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Heat Notes: Johnson, McGruder, Waiters, Johnson

January 27th, 2019 at 5:00pm CST by Eric Spyropoulos

The Heat have had to use countless different lineup combinations throughout the season as players have come and gone due to injuries, but recently it has been Tyler Johnson that has become a key staple in the starting lineup.

As Ira Winderman writes for The Sun-Sentinal, Johnson has provided an energetic approach that has made him a perfect fit for the starting lineup, especially as Erik Spoelstra continues to look for ways to jumpstart his team.

The Heat have made several significant changes in the wake of Goran Dragic‘s injury, most notably converting Justise Winslow to being the team’s primary ball-handler and creator.

There’s more from the Heat:

Ira Winderman also wrote about the amount of lineup changes the Heat have had to deal with this season and how certain players like Rodney McGruder have continued to adjust on a nightly basis.
As Dion Waiters continues to work his way back from an extended injury absence, he firmly believes that in order for him to get back to his highest level of play, simply being on the court and receiving minutes is a must.
As the Heat continue to shuffle through starting lineups, James Johnson‘s struggles continue to stand out. Ira Winderman discusses if there is a path to salvage Johnson as a starter moving forward.

Heat Notes: Bosh, Wade, Trade Candidates, Butler

January 6th, 2019 at 11:40am CST by Arthur Hill

Chris Bosh hasn’t officially announced his retirement, but Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald writes that he appears to be settling into life after basketball, which includes a connection to the Heat. In addition to being at courtside for the team’s past three home games, Bosh is doing some behind-the-scenes work, offering advice to team president Pat Riley and talking to players in the locker room.

It’s a significant step considering the terms under which Bosh left the organization. He had hoped to resume his playing career after being diagnosed with blood clots, but couldn’t get medical clearance from the team. He failed a physical prior to the 2016/17 season and was waived after that season ended. The Heat are paying him $26.8MM this year, although that figure doesn’t count against their salary cap.

“Chris was going through a lot,” Dwyane Wade said. “He was somebody who was one of the best players in the world, and he had a diagnosis that comes that no one is familiar with, really. It’s just a tough situation. You got a player who was 32 at the time, something like that, and the way the game is going, can play for a long time. It’s just unfortunate. So yeah, of course it’s going to take a lot of hardship to get out of that situation and get to where everybody is now. But the bigger picture, he needs to and should be a part of this organization. I’m glad to see him around.”

There’s more news from Miami:

The first returns in the All-Star voting show how much love there is around the league for Wade, notes Candace Buckner of The Washington Post. Despite being in a reserve role in his final NBA season, Wade ranked second among Eastern Conference guards with more than 409K votes. “I just appreciate and am humbled by people taking the time out to want to see my old self in an All-Star Game, so it’s cool,” Wade said. “… I know a lot of people are saying, ‘We need to take the fans votes away,’ but they’re the ones who want to see who they want to see.”
The Heat will have 13 players worthy of being in the rotation once Goran Dragic returns from injury and could look at the trade deadline as a chance to thin out their roster, writes Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. Wayne Ellington has already fallen far out of the rotation and more players could join him with Dragic’s projected return around the All-Star break. Winderman sees James Johnson, Dion Waiters and Kelly Olynyk as trade candidates, with Ellington included as a throw-in.
The latest controversy over Jimmy Butler in Philadelphia doesn’t mean things would have worked out the same way if he had been traded to Miami, Winderman states in a question-and-answer column. He notes that Butler would have been the unquestioned top star with the Heat and the focus of the offense.

Injury Notes: Markkanen, Howard, Dragic, More

November 19th, 2018 at 2:06pm CST by Luke Adams

Pelicans point guard Elfrid Payton is expected to be sidelined for about six weeks as he recovers from finger surgery, as we relayed earlier today. While the news on Payton is today’s most notable injury update so far, there are items to pass along on several other health issues that could affect teams’ lineups and rotations. Let’s dive in and round up a few…

