Kendrick Nunn Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Heat Notes: Bradley, Dragic, Herro, Nunn

February 11th, 2021 at 11:31am CST by Luke Adams

While Heat guard Avery Bradley is frustrated to be missing more time after dealing with a positive COVID-19 test and a knee contusion earlier in the season, he said this week that he’s relieved his calf strain – which will sideline him for about three or four weeks – wasn’t a more serious injury.

“I could just feel the pop, which really scared me because first thing you’re thinking with a non-contact pop is my Achilles,” Bradley said, per Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. “So I was nervous and really frustrated. Now I’m just happy that it wasn’t anything severe and I’ll be able to rehab it.”

If the Heat play it safe with Bradley’s recovery, he likely won’t get back on the court until sometime after the All-Star break, which will run from March 5-10. However, the veteran guard hopes to beat that timeline and “get some games under my belt before the break,” as Chiang relays.

Here’s more on the Heat:

Although Bradley won’t be back anytime soon, fellow guard Goran Dragic (left ankle sprain) could rejoin the Heat as some point during their seven-game, 13-day road trip, which begins on Thursday night in Houston, per Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald.
Within that same Herald story, Tyler Herro says he has had no problem readjusting to a bench role after opening the season as a starter. “I played the whole (2019/20) year off the bench,” he said. “Doing whatever works for the team (is most important). Everyone hates losing. Moving to the bench wasn’t hard for me. I’ll do whatever this team needs me to do to win.”
In a separate story for The Miami Herald, Jackson explores how the Heat could upgrade their roster in the coming months and how they could take advantage of their projected cap room in the offseason.
In a mailbag, Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel explains why the Heat didn’t try to beat the Knicks to the punch to acquire Derrick Rose and notes that Kendrick Nunn is unlikely to retain the starting point guard role once Dragic and Bradley are ready to go. It’s worth noting that if Nunn starts three more games this season, he’d meet the “starter criteria,” bumping the value of his qualifying offer as a restricted free agent from $2.1MM to $4.7MM.

Heat Notes: FA Signings, Offseason, Nunn, 2020 Finals Run

February 7th, 2021 at 2:02pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The free agent role player additions the Heat acquired this summer, Avery Bradley and Maurice Harkless, have underwhelmed in Miami thus far, per Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

Bradley, signed to a two-year, $11.6MM deal (with a team option for year two), is averaging 8.5 PPG, 1.8 RPG, 1.4 APG and 0.7 SPG in just 10 games, and will now miss at least 3-4 weeks of action due to a right calf injury. Forward Harkless, signed to a one-year, $3.6MM contract, is out of the Heat’s rotation. He has appeared in just nine games for Miami, averaging a career-low 10.7 MPG.

There’s more out of South Beach:

Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel wonders if the Heat have a Plan B for the 2021 offseason after their top target, reigning two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, signed a lucrative extension with the Bucks during the offseason. Winderman posits that the Heat should not sacrifice one of their intriguing younger players for veteran help, as they did last season in the deal that brought Jae Crowder, Andre Iguodala, and Solomon Hill to the Heat from the Grizzlies in exchange for Justise Winslow.
With Avery Bradley and Goran Dragic sidelined by injury, 2020 All-Rookie First Teamer Kendrick Nunn has answered the bell with efficient offense, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel writes. Nunn had been supplanted in the rotation during the 2020/21 season behind starter Tyler Herro and bench guards Bradley and Dragic.
With the Heat currently near the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings at 8-14 (as of this writing, though they are in action against the Knicks today), Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald wonders if Miami’s 2020 Finals run the result of charmed circumstances while the Heat were in the Orlando “bubble” campus. “We haven’t been playing good basketball,” All-Star wing Jimmy Butler acknowledged.

Free Agent Stock Watch: Southeast Division

February 5th, 2021 at 9:09pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Throughout the season, Hoops Rumors takes a closer look at players who will be free agents or could become free agents this off-season. We examine if their stock is rising or falling due to performance and other factors. This week, we take a look at players from the Southeast Division:

Malik Monk, Hornets, 23, SG (Up) – Signed to a four-year, $15.7MM deal in 2017

Monk has forced his way back into Charlotte’s rotation — 36-point explosions will do that for you. Monk’s scoring outburst led the Hornets to an overtime victory against Miami on Monday. That was sandwiched by an 18-point game against Milwaukee and a 13-point output against Philadelphia. A 2017 lottery pick, Monk has never shot better than 34.2% from deep in his first three seasons and bottomed out at 28.4% last season. He’s made 52.5% of his long-range shots this season. Charlotte would have to extend Monk a $7MM+ qualifying offer to make him a restricted free agent this summer. The Hornets might opt to deal him this winter but Monk will continue to pump up his value if he keeps shooting like this.

Tony Snell, Hawks, 29, SG (Down) – Signed to a four-year, $46MM deal in 2017

Snell had a player option that was much too lucrative to turn down last offseason. When he becomes an unrestricted free agent this summer, he’ll be looking at substantially smaller offers that the one he received from Milwaukee in 2017. Snell started regularly for Detroit last season but he hasn’t gotten much floor time with Atlanta despite several injuries to wing players. He played a season-high 24 minutes against Utah on Thursday but once De’Andre Hunter and Bogdan Bogdanovic return to action, Snell will reside at the end of the bench once again.

