers earlier in the season.

The Heat’s salary-dump trade of center Dewayne Dedmon prior to the deadline created some extra breathing room below the luxury tax for the organization, putting Miami in position to fill its 14th and 15th roster spots without becoming a taxpayer. The deal also thinned out the team’s frontcourt depth, so when the Heat went shopping on the buyout market following the deadline, they were said to be focusing on frontcourt players rather than guards.

Zeller will give Miami an experienced veteran option on the depth chart behind All-Star center Bam Adebayo. Omer Yurtseven, Orlando Robinson, and Udonis Haslem are also in the mix at the five, but Yurtseven is coming off ankle surgery and hasn’t played at all this season, Robinson is on a two-way contract and is nearing his games-played limit, and Haslem hasn’t played regular minutes for the last few years.

Assuming Love and Zeller both officially sign, as expected, the Heat would have a full 15-man roster, leaving no room for Robinson to get a promotion or Jamaree Bouyea to get another 10-day deal unless another player is waived.

We’ll see how that situation plays out, but if Robinson isn’t in the franchise’s plans going forward, Miami could cut him when he reaches his games-played limit, then bring back Bouyea to a two-way contract.

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Kevin Love Signs With Heat

February 20th, 2023 at 5:28pm CST by Luke Adams

FEBRUARY 20: Love has officially signed with the Heat, the team announced (via Twitter).

FEBRUARY 19: Veteran forward Kevin Love intends to sign with the Heat after he clears waivers, agent Jeff Schwartz has confirmed to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

Miami had been considered the frontrunner to sign Love after he completed a buyout agreement with the Cavaliers on Saturday. However, reports at the time indicated that he hadn’t yet made a final decision, with Wojnarowski noting that the 34-year-old still wanted to meet with the Sixers. Now, following that conversation with Philadelphia, it appears Love has made up his mind (Twitter link).

The Heat were viewed as a logical landing spot for Love because they can offer him the ability to play a key role right away. Miami has been on the lookout for power forward help for months, following P.J. Tucker‘s exit in free agency last summer. Caleb Martin has been the de facto starter at that spot for much of the season, but the 6’5″ wing lacks the size to match up with stronger, more physical fours.

Love, who fell out of the rotation in Cleveland last month and played his last game as a Cavalier on January 24, can’t replicate what Tucker did for the Heat last season, since he’s not as stout or as versatile defensively. But the five-time All-Star will bring some size, scoring, and rebounding to a Miami team that ranks 26th in the NBA in offensive rating (111.1) and 27th in rebounds per game (41.4) at the All-Star break.

Love’s averages of 8.5 PPG and 6.8 RPG on .389/.354/.889 shooting in 41 games (20.0 MPG) for the Cavs this season are somewhat underwhelming, but he put up 13.6 PPG, 7.2 RPG, and a .430/.392/.838 shooting line in a similar role (22.5 MPG) across 74 appearances for Cleveland last season.

The Heat won’t have to make a corresponding roster move to sign Love, since they have two open spots on their 15-man roster following the expiration of Jamaree Bouyea‘s 10-day deal with the team. Even after signing Love, Miami will have one more opening to either bring back Bouyea on another 10-day contract, promote Orlando Robinson from his two-way deal, or sign someone else.

According to Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press (Twitter link), Cody Zeller – who recently worked out for the Heat – has emerged as a strong candidate to fill that final open roster spot.

Having been officially waived on Saturday, Love will clear waivers on Monday, so the Heat are in position to sign him before their season resumes on Friday in Milwaukee. Miami has a portion of its mid-level exception and its full bi-annual exception available, giving the club the ability to offer Love more than the veteran’s minimum, but the terms of his deal haven’t yet been reported.

In addition to Miami and Philadelphia, the Suns and Lakers were among the other teams believed to have some level of interest in Love.

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Southeast Notes: Banchero, Ross, Kuzma, Porzingis, Heat

February 20th, 2023 at 1:35pm CST by Rory Maher

Magic forward Paolo Banchero, the No. 1 overall pick of last June’s draft, is looking like a strong favorite to win the Rookie of the Year award, according to Kelly Iko, Eric Nehm and Josh Robbins of The Athletic. The three beat writers for The Athletic all had votes for the award last season.

Robbins points out that Banchero ranks first among rookies in points per game (19.9), fourth in rebounds (6.6) and third in assists (3.6), a sign of his all-around game. The 20-year-old has been in a major shooting slump in February, going 1-of-27 from 3-point range, but many of his rookie peers have gone through peaks and valleys as well.

The three writers would have Indiana’s Bennedict Mathurin second and Utah’s Walker Kessler third on their ballots at the All-Star break.