Bulls forward Lauri Markkanen, who has yet to make his season debut, participated in the non-contact portion of the Bulls’ practice today, head coach Fred Hoiberg confirmed (Twitter link). A return isn’t imminent for Markkanen, but it sounds like the injury-ravaged Bulls are moving closer to getting him back on the court. We heard last week that the youngster’s injury recovery was taking longer than initially anticipated.
The Wizards‘ weekend, which featured a pair of home losses, went from bad to worse, as the team’s big offseason acquisition, Dwight Howard, re-aggravated his glute injury and left Sunday’s game early. Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington has the story on Howard, who didn’t participate in Monday’s practice (Twitter link).
Heat guard Goran Dragic had his right knee drained this morning and will miss at least the next two games, the team announced today (via Twitter). The hope is that the inflammation in Dragic’s knee will subside and it won’t be a long-term issue.
James Johnson returned to action for the Heat on Sunday, appearing in his first game of the 2018/19 season. As Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel relays, head coach Erik Spolestra said that Johnson, who picked up five fouls in 15 minutes, “needs game minutes to get into rhythm.”
Pacers guard Victor Oladipo will miss the team’s next game, but doesn’t view his right knee injury as serious, per J. Michael of The Indianapolis Star (Twitter link). “A little sore, but I’m good,” Oladipo said.

Southeast Notes: Walker, Heat, Wizards

November 18th, 2018 at 4:50pm CST by Eric Spyropoulos

After Kemba Walker‘s explosive 60-point performance Saturday against the 76ers, Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer argues that the Hornets shouldn’t overthink things, and should offer Walker the maximum allowable contract this summer. Walker will be an unrestricted free agent as he enters his age-29 season, and Bonnell makes a case for the importance of keeping the point guard around, despite the team’s struggles in recent years.

Walker is having a career season, averaging 28.7 points and 6.1 assists per game, and is certainly capable of taking over any game with his scoring ability. Walker would certainly be expensive — his full, five-year max projects to be worth $189MM+, unless he makes an All-NBA team this season, in which the deal could be worth up to $221MM. However, Hornets owner Michael Jordan has shown that he isn’t afraid to spend to keep players in Charlotte, and Bonnell argues that this instance should be no exception for the team’s leader.

There’s more from the Southeast division:

After the Nets defeated the Wizards on Friday, former Wizard Jared Dudley suggested that the team is in need of a shake up, according to Ben Standig of NBC Sports Washington. Much of the Wizards’ core that played with Dudley in 2016 is still on the roster, but the team hasn’t had consistent success in several years.
Goran Dragic may be out for an extended period due to a right knee issue, according to Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel. The Heat are still without Dion Waiters and could use Dragic’s scoring and playmaking abilities as they look to bounce back from a slow start.
Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald hits on several Heat-related topics, including the conditioning of James Johnson and Waiters and the lack of interest from the team as it relates to adding Carmelo Anthony to the rotation.

James Johnson May Not Be Ready For Season Opener

September 24th, 2018 at 12:42pm CST by Arthur Hill

Heat forward James Johnson hasn’t been medically cleared for contact and may not be ready when the season begins next month, relays Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald.

Johnson had surgery in May for a sports hernia that he suffered at the end of January. He remains hopeful that he’ll be ready for the October 17 season opener, but that depends on his medical progress.

“My goal would be be back before that first game, try to get a couple preseason games in,” Johnson said. “… I am not going to push nothing I’m not supposed to push. A setback would be the same as going back for surgery, I believe.”

Asked about being cleared for contact drills, Johnson responded, “I wish I knew the answer to that. I can’t veer off from this path they’ve got us on. I have to stay humbled and stay patient.”

Coach Erik Spoelstra described Johnson’s condition as close to 100% and said he will be participating in every practice, although his level of involvement will be determined by the medical staff.

Johnson elected not to tell the Heat about the injury when it occurred because he was concerned he might be sidelined for the rest of the season. He opted to play through the pain and address it once the team was eliminated from the playoffs.

“I thought it was just a strain,” he said. “I didn’t know what to call it. At first it wasn’t even that terrible. As the season went on, a little bit of my abilities started to go with it.”

Miami already faces the prospect of starting the season without Dion Waiters, who is recovering from ankle surgery in January. He was given an eight- to 10-month recovery prognosis, which could put his return in late November.

“He didn’t have a setback,” Spoelstra said of Waiters. “He’s actually on course. Everybody’s body is different. He’s been working all summer. You probably noticed his Instagram posts, that’s how everybody follows players now. It hasn’t been like he hasn’t been working. It’s on course. He’ll be back when his body tells him that he can be back.

“The thing I’m encouraged by is he’s able to work, he’s on the court, he’s able to do stuff. He won’t be able to participate in the type of training camp that we’re going to be starting with. But we’ll continue to monitor him. He’ll be with us.”