Kendrick Nunn, Heat, 25, SG (Down) – Signed to a three-year, $3.1MM deal in 2018

Nunn was one of the league’s feel-good stories last season, an undrafted rookie who graduated from the G League to become a starter with the Heat, then finished second in the Rookie of the Year voting after averaging 15.3 PPG and 3.3 APG in 67 regular-season games. However, he lost his starting job in the Orlando bubble following a bout with COVID-19 and hasn’t regained it this season. Nunn was playing regularly when Jimmy Butler battled the virus last month but he has fallen completely out of the rotation the last three games. Avery Bradley‘s latest injury should allow him to regain his spot. Nunn’s qualifying offer is a meager $2.1MM if he doesn’t meet the starter criteria, so he’ll likely become a restricted free agent. Still, it’ll be harder to land a big offer sheet from another club if his playing time continues to wildly fluctuate.

Ish Smith, Wizards, 32, PG (Down) – Signed to a two-year, $12MM deal in 2019

Smith has carved out a nice career as a second-unit sparkplug. He’s always been capable of tossing in a 20-point night with his quickness and driving ability. Those outings haven’t occurred this season. He’s only reached double digits once despite averaging a steady 20.7 MPG. He’s still making a positive contributor with his passing – he’s averaged 7.0 assists the last five games – but he’s 1-for-12 from the field in his last two games despite playing 54 minutes. At 32, Smith will find it increasingly difficult to get offers ahead of younger players. That reality could strike as early as this summer.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Heat Notes: Leonard, Nunn, Cap Exceptions, Herro

February 3rd, 2021 at 9:22am CST by Luke Adams

The Heat will be without Meyers Leonard for the rest of the season following the season-ending procedure he underwent on his shoulder on Tuesday. While the veteran big man hasn’t been a regular part of Miami’s rotation since last February, his teammates will miss his presence in the locker room, according to Anthony Chiang and Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald.

“He’s one of the best teammates I’ve had, as far as his leadership and his voice,” Tyler Herro said of Leonard. “When he steps into a room or a locker room, he’s always heard and he’s always preaching the right thing.”

“He was always encouraging guys,” Goran Dragic added. “He was the most vocal guy on our team. We’re definitely going to miss him.”

It’s possible Leonard has played his last game for the Heat, since the team is unlikely to pick up his $10.2MM team option for 2021/22.

Here’s more out of Miami:

After starting two games for the Heat last week, Kendrick Nunn has fallen out of the team’s rotation for the last two games. Still, even with Miami’s roster closer to full strength, that likely won’t be permanent. “He’s right there. We are finally at a point in the season where we have to make some tough decisions and that’s not an easy decision for the head coach,” Erik Spoelstra said, per Chiang and Jackson. “Guys just need to continue to stay ready and do whatever is necessary to help us get on track and play more consistently.” Nunn would meet the starter criteria and increase the value of his qualifying offer if he starts five more games this season.
The Heat have no shortage of salary cap exceptions available, according to Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel, who expects the team will be approved for a $4.7MM disabled player exception following Leonard’s surgery. That DPE would supplement Miami’s $7.5MM trade exception and its $3.6MM bi-annual exception. If the club wants to use any of those exceptions, it would mean trading or releasing a player currently on the roster, since the 17-man squad is full.
Tyler Herro, who briefly entered the NBA’s health and safety protocols over the weekend before being cleared, explained on Tuesday that his girlfriend recorded a false positive COVID-19 test (Twitter link via Winderman). Once she recorded two negatives, Herro was cleared to rejoin the Heat without missing any games.

Heat Notes: Harden, Butler, Haslem, Nunn, Attendance

January 21st, 2021 at 11:49am CST by Luke Adams

The Heat reportedly removed themselves from the James Harden sweepstakes before the regular season began and weren’t believed to be a finalist when the Rockets ultimately moved the former MVP last week. However, a few Heat players were still willing to offer their thoughts on what it might have looked like if Harden had ended up in Miami, as Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel relays.

Acknowledging the concerns about Harden’s ball dominance on offense, Jimmy Butler said during an episode of GQ Sports’ Actually Me that really good players “always find out a way to win,” even if the fit doesn’t look perfect on the surface.

“He wants to win a championship,” Butler said of Harden. “And if we were to end up playing together, we’d make it work and we’d find a way to win.”

One of Butler’s teammates, Udonis Haslem, seemed less convinced that Harden would have been a great fit in Miami, joking during an appearance on Complex’s Load Management podcast about how the 31-year-old’s fondness for the nightlife would mesh with playing in South Beach.

“I mean, you can’t bring James Harden to Miami,” Haslem said. “As much as I wanted that to work out, in my mind, I was like, ‘Uh, no way.’ … I would have aged 15 years trying to be his OG down here. He’d have had to move me in the guesthouse, to keep a close eye on him.”

Here’s more on the Heat:

After playing well in the regular season as a rookie, Kendrick