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Heat Notes: Olynyk, Leonard, Butler, Haslem

September 5th, 2020 at 4:27pm CST by Arthur Hill

As the Heat try to maximize cap room for next summer, they have a decision to make on their backup centers, writes Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. Kelly Olynyk has a $12.2MM player option for next season, while Meyers Leonard will be a free agent after making $11.3MM this year.

While it’s generally assumed Olynyk will opt in rather than test a market where few teams have cap space, Jackson suggests the big man could be tempted if his agent learns there are teams willing to offer a three-year contract starting at the mid-level exception of around $9MM. If Olynyk does opt in, Jackson expects the Heat to either keep him and let Leonard leave or try to trade Olynyk to a team with cap space and work out a cheaper deal with Leonard.

Leonard started Miami’s first 49 games, but lost his spot in the rotation after suffering an ankle injury in early February. He made his playoff debut Friday night, going scoreless in nine minutes.

“It was a great feeling to be back out there and I still have some time,” Leonard said. “I’m more than prepared.”

The Heat have $86MM committed to 10 players for 2020/21, Jackson notes, including $5.2MM to Ryan Anderson, who was waived under the stretch provision. Jackson assumes one-year deals in the neighborhood of $20MM for Dragic and $10MM for Crowder, bringing the total salary to $116MM, which is $16.6MM below this year’s luxury tax line. He notes that money could be used to re-sign Leonard and Derrick Jones Jr. or to pursue another free agent big man such as Enes Kanter, Paul Millsap, Tristan Thompson, Markieff Morris or Aron Baynes.

There’s more on the Heat:

  • Jimmy Butler‘s 30-point outburst in the Game 3 comeback solidified his reputation as a leader in big moments, Jackson notes in the same story. Butler joins Dwyane Wade as the only Miami players to score 25 points in the second half of multiple games in the same postseason. “He is the ultimate competitor,” Leonard said. “Everybody wondered, ‘Oh, well is he too competitive?’ He’s a winner. And he expects the same level of focus, effort, energy, mental focus, from his teammates. And you are seeing him not only do it himself, but he’s bringing the best out of others, as well.”
  • Bam Adebayo continue to gain notice from other players around the league, Jackson adds. Appearing on J.J. Redick‘s podcast, Timberwolves guard D’Angelo Russell said he would choose Adebayo if he were picking a team for the next 10 years.
  • Coach Erik Spoelstra said veteran forward Udonis Haslem was “controlling the huddles” Friday in an effort to inspire his teammates, writes Nick Friedell of ESPN. “Our culture is probably UD screaming at everybody in one of the timeouts,” Spoelstra said. “And us liking it.”
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Heat Notes: Offseason, Robinson, Craig, Butler

September 2nd, 2020 at 5:23pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Heat have a number of free agents and may need to make some tough choices this summer, according to Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel. Veteran starters Goran Dragic, 34, and Jae Crowder, 30, will be free agents this offseason. Bench big man Kelly Olynyk has a $12.2MM player option for 2020/21 that could clog up the team’s cap this summer.

The Heat will look to build on an exciting 2019/20 campaign that sees them currently up 1-0 on the top Eastern Conference seed, the Bucks, in the second round of the NBA playoffs.

There’s more out of South Beach:

  • Heat wing sniper Duncan Robinson has risen through the ranks, from an undistinguished high school basketball career to a little-noticed college tenure with Division III school Williams College to becoming a starter on an upstart playoff Miami squad in his second NBA season. Ramone Shelbourne of ESPN details the forward’s rise. “It’s my job to make shots,” Robinson said. “But the big shift is that I understand it’s actually my job to take these shots.”
  • The Heat have given assistant coach Dan Craig permission to interview for the Bulls‘ open head coaching position, according to Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel in a separate story. The 38-year-old Craig has worked with the Heat organization in various capacities for 17 years. He has been an assistant coach for the past four years.
  • Five-time Heat All-Star Jimmy Butler, coming off a playoff career-high 40-point night against the Bucks, feels “welcomed” in Miami after his oft-discussed exits from several prior NBA stops, as we detailed in a previous story.
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Jimmy Butler: “I Couldn’t Be In A Happier Place”

September 2nd, 2020 at 10:05am CST by Arthur Hill

Jimmy Butler has heard himself described as a bad teammate and a coach’s nightmare in the past few years as he traveled from from Chicago to Minnesota to Philadelphia. But in a wide-ranging interview with Sam Amick of The Athletic, Butler says Miami is the perfect place for him — both from a fit standpoint and due to a shared commitment to winning.

