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Heat Notes: Herro, Robinson, Oladipo, Jovic

October 3rd, 2022 at 9:10am CST by Arthur Hill

After waiting all summer for an extension, Heat shooting guard Tyler Herro has agreed to a deal that could top many of his peers, writes Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. Herro’s new contract, which takes effect next season, could pay him up to $130MM over four years, with $120MM guaranteed and the rest available through incentives.

Herro has the opportunity to earn more than the Knicks’ RJ Barrett, who recently agreed to a four-year, $120MM rookie scale extension, Jackson notes. Herro’s deal also exceeds the Celtics’ Jaylen Brown, who got a four-year, $107MM extension in 2019, and the Suns’ Mikal Bridges, who signed for four years at $90MM in 2021.

Herro’s base starting salary will be $26.8MM, which is a 20% discount from the projected max, tweets salary cap expert Albert Nahmad.

There’s more from Miami:

  • The Heat may find it more difficult to find a taker for Duncan Robinson now that Herro’s extension is in place, according to Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. With Herro making just $5.7MM this year on the final season of his rookie contract, he was seen as a possible incentive in a deal for Robinson, but the poison pill provision will make Herro extremely difficult to move in 2022/23. Winderman states that the Heat will be limited financially unless they can find a taker for Robinson, especially with Max Strus headed toward free agency next summer.
  • After four years of battling injuries, Victor Oladipo is just focused on staying healthy this season, Winderman adds in a separate story. “I really don’t have any goals or expectations for myself,” he said. “For this team, it’s to win a championship, obviously. But for me, it’s to contribute. Right now, I’m just focused on doing that. I think that sometimes, if we get too far ahead, or look too far back, that sometimes we can be disappointed, and sometimes you can lose sight of what is in front of you. For me, I’m just trying to stay in the moment.”
  • Nikola Jovic struggled through Summer League, but veteran big man Udonis Haslem sees a lot of potential in the first-round pick, per Payton Titus of The Miami Herald. “[Jović] can score anywhere on the basketball court, can shoot with either hand, hard worker,” Haslem said. “Just experience, you know, experience is going to be the biggest thing that he’s going to need is this time over here working with us. The practice every day, competing, the physicality of it, getting in the weight room. And all those things are part of player development that we do very well here.”
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Heat Notes: Crowder, Days, Offseason, Haslem

September 23rd, 2022 at 4:52pm CST by Luke Adams

Veteran forward Jae Crowder would welcome a return to the Heat, according to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. However, even though the Suns are said to be exploring Crowder’s trade market, a deal that sends him from Phoenix to Miami will be tricky to work out.

As Jackson writes, the Suns probably have zero interest in taking on Duncan Robinson‘s pricey long-term contract, and any other players the Heat could realistically use as salary-matching pieces in a Crowder trade aren’t eligible to be dealt until December or January. On top of that, Jackson would be surprised if Miami is willing to give up a future first-round pick to acquire Crowder, a 32-year-old on an expiring contract.

Here’s more on the Heat:

  • The Spurs were surprised when Darius Days signed a two-way contract with the Heat, according to Jackson, who says San Antonio had hoped to bring Days to training camp and have him compete for a two-way spot. One other team besides the Spurs offered Days a two-way deal, but the undrafted rookie out of LSU chose the Heat in part due to their track record of developing young talent, Jackson explains.
  • In another story for The Miami Herald, Jackson revisits the Heat’s offseason moves – including their decision not to go into the tax or to impose a hard cap on themselves – and wonders if it might’ve made sense for the team to offer its bi-annual exception to T.J. Warren to address its hole at power forward. Warren ended up signing a minimum-salary contract with Brooklyn.
  • Longtime Heat big man Udonis Haslem believes he’s “very qualified” to be part of the franchise’s ownership group and has already started talking to team executives about eventually getting a stake in the Heat, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. “It will continue to rev up,” Haslem said of those discussions. “I’m going to continue to have them. I’m very ambitious and I’ve been creating a lot of the communication. But they’ve been receptive.” Haslem added that he wants to “learn everything from ticket sales to marketing” and be the sort of owner who brings value to the club.
  • In a separate article for The Herald, Chiang examines five preseason questions facing the Heat, including whether Tyler Herro will sign a rookie scale extension by the October 17 deadline and whether Kyle Lowry can set himself up for a strong second season in Miami.
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Heat Notes: Mitchell, Potter, Eastern Conference, Lineups