Heat Notes: Draft, Richardson, Wade, Haslem

September 12th, 2018 at 2:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

The NBA appears to be holding off a decision to eliminate the one-and-done rule until the 2022 draft, which would be good news for the Heat, writes Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. That would mean Miami wouldn’t miss out on a potential bonanza in the 2021 class with the top college prospects and high school seniors both available. The Heat are the only team that have traded their 2021 first-rounder, sending it to Phoenix in the Goran Dragic deal. The Suns moved it to the Sixers this summer as part of the package to acquire Mikal Bridges.

Jonathan Givony of ESPN recently reported that teams have been told by league executives that no change in the one-and-done rule will occur prior to 2022. The Heat haven’t appealed to the league to make the change in any particular year, Jackson adds.

Jackson shares more from Miami in the same story:

At least one unidentified team offered a first-round pick to Miami in exchange for Josh Richardson during the offseason. The Heat turned it down and have no plans to part with Richardson, who is entering the first season of a four-year, $42MM extension. The team also prefers to hang onto Dragic, Kelly Olynyk, Bam Adebayo, James Johnson and Justise Winslow.
Dwyane Wade has less than two weeks to make a decision before camp opens, but at least one Heat official believes he wants to play this season. Wade has been on vacation in California, but will return to Miami tomorrow to open a restaurant with Udonis Haslem, who has been part of the recruiting effort to get Wade to return.
Haslem said his “love for the organization” and his teammates was behind his decision to return for a 16th season. “If I was looking for playing time, I could have gone someplace else or played in China or something,” he said. “But at the end of the day, would it have made me as happy as being around this organization and being around these guys? No, I don’t think it would.” Haslem saw minimal action last season, averaging about five minutes per night in 14 games.

Southeast Notes: Rivers, Heat, Bamba

September 11th, 2018 at 7:58pm CST by Austin Kent

When the Wizards exiled big man Marcin Gortat, they did more than simply shed the 34-year-old’s contract, they filled a void that they’ve had for some time, Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington writes. The addition of backup combo guard Austin Rivers should alleviate some of the workload on Bradley Beal.

Beal logged the fourth most minutes in the NBA last season but ran out of gas for the Wizards late in the season. Rivers will also slot in behind John Wall at the point, providing capable support at both backcourt positions.

For the addition to work, Rivers will have to change his game slightly. For instance, he’ll have to tone down the volume shooting as part of a larger, competitive Wizards team.

There’s more from the Southeast Division:

The Heat will bring back their “captain”, 38-year-old Udonis Haslem, for the 2018/19 season. Now, an Associated Press report states, he’ll get to work convincing Dwyane Wade to join him in fending off retirement. “My mindset has always been for us to finish it together,” Haslem said. “I want us to do a whole season together. Experience the road, dinner on the road, go through that whole process. I want us to experience that together.” Wade, of course, played half of last season with the Cavaliers after initially leaving Miami for the Bulls in the summer of 2016.
The Magic are expected to open the season with Nikola Vucevic as their starting center, team scribe John Denton writes, but the club will make sure that Mohamed Bamba has plenty of time to demonstrate his potential. According to Denton, the rookie has already “greatly impressed” the squad with the improvement he’s made since the end of the NCAA season.
The Heat have a number of options that Erik Spoelstra will need to mix and match in order to fill his frontcourt. Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel writes in a mailbag with readers that he views Kelly Olynyk as a change-of-pace backup center behind Hassan Whiteside and James Johnson as the club’s power forward.

Southeast Notes: Spoelstra, Kidd-Gilchrist, Wall

September 3rd, 2018 at 7:20pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra will have a difficult time coming up with a rotation after team president Pat Riley failed to address the logjam at several positions, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel notes. With Hassan Whiteside, Kelly Olynyk, Bam Adebayo and James Johnson on the roster, there aren’t enough frontcourt minutes to go around and keep everyone happy, Winderman continues. There’s also an excess of shooting guards options (Rodney McGruder, Dion Waiters, Tyler Johnson, Wayne Ellington and Josh Richardson) even if Dwyane Wade isn’t re-signed, Winderman adds.