Butler’s acerbic style wore thin in his other NBA stops, but his extreme training regimen has been a seamless fit with the Heat. Amick notes that they are the only team at the Disney World complex that hasn’t skipped a day of practice and they regularly use the entire three-hour window that’s allotted to them.

“Here (with the Heat), I’m wanted man,” Butler said. “And that’s all you ever want as a human being, as a basketball player, as anything is to feel wanted. I’m wanted. I’m welcomed here. And I couldn’t be in a happier place, or around better guys.”

Butler touches on several other subjects during the interview:

On previous clashes with teammates, coaches and management:

“If you’re not there, and you don’t know what’s really going on. You can only go by what you read or what somebody else says happened. I’m not one to always just tell you what happened, because I don’t give a damn what you think anyways, regardless. If me working hard makes people feel a certain way about how I go about things, I wasn’t meant to be there. Like here, I work incredibly hard. And everybody knows, so I don’t have to say it.”

On rumors that former Sixers coach Brett Brown didn’t want the team to re-sign Butler last summer:

“I don’t even think about what could have happened with Brett Brown. What could have happened. … I don’t, because if I get too lost in that I’m not doing my due diligence for these guys. … I couldn’t care less how anybody labels me. Just know that I do everything in my power to win. That’s what brings me the most joy, is that no matter what you think, or no matter what you might say, you’re never going to be able to say that I’m not a winner. I may not have won ‘it,’ but you’re not going to say that I was a loser, that I played a losing style of basketball. You’ll never say that.”

On Sixers center Joel Embiid tweeting “IF” on Monday, which was believed to be a reference to what the team might have accomplished if Butler had stayed:

“That’s my guy. Outside of basketball, I love that man to death. He knows that. I tell him every opportunity I get, and I appreciate him for making me a better player, a better leader, better at understanding so many different things. I talk to him all the time, and I tell him, ‘I wish you were still in the playoffs, because you deserve a championship.’ Because he works. He works at it, and that’s just my guy. Yeah, I saw it, and I know that he still wanted me to be on his team. And I still wanted to be teammates with him. Let’s not get that misunderstood. But here, with these guys, I’m not trading that for the world either.”

On the conference semifinal matchup with Milwaukee and Butler’s declaration that the Heat came to Orlando to win an NBA title:

“We’re in the same place. We haven’t done anything. We won a game. For us, that’s what we’re supposed to do. For us, we’re supposed to win in four. It may not be — everybody else may not think that, but for us, we’re in it to win it, man. We work too hard. Like, I can only keep saying that. We’re studying film like there’s no tomorrow. To me, we were built for this. We can do this.”

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Eastern Notes: Butler, Hawks, West, Cavaliers

September 1st, 2020 at 6:40pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Jimmy Butler has fit in perfectly with the Heat’s culture, Brian Windhorst of ESPN writes. The Bulls and Timberwolves traded Butler away and the 76ers didn’t make him a priority in free agency. However, Miami has been a better spot for the sometimes abrasive swingman, since the front office and coaching staff welcomes a measure of friction, believing it can be a positive in the long run. It leads to more focus, camaraderie and trust, Windhorst adds.