Here’s more from the Southeast:

  • Mike Bianchi of The Orlando Sentinel (subscriber link) believes the Magic and Terrence Ross did right by each other. Instead of trading him to a random team for a second-round pick, the Magic bought Ross out and waived him to let him pick his next destination (Phoenix). As Bianchi writes, when the team started rebuilding a couple years ago, Ross was one of the few veterans left on the roster, but instead of publicly complaining or being a distraction he served as a positive mentor for the younger players. Bianchi believes players and agents around the NBA will notice that Orlando treated Ross well after a seven-year stint with the team.
  • Both Kyle Kuzma and Kristaps Porzingis are having career years in 2022/23 and both players can enter free agency in the summer if they decline their player options (Kuzma has already publicly said he’s going to). What does that mean for the Wizards going forward? Chase Hughes explores that topic for NBC Sports Washington.
  • The Heat intend to bolster their frontcourt depth by signing Kevin Love and Cody Zeller. Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald reports that Love is expected to receive part of the Heat’s mid-level exception, while Zeller will likely receive a minimum-salary deal for the rest of the season, though the details were still being finalized as of Sunday afternoon.
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Cody Zeller Worked Out For Heat

February 17th, 2023 at 7:26am CST by Luke Adams

The Heat recently brought in free agent center Cody Zeller for a workout, league sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.

The fourth overall pick in the 2013 draft, Zeller spent his first eight NBA seasons in Charlotte, then played for Portland in 2021/22. He had a limited role for the Blazers last season, averaging 5.2 PPG and 4.6 RPG in a career-low 13.1 minutes off the bench in 27 games before a right patellar avulsion fracture ended his season.

Zeller signed a non-guaranteed training camp deal with Utah this past September, but failed to earn a spot on the Jazz’s regular season roster and was waived at the end of the preseason. He has been seeking a new NBA home since then and also worked out for the Lakers earlier in the season.

As Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel reported this week, the Heat – who have one spot available on their 15-man roster and can create a second opening when Jamaree Bouyea‘s 10-day deal expires – are prioritizing frontcourt targets. Winderman mentioned Kevin Love and Serge Ibaka as possibilities and it appears the team is considering other vets as well.

Power forward is the spot the Heat would really like to address, but their center rotation isn’t entirely settled either. While rookie big man Orlando Robinson has been Bam Adebayo‘s primary backup for much of the season, he’s approaching the games-played limit on his two-way contract and would need to be promoted to the 15-man roster to remain active beyond that limit.

The Heat traded away Dewayne Dedmon prior to this month’s deadline and don’t seem comfortable relying on veteran Udonis Haslem to play a regular role. Omer Yurtseven is nearing his return from left ankle surgery, but it’s unclear how effective he’ll be after being sidelined for several months.

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Pacific Notes: LeBron, Zeller, Clippers, Bridges

January 7th, 2023 at 10:56pm CST by Arthur Hill

Lakers star LeBron James is getting closer to the career scoring record, but there’s plenty of motivation for him to keep playing after he passes Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. In an interview with Dave McMenamin of ESPN, James, who recently turned 38, reiterated that he’s determined to stay in the NBA until his oldest son arrives, which would be the 2024/25 season at the earliest.

“I need to be on the floor with my boy, I got to be on the floor with Bronny,” he said. “Either in the same uniform or a matchup against him. I don’t mean like [guarding one another all game] — because he’s a point guard and I’m a, at this point now I’m playing center or whatever the team needs from me. But I would love to do the whole Ken Griffey Sr. and Jr. thing. That would be ideal for sure.”

James is also determined to lift the Lakers back into title contention. He said individual records don’t mean much to him anymore, citing his decision to sit out the final five games of last season with an ankle injury, which prevented him from qualifying for the scoring title.

“I want to win. [The losing is] not sitting well with me,” James said. “I don’t like having accomplishments, and it don’t feel right, when it comes in a losing effort. … So as we sit here right now as a franchise and as a team that’s below .500 — we’ve been playing some good basketball as of late, but we want to and I want to win at the highest level. Breaking records or setting records or passing greats in a losing effort has never been a DNA of mine.”

There’s more from the Pacific Division:

  • Cody Zeller is among the free agents who have worked out for the Lakers recently, Marc Stein tweets. The longtime Hornets center held his audition when L.A. visited Charlotte last week, according to Stein.
  • The Clippers continue to be careful with the health of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, but a five-game losing streak may bring some urgency to the team, per Dan Devine of Yahoo Sports. L.A. was so thoroughly outplayed Thursday in Denver that coach Tyronn Lue benched his starters for the entire second half.
  • Mikal Bridges still hasn’t missed a game in his NBA career, but the Suns forward may be wearing down as he tries to compensate for injured teammates, observes Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. Bridges had a wrap on his right knee Friday as Phoenix dropped its fifth game in a row. “Just makes us stay together even more,” Bridges said of the losing skid. “That’s what we’ve got to do. It’s easy when you win to stay together. So our true selves is going to show when we’re losing. We just keep fighting. I think you stay together more as a team when you lose. That’s going to show if you’re a really good team or not and I think we have that.”
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Jazz Waive Cody Zeller, Jared Butler

October 15th, 2022 at 3:14pm CST by Luke Adams

3:14pm: In addition to waiving Zeller, the Jazz are also cutting Jared Butler, according to Jones and Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). The team has issued a press release confirming that Zeller and Butler have been waived, reducing the roster count to 15 players on standard contracts.