August 28th, 2022 at 3:26pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

With Nets forward Kevin Durant off the table as a trade target for the time being, the Heat could look elsewhere for All-Star reinforcements. In a mailbag, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel discusses alternatives, including Jazz All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell. Winderman does not consider the undersized shooting guard to be worth a package centered around reigning Sixth Man of the Year Tyler Herro and future draft picks.

Winderman also notes that the Heat should be cautious when it comes to trading forward Duncan Robinson, who will earn $16.9MM in 2022/23 after falling out of the club’s rotation near the end of last season due to his defensive shortcomings. Winderman notes that Robinson’s contract could be crucial as an inclusion for a trade to acquire a maximum-salaried superstar. Herro remains on his rookie deal, and will make just $5.7MM this season.

There’s more out of South Beach:

  • In another mailbag, Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel reflects on the recent decision by the Heat’s NBAGL affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce, to offload Micah Potter to the Pistons’ G League club, the Motor City Cruise. Winderman writes that the decision ultimately came down to which players Miami is prioritizing developing, noting that other prospects – including Orlando Robinson – took priority over Potter.
  • Now that the Nets are, at least for now, stabilizing and whole heading into the 2022/23 season, Winderman wonders if Brooklyn has leapfrogged Miami in the Eastern Conference pecking order and explores just how dangerous the Nets coul dbe.
  • Even beyond the departure of starting power forward P.J. Tucker, the Heat’s rotation could look markedly different than it did during the 2021/22 NBA season, when a top-seeded Miami club pushed the Celtics to seven games in the Eastern Conference Finals, Winderman writes in another Sun Sentinel story. As Winderman observes, 6’5″ Caleb Martin appears to be the current leader in the competition to become Miami’s new starting power forward, though that situation remains fluid with training camp still ahead of the team. Miami’s internal search for its starting swingman next to point guard Kyle Lowry and small forward/shooting guard Jimmy Butler also remains fairly open, with several intriguing candidates on the roster.
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Eastern Notes: Haslem, Robinson, Wizards, Pistons, Pacers, Washington

August 4th, 2022 at 1:40pm CST by JD Shaw

The Heat have a standing offer out to veteran big man Udonis Haslem, which means it’s up to the 42-year-old if he wants to return next season, Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel confirms in his latest “Ask Ira” mailbag.

Haslem has played fewer than 20 games in each of his past six seasons, but he plays an immense role in developing the team’s young players. He’s also served as a locker room leader, owning 19 years of NBA experience and winning three championships. He’s previously stated he has no interest in coaching.

Within the same article, Winderman also considered Duncan Robinson‘s status as a trade candidate, suggesting that Miami is unlikely to move Robinson for only a modest upgrade. With Robinson set to make $17MM this season, the Heat would likely need him for salary-matching purposes in order to acquire an impact player, so the club will be patient as it explores the trade market.

Here are some other notes from the Eastern Conference:

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Southeast Notes: Herro, D. Robinson, Banchero, Manek

July 16th, 2022 at 8:23pm CST by Arthur Hill

A potential extension for Tyler Herro will probably wait until the Heat have more clarity on the Kevin Durant and Donovan Mitchell trade situations, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Herro is eligible for a rookie scale extension until the day before the 2022/23 regular season begins. If he and the team can’t agree on terms, he will become a restricted free agent next offseason.

Miami would likely have to include Herro in any package for Durant or Mitchell, but if he has an extension already in place, he would be subject to the “poison pill provision” until next July 1. That means if he’s traded between the time the extension is signed and when it takes effect, Herro’s trade value for the team that acquires him would be the average of the salaries of the final year of his rookie contract and each year of the extension. However, the outgoing salary for Miami would only be $5.7MM, which is what he will make next season.