We have more from around the Eastern Conference:

  • The Sixers‘ flameout in the first round of the playoffs could benefit the Hawks. Philadelphia could be willing to deal one or more of its starters, according to The Athletic’s Chris Kirschner, who joins forces with Peachtree Hoops’ Andrew Kelly to explore how various Sixers – along with some other potential trade targets from around the league – could fit in with Atlanta’s current mix.
  • The Pistons have finalized a contract with former Lakers executive Ryan West, Jerry West‘s son, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The news that Detroit was hiring West broke three weeks ago. He will concentrate on player evaluation with Detroit. West and the Lakers mutually agreed to part ways last summer after both sides felt he had reached a ceiling in his 10 years with their franchise.
  • The Cavaliers are likely to use their mid-level exception to upgrade the team, according to Chris Fedor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. If there’s a player worth signing, the Cavs are eager to upgrade the roster before next season and push for a playoff spot, Fedor adds. Fedor also explores the Cavaliers’ draft strategy in his mailbag column.
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Injury Updates: Butler, Westbrook, Lowry, Beverley

August 29th, 2020 at 5:30pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Heat have a week-long break after sweeping the Pacers in the first round, and the time off has given two players a chance to overcome injuries, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Jimmy Butler, who played Game 4 against Indiana with a strained left shoulder, and Jae Crowder, who has been dealing with a sprained left ankle, were both able to practice today.

“We had a couple of really good days of work and nobody was in a mood to work on Wednesday night or Thursday,” said coach Erik Spoelstra, who now has a fully healthy roster. “And that was the reason for this pause. We’ve been able to get a couple good days of work (Friday and Saturday). We’ll watch the (Bucks-Magic) game this afternoon and see what happens. Either way, our guys will be ready.”

There’s more injury news around the league:

  • Russell Westbrook will make his playoff debut for the Rockets today, but his minutes will be restricted, tweets Tim MacMahon of ESPN. Coach Mike D’Antoni said Westbrook, who has been sidelined since Aug. 11 with a strained right quadriceps, will be limited to 25-28 minutes in Game 5.
  • Raptors guard Kyle Lowry has been upgraded from questionable to probable for Sunday’s opener of the Eastern Conference semifinals, according to Andrew Lopez of ESPN. Lowry sprained his left ankle in the final game of the Nets series when he stepped on Chris Chiozza‘s foot. He was able to practice today, and Toronto coach Nick Nurse said he “looked OK.”
  • Clippers guard Patrick Beverley has been moved from doubtful to questionable for Sunday’s Game 6 against Dallas, tweets Jovan Buha of The Athletic. Beverley hasn’t played since the series opener because of a strained left calf.
  • Nuggets guard Gary Harris is listed as questionable for Sunday’s Game 6 against Utah, according to Mike Singer of The Denver Post (Twitter link). Harris is dealing with a strained right hip and hasn’t been able to play since the season restarted.
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Injury Notes: AD, Rondo, Lillard, Westbrook, Lowry, More

August 25th, 2020 at 4:56pm CST by Luke Adams

Although he left Game 4 on Monday due to back spasms, Lakers star Anthony Davis is expected to be good to go on Wednesday and is being listed as probable on the injury report. However, point guard Rajon Rondo is still “banged up” and likely won’t play, per head coach Frank Vogel (Twitter links via Dave McMenamin of ESPN). Rondo is being listed as doubtful for Game 5.

Meanwhile, Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard, who has already been ruled out for Game 5 due to a right knee sprain, is unlikely to return this series even if Portland can extend it by a game or two, tweets Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports. According to Haynes, Lillard is currently unable to extend his right leg.

Here are more injury updates from around the NBA:

  • Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni said today that he still thinks Russell Westbrook could return in the first round, but it won’t happen on Wednesday, as the team has listed Westbrook as out for Game 5 vs. Oklahoma City (Twitter links via Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle).
  • Raptors guard Kyle Lowry didn’t participate in practice on Tuesday and is considered day-to-day for the time being, according to Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe, who tweets that Lowry’s status for Game 1 vs. Boston on Thursday remains uncertain.
  • Nuggets guard Gary Harris (hip), who was previously listed as questionable for Game 5 against Utah tonight, has been downgraded to out, the team announced (via Twitter). With Denver trailing 3-1 in the series, it’s possible Harris won’t return this season.
  • Heat wing Jimmy Butler has been battling a left shoulder strain but doesn’t expect the issue to limit him going forward, writes Nick Friedell of ESPN.com. Head coach Erik Spoelstra, who referred to it as a “soft-tissue” injury, said no MRI is scheduled for now.
  • Magic forward Aaron Gordon (hamstring) appears unlikely to be ready for Game 5 on Wednesday, according to head coach Steve Clifford, who says that Gordon is still unable to sprint up and down the court and the team doesn’t want to risk him suffering a more serious injury (Twitter links via Roy Parry of The Orlando Sentinel).
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Sixers Considered Unlikely To Retain Brett Brown

August 24th, 2020 at 9:43am CST by Luke Adams

Following a quick playoff exit, the Sixers are widely expected to part ways with head coach Brett Brown, according to multiple reports.

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweeted that Brown, who has two years remaining on his contract, has no “internal momentum” to return for another season; Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports wrote that the anticipation within coaching circles is that the Sixers will part with Brown in the coming days; and Shams Charania of The Athletic cited multiple sources with knowledge of the situation in reporting that the 76ers are expected to make a coaching change.

Sources tell Haynes that Brown “never grabbed full command” of the locker room during his time as the Sixers’ head coach. As Haynes details, Al Horford expressed frustration earlier this season about not having a defined role communicated to him, and some people in the locker room have questioned Brown’s handling of rookie Matisse Thybulle, who has seen his minutes fluctuate drastically at times. Josh Richardson also expressed on Sunday that “more accountability” is necessary going forward, per Sacha Pisani of Sporting News.

“I don’t think there was much accountability this season and I think that was part of our problem,” Richardson said. “… (When) guys are not doing their job on or off the court, there’s got to be some kind of consequence — not consequence, but we’ve got to be able to talk to each other and listen. And not (just) listen to say something back, but actually hear (each other). It’s a hard lesson to learn for some people, but in order for us to make this playoff run that I think we all want, I know we all want, it’s got to start.”

Until the Sixers officially make a decision on Brown, it’s probably too early to identify frontrunners for the job. But Charania hears from sources that Sixers assistant Ime Udoka, Clippers assistant Tyronn Lue, former Kings coach Dave Joerger, and Villanova coach Jay Wright are among the names to watch.

Here’s more on the Sixers:

  • There’s an expectation that the 76ers remain committed to the Joel Embiid/Ben Simmons duo and plan to let the next head coach figure out how to maximize the two stars, according to Shams Charania. Within his preview of Philadelphia’s offseason, Bobby Marks of ESPN (Insider link) explains why he thinks it makes sense for the team to keep both Embiid and Simmons.
  • While Brown figures to be dismissed, he’s not the reason the Sixers have come up short in recent postseasons, according to Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated, who assigns more of the blame to the team’s front office. Charania suggests that no front office shake-up is imminent though, writing that GM Elton Brand has maintained a healthy relationship with team ownership.
  • Tim Bontemps of ESPN passes along some of Brown’s post-game comments from Sunday, while Brian Windhorst of ESPN does the same for Embiid. As Bontemps details, Brown told reporters that he feels as if he never got a chance to show his full potential as a coach due to the injuries that plagued the Sixers over the years.
  • According to Chris Haynes, the 76ers were prepared to offer Jimmy Butler a maximum-salary contract in the summer of 2019 if he agreed not to take any recruiting visits. However, Butler – who was “lukewarm” on the idea of re-signing with Philadelphia – didn’t agree to that condition. Haynes adds that Brown didn’t love how “outspoken” Butler was with his coaching tactics.
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Heat Notes: Closers, Butler-Dragic, Benched Players, Injuries

August 21st, 2020 at 9:02pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Heat have found playoff success thus far with a closing lineup comprising Goran Dragic, Tyler Herro, Jimmy Butler, Andre Iguodala and Bam Adebayo, per Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald. This closing lineup resolved the last 7:57 of the team’s Game 1 victory in Miami’s quarterfinals series against the Pacers (posting a +10 plus-minus), plus the final 7:45 of the Heat’s hard-fought Game 2 win (where the group finished with a +1).