The decision to waive Butler comes as a bit of a surprise, since the team was very high on the former Baylor guard after drafting him 40th overall a year ago.

Butler appeared in 42 games as a rookie, averaging 3.8 PPG and 1.5 APG on .404/.318/.688 shooting. Utah will be on the hook for his guaranteed $1,563,518 salary unless he’s claimed on waivers on Monday.

2:42pm: Cody Zeller won’t make Utah’s regular season roster, according to Tony Jones of The Athletic, who reports (via Twitter) that the Jazz are waiving the veteran center.

Zeller fell victim to the roster crunch in Utah in part due to the nature of his contract. His minimum salary for 2022/23 is fully non-guaranteed, so the team won’t be on the hook for any dead money after cutting him.

The fourth overall pick in the 2013 draft, Zeller spent his first eight NBA seasons in Charlotte, then played for Portland in 2021/22. He played a limited role for the Blazers last season, averaging 5.2 PPG and 4.6 RPG in a career-low 13.1 minutes off the bench in 27 games before a right patellar avulsion fracture ended his season.

Having waived Saben Lee, Stanley Johnson, and Zeller, the Jazz will have one more roster move to make to get down to the regular season limit of 15 players on standard contracts. The club still has 16 players with guaranteed salaries. Udoka Azubuike, Leandro Bolmaro, and Rudy Gay are among the candidates to be the odd man out.

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Contract Details: Lakers, Galloway, DSJ, McCollum, More

September 30th, 2022 at 7:59am CST by Luke Adams

When the Lakers signed Matt Ryan and Dwayne Bacon to non-guaranteed training camp contracts earlier this month, both players received Exhibit 9 clauses in their new deals, but not Exhibit 10s, Hoops Rumors has learned.

Exhibit 9 contracts are non-guaranteed camp deals that don’t count against the cap during the preseason and offer teams some protection in the event of an injury. Exhibit 10s are similar, but also allow teams to convert the player to a two-way deal (if he’s eligible) or to give him a bonus worth up to $50K if he’s waived and then spends at least 60 days with the team’s G League affiliate.

As a general rule, a player who signs a training camp contract without an Exhibit 10 clause is usually just competing for a spot on his team’s 15-man regular season roster and won’t end up playing for the club’s G League affiliate if he doesn’t make the cut.

Langston Galloway (Pacers), Dennis Smith Jr. (Hornets), LiAngelo Ball (Hornets), Cody Zeller (Jazz), Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot (Suns), and Wes Iwundu (Trail Blazers) are among the other recently signed free agents who signed Exhibit 9 – not Exhibit 10 – contracts.

Here are a few more contract details from around the NBA:

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Jazz Notes: Sexton, Kessler, Azubuike, Conley, Clarkson, Zeller, Lee

September 26th, 2022 at 1:00pm CST by Luke Adams

New Jazz guard Collin Sexton has been fully cleared following last year’s knee injury that sidelined him for all but 11 games, per Eric Walden of The Salt Lake Tribune (Twitter link). Newly acquired rookie big man Walker Kessler has also received clearance from his toe injury, Walden adds.

While Sexton and Kessler should be good to go for training camp, former Jazz first-rounder Udoka Azubuike isn’t quite there yet. According to Walden, Azubuike continues to progress from the ankle surgery that ended his 2021/22 season early, but has yet to be cleared for 5-on-5 work.

Here are a few more updates on the Jazz:

  • Following an offseason fire sale in Utah, Mike Conley and Jordan Clarkson look like obvious candidates to be traded at some point in the coming weeks or months. But general manager Justin Zanik said today that there has been “nothing but total buy-in from those guys,” so it doesn’t sound as if either Conley or Clarkson is pushing to be dealt (Twitter link via Walden).
  • Conley told reporters today that he’s “10 toes in” with the Jazz, even as he acknowledged the possibility of a trade. He’s conflicted about the idea of being moved, since he could end up with a contending team but would likely have to finish the season away from his family (Twitter links via Walden and Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune).
  • After undergoing eight surgeries in nine years, Cody Zeller wants to show in Utah that he’s finally healthy, telling reporters today that he believes he can bring value to a young roster as an experienced veteran (Twitter link via Walden). The Jazz have a roster logjam to clear in the next few weeks, but Zeller should have a shot at a 15-man roster spot due to the team’s lack of veteran frontcourt depth.
  • Tony Jones of The Athletic sounds unconvinced that Saben Lee is part of the Jazz’s plans going forward, tweeting that he believes the newly acquired guard will need to have “a hell of a camp” in order to stick.
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