Herro, the reigning Sixth Man of the Year and the Heat’s second leading scorer last season at 20.7 PPG, has been mentioned prominently in trade rumors with both the Nets and Jazz. Neither of those teams appear to be in a hurry to unload their stars, so Herro’s wait for an extension could drag all the way into the fall.

There’s more from the Southeast Division:

  • The length of Duncan Robinson‘s contract may limit his value to the Heat on the trade market, suggests Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. Robinson is signed for the next three seasons at $16.9MM, $18.2MM and $19.4MM and he has a 50% guarantee on his $19.9MM salary for 2025/26. That adds up to about $65MM in guaranteed money, Winderman notes, which is a large investment for a player coming off a down season.
  • Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports takes an inside look at the Magic’s draft night surprise, which even caught No. 1 pick Paolo Banchero off guard. Banchero said he met with Orlando officials at the draft combine, but throughout most of the process he expected to fall to the Rockets with the third pick. “All the reports were that they weren’t really considering me,” he said. “And then they made it clear before the draft that none of those reports were true and that they were very much interested in me. And so that’s when I kind of knew that it might not be Houston.”
  • After going undrafted out of North Carolina, Brady Manek is hoping to be considered for an open two-way slot with the Hornets, per Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer. Manek considered several possibilities before accepting a Summer League invitation from Charlotte. “I just wanted to get a chance just to be able to play, get to show what I’m about,” Manek said. “I’ve shown what I’m about. I’m not going to become a point guard overnight. I’m still Brady. I’m still going to be able to shoot it.”
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Jazz Willing To Listen To Offers For Donovan Mitchell

July 12th, 2022 at 4:49pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Jazz are willing to listen to offers for All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets.

Utah had previously turned aside calls regarding Mitchell but is now willing to listen to trade scenarios.

In fact, the Jazz are open to making trades involving anyone on their roster, but Mitchell is obviously the most coveted piece, Wojnarowski adds in a separate tweet.

Following the Rudy Gobert blockbuster with the Timberwolves, reports stated that the Jazz were looking to build around Mitchell. However, it’s not all that surprising Utah may shift gears and go into rebuild mode after the Mitchell-Gobert partnership failed to get the Jazz to a Finals appearance.

ESPN’s Tim MacMahon reported that rival executives had heard Utah executive Danny Ainge isn’t convinced Mitchell can be the face of a contending franchise. GM Justin Zanik didn’t label Mitchell as “untouchable” but made it clear last week that moving the All-Star guard wasn’t part of the team’s current plans.

Earlier last week, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said that Mitchell wasn’t on the verge of asking for a trade.

Mitchell signed a designated rookie max extension in 2020 and has four years left on his contract ($30.4MM, $32.6MM, $34.8MM and $37.1MM, ESPN’s Bobby Marks notes in a tweet. The last year is a player option.

Despite the addition of Jalen Brunson, the Knicks can be expected to try to put together a package and make a serious offer for Mitchell, sources told Tony Jones of The Athletic (Twitter link). However, the Jazz’s asking price is sky high, Jones adds.

The Heat could be in the mix, too. The Miami Herald’s Anthony Chiang notes that the Heat have avoided triggering a hard cap in their offseason moves in order to keep their options open for a blockbuster deal involving a player such as Mitchell (Twitter link). Miami has made its interest in Mitchell clear to Utah, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel tweets, with speculation that such a deal would involve Tyler Herro, Duncan Robinson and draft picks.

The Jazz got a major haul for Gobert and presumably would want as much, or more, for Mitchell. He’s averaged 23.9 PPG, 4.5 APG and 4.2 RPG in 345 NBA regular-season contests. He’s also had some big postseason performances, averaging 28.3 PPG, 4.9 APG and 4.2 RPG in 39 playoff games.

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Heat Rumors: Tucker, Portis, Lowry, Crowder

June 30th, 2022 at 9:15am CST by Luke Adams

Heat players are reportedly lobbying free agent forward P.J. Tucker to remain with the team, according to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald, who says All-Star wing Jimmy Butler, in particular, is “very much hoping” Tucker returns to Miami.