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra praised the groups effectiveness on both sides of the ball. “Defensively, they’ve been good,” Spoelstra said. “Offensively, we’ve been able to keep it simple and get it to either Goran or Jimmy to make the plays and you trust that they’re going to get you something good, a clean look.”

There’s more from South Beach:

  • A key duo within the Heat’s closing lineup, guards Goran Dragic and Jimmy Butler, have benefited from their playing minutes together being expanded from 14 MPG to 22.5 MPG in the postseason, according to Manny Navarro of The Athletic. Butler and Dragic have become a very effective dynamic duo for Miami. “One of my all-time favorite teammates,” Butler said. “We just connect.”
  • Heat power forward Meyers Leonard and rookie point guard Kendrick Nunn both have yet to crack Miami’s postseason rotation, as Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel details. Nunn started for the Heat all season. Though frustrated about the benching, Leonard voiced optimism that both he and Nunn would see action soon. “[S]taying ready is important, so when I get my opportunity I’ll be prepared,” Leonard said. “There’s going to be a moment that we need Kendrick Nunn, make no mistake.”
  • Heat forwards Jae Crowder and Derrick Jones Jr. have both been listed as questionable to play in Game 3 of their series against the Pacers on Saturday due to ankle injuries, according to Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel (Twitter link).
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Southeast Notes: Butler, Brown, Bryant, Bertans, Jones

August 14th, 2020 at 7:27pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Jimmy Butler is optimistic that Heat president Pat Riley will lure a quality free agent or two to complete their championship puzzle, he said in an ESPN interview (hat tip to Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel). “I think it’ll happen,” Butler said. “Only time will tell. I’m telling you, the organization is really good at getting what they want to win a championship. … And I think, a little Miami sunshine never hurt anybody.”

We have more from the Southeast Division:

  • Though the Wizards went 1-7 at the Orlando campus, Troy Brown Jr. and Thomas Bryant showed significant growth, according to Ava Wallace of the Washington Post. Brown, the team’s 2018 first-rounder, averaged 15.3 PPG, 8.1 RPG, and 5.0 APG in the last seven seeding games, while Bryant posting averages of 19.6 PPG, 9.1 RPG, and 2.3 BPG in the same span.
  • Forward Davis Bertans’ free agent status, coach Scott Brooks’ status, and the team’s lottery selection are the biggest offseason issues for the Wizards, Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington opines. Bertans sat out the restart, in part to protect his health as he dives into unrestricted free agency.
  • Derrick Jones Jr. suffered a neck strain during the Heat’s final seeding game on Friday, the team’s PR department tweets. Jones was taken off the court in a stretcher during the third quarter after a hard screen by Indiana’s Goga Bitadze. Jones underwent an MRI, CT scan and concussion test, so the diagnosis was a best-case scenario. He’ll be re-evaluated over the weekend.
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Southeast Notes: Butler, Isaac, Hawks, Heat

August 7th, 2020 at 1:55pm CST by Luke Adams

Heat swingman Jimmy Butler, who continues to battle a right foot injury, has been ruled out for Saturday’s matchup with Phoenix, according to Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Twitter link). It will be the third consecutive game that Butler has missed.

Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra said on Thursday that Butler underwent both an MRI and an X-ray on the foot, which revealed no structural damage, per Barry Jackson and Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. The hope for now is that rest is the best treatment for the All-Star wing.

“Jimmy had his final scan yesterday. And we understand what he’s dealing with,” agent Bernie Lee told The Herald. “And he’s working his butt off to get back on the floor ASAP and to be ready for the playoffs.”

The postseason isn’t scheduled to begin until August 17, so Butler has another 10 days to work his way back from the injury, which is mostly affecting his right ankle, according to Jackson and Chiang.

Here’s more from around the Southeast:

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