We have more from around the Southeast Division:

The Hornets are thinking seriously about going with smaller lineups more often, featuring Michael Kidd-Gilchrist at power forward and Frank Kaminsky at center, Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer reports. Charlotte has plenty of rotation-worthy options at small forward and shooting guard to allow those position changes to take place, Bonnell continues. If Kidd-Gilchrist logs significant playing time at power forward, Kaminsky could join an unsettled rotation at center and his perimeter defensive shortcomings wouldn’t be as much of an issue, Bonnell adds.
This is a pivotal season for Wizards point guard John Wall, Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington points out. Following the upcoming season, Wall’s four-year, $170MM-plus extension kicks in and it’s time for him to show he can lead a major contender, Hughes continues. He must improve his field-goal efficiency and mesh well with incoming center Dwight Howard, Hughes adds.
Heat summer-league star Derrick Jones will struggle to find playing time, Winderman wrote in another mailbag piece. Get that info, plus other Miami notes, right here.

Heat Notes: J. Johnson, Weber, Newman, Lee

August 18th, 2018 at 5:05pm CST by Arthur Hill

Despite rumors that he’s on the trade market, the Heat aren’t shopping forward James Johnson, according to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. The team expects Johnson’s productivity to increase after offseason surgery to fix a sports hernia, which involves damage to soft tissue in the groin area. Johnson dealt with the injury through much of last season.

“It’s something that he played through last year and it affected him for sure,” said his agent, Mark Bartelstein. “They don’t come any tougher than James. His pain threshold is unlike anyone I’ve seen.”

Johnson posted a 10.9/4.8/3.9 line last season while providing the defense and versatility that he’s known for. He still has two seasons and about $30MM left on his contract, along with a $16MM player option for 20/21.

There’s more news from Miami to pass along, all courtesy of Jackson:

The Heat know what they’re getting from Briante Weber, who reached a partially guaranteed agreement with the team earlier this week. He got into one game for Miami in 2015/16, but has played extensively for the organization’s G League affiliate in Sioux Falls. Weber is an excellent defender who struggles with his outside shot and has been prone to turnovers. He had brief stays with the Rockets and Grizzlies last season and has played for five NBA teams in his three-year career.
The Heat look for elite athletes when evaluating prospects, which is why they were drawn to former Parade All-Americans Malik Newman and Marcus Lee. Neither player was drafted, but both have raw ability that could help them succeed at the NBA level. Depending on whether Dwyane Wade and Udonis Haslem decide to return, Newman, Lee and Weber could all be competing for one roster opening.
Dion Waiters continues to work out at the Heat’s facility as part of his comeback from ankle surgery that he underwent in January. Waiters was limited to 30 games last year and has only played 76 in two seasons since coming to Miami. He has two more years and $24.75MM left on his current deal.

Southeast Notes: Anderson, Young, Go-Go, Magic Big Men

August 17th, 2018 at 9:00pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Heat aren’t particularly interested in acquiring Rockets forward Ryan Anderson, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports. A rumored trade that would involve the Houston power forward and a draft pick in exchange for either Tyler Johnson or James Johnson doesn’t appeal to Miami’s front office, Jackson continues. Anderson has a higher salary than both of those players, so bringing him in would worsen the team’s luxury-tax issues. Additionally, even though James Johnson has three years left on his deal compared to Anderson’s two remaining seasons, Miami values his versatility, Jackson adds.

We have more from around the Southeast Division:

Rookie Trae Young realizes the commitment the Hawks made to him by trading starting point guard Dennis Schroder to the Thunder, Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. While Young was non-committal about whether he or Jeremy Lin should start, Young knows he’ll get ample playing time. “Obviously when they move the point guard they’ve had for a while, their starting point guard, it definitely opened my eyes,” Young told Vivlamore. “It shows how much they are committed to me. Bringing Jeremy in as well is a good fit for us. I know there is a lot on my plate.”
The Wizards’ new G League team, the Capital City Go-Go, will share the same practice facility as the NBA team. The G League team’s GM, Pops Mensah-Bonsu, sees that as an incentive for his players, as he explained to Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington. “I think it’s going to help motivate these guys. We’re going to be practicing in the same place that the Wizards do and the Mystics do,” Mensah-Bonsu said. “I think if these guys can see Dwight Howard and John Wall and Bradley Beal walking around every day, it will help motivate them to get to that next level.”
The Magic are bucking the league trend by building around big men, as Nick Zappulla of RealGM details. The trio of rookie Mo Bamba, Jonathan Isaac and Aaron Gordon provide versatility and game-changing ability on both ends of the floor, Zappulla adds.