However, James Harden‘s decision to opt out of a $47MM+ salary for next season and likely sign a new deal starting at a lower number is the latest indication that the Sixers are a serious threat to lure Tucker to Philadelphia. Harden’s move clears a path for Philadelphia to offer its full mid-level exception to Tucker.

If Tucker does leave, the Heat will be in the market for a power forward, and T.J. Warren, Kyle Anderson, Thaddeus Young, and Nicolas Batum will be among the free agents on their radar, Jackson writes. A Wednesday report indicated the club would likely also have interest in Danilo Gallinari if he’s waived after being traded by San Antonio.

Here’s more on the Heat:

  • Jackson hears from a source that Miami would be a team that appeals to Bobby Portis if he decides to leave Milwaukee. But Portis is considered likely to stick with the Bucks, while the Heat are reluctant to hard-cap themselves for the season by giving their full mid-level exception to a free agent, so it’s an unlikely match.
  • Jackson also hears that Kyle Lowry wasn’t upset by Pat Riley‘s end-of-season comments about how his conditioning must improve. The Heat have assured Lowry they have no intention of trading him in a deal for Kyrie Irving, Jackson adds.
  • After saying that the Heat had emerged as the frontrunners to trade for Suns forward Jae Crowder, John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 (Twitter links) walked back that report. As Gambadoro explains, he can’t see Phoenix taking on Duncan Robinson‘s contract, and the Heat don’t have any other obvious salary-matching pieces they’d include in an offer for Crowder.
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Heat Notes: Robinson, Adebayo, Herro, Oladipo, Haslem

June 8th, 2022 at 2:36pm CST by Luke Adams

Less than a year after signing a five-year, $90MM contract with the Heat, Duncan Robinson was replaced in the starting lineup by minimum-salary wing Max Strus and then fell out of the rotation completely in the second round of the postseason. As Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald relays, Robinson admitted this week that it wasn’t easy to take that role reduction in stride.

“It does not matter if you’re playing JV basketball, if you’re playing middle school basketball, if you’re playing college basketball, if you’re playing in the NBA at the highest level. Not playing, it sucks in a lot of ways,” Robinson said in the latest episode of his podcast. “Especially when you feel that you’re capable and you feel that you can help win. It’s a really, really challenging feeling to combat, especially when you’re on the cusp and in the midst of a run where your team is playing really well.”

Robinson is the Heat’s most prolific three-point shooter, making 232 threes and converting them at a 37.2% rate during the 2021/22 season. However, he’s not an especially strong defender, so if his shot isn’t falling, he sometimes struggles to have an impact on the game. Heat president of basketball operations Pat Riley believes there’s room for Robinson to raise his level on the defensive end of the court.

“Defensively as a young player, even though he’s not as young as some of the other guys, he’s got to get better,” Riley said on Monday, per Chiang. “Look, we hang our hat on that. … To me, yes Duncan can improve. That message has been delivered to him many times.”

Here’s more on the Heat:

  • While the Heat will make an effort to upgrade their roster in free agency and on the trade market this summer, they’ll also be counting on internal improvement from players like Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro, Chiang writes in another story for The Miami Herald. Riley suggested this week that he feels both Adebayo and Herro, who are just 24 and 22 respectively, still have room to grow.
  • After missing much of the 2021/22 season while recovering from quad surgery and then being incorporated slowly into the rotation, Victor Oladipo was starting to look a little more like his old self by the end of the Heat’s season. With Oladipo’s contract set to expire, Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel wonders what sort of role – and how much money – Miami will feel comfortable offering the two-time All-Star in free agency.
  • In another Sun Sentinel article, Winderman looks at the decision facing Udonis Haslem, who has no interest in becoming a coach and is weighing whether or not to play a 20th NBA season.
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Heat Notes: Oladipo, Robinson, Haslem, Celtics Series

May 25th, 2022 at 7:54pm CST by Rory Maher

Heat guard Victor Oladipo is slowly starting to regain his offensive form ahead of unrestricted free agency this summer after missing most of the season while recovering from a second surgery to repair his right quadriceps tendon last May. The 30-year-old said he plans to fine-tune his game with a healthy offseason.

“I really haven’t had a summer healthy to really work on my game,” he said, per Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. “This summer I’m looking forward to fine-tuning all the stuff I’m great at, which includes [three-pointers, pull-ups, drives to the basket] and more. Transition, half-court, all the stuff that was second nature to me.”

After averaging 12.4 points, 2.9 rebounds and 3.5 assists on .479/.417/.737 shooting in eight regular season games (21.6 minutes), Oladipo is averaging 11.5 points, 3 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.3 steals on .387/.313/.787 shooting through 12 postseason contests (24.8 minutes). He’s provided impressive defense to the Heat in the playoffs, but acknowledges he’s still trying to find his rhythm on the other end of the court.

“Definitely [offensively], especially because I didn’t have had an opportunity to find my rhythm,” Oladipo said last week. “I can still be effective, find ways to affect the game. Even offensively, it’s more of a mind-set thing. I haven’t played a lot. I don’t have as much reps as everyone else but I can still play at a high level.”

As Jackson notes, the Heat hold Oladipo’s Bird Rights this summer, giving them the ability to go over the salary cap to re-sign him.

Here are a few more notes on Miami:

  • Duncan Robinson‘s five-year, $90MM contract with the Heat is only guaranteed for $80MM, and the $10MM discrepancy is tied to both the team’s and his own postseason performance, according to Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel. If the Heat win a championship in any of his five seasons, including this one, the final $10MM in the fifth season of his contract will be guaranteed if the following criteria are met: Robinson plays at least 70 regular season games while averaging at least 25 minutes per night, and he appears in 75 percent of his team’s postseason games while averaging at least 25 minutes per contest. As Winderman observes, Robinson has met both of the regular season criteria, but is falling short in the playoffs. He’s appeared in 11 of 15 postseason games (73.33%) while averaging just 11.5 minutes.
  • Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports takes an inside look at what Udonis Haslem does behind the scenes to help the Heat win games, with the veteran emphasizing preparation as a key to success. “If they’re not prepared, I’m taking my notes on what we need to work on. For me, this is full-time job, bro. No days off. Even when it’s summer time, I’ll just take a week off and then I’m right back in the lab, in the weight room, in the gym, conditioning. My body has to stay right. That’s the most important thing for me is that my body has allowed me to be able to keep up with these guys,” Haslem said.
  • Joe Vardon of The Athletic shares 25 thoughts heading into Wednesday’s Game 5 against the Celtics, noting that health has played a major factor in the series to this point, and the Heat need a more aggressive version of Jimmy Butler and more contributions from Gabe Vincent and Max Strus if they hope to advance. In case you missed it, Miami will be without Tyler Herro again for Game 5, as he continues to deal with a strained left groin.
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Deveney’s Latest: Thybulle, Horton-Tucker, Nunn, Draft

May 19th, 2022 at 5:29pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Bulls have strong interest in young Sixers forward Matisse Thybulle, sources told Heavy.com’s Sean Deveney.

Bulls GM Marc Eversley, a former Philadelphia executive, was instrumental in pushing the Sixers to acquire him in the 2019 draft, Deveney notes.

While Thybulle’s vaccination status stirred some angst within the Sixers organization during the postseason, it was his spotty 3-point shooting that rendered him a non-factor, despite his defensive reputation.

The Sixers could try to create some wiggle room under the luxury tax but that type of trade would likely require a third team.

Here’s more from Deveney:

  • The Lakers tried to package Talen Horton-Tucker and Kendrick Nunn in trades this past season but didn’t get an enticing offer. They could revisit that scenario, even though they’re reluctant to attach their next available first-rounder in 2027. One league exec tossed out the names of Duncan Robinson, Malik Beasley and Christian Wood as the type of player they could get in return.
  • The Magic won’t trade the top pick unless they get the No. 2 or 3 pick as part of the package, but the Thunder and Rockets are open for business regarding the other top three selections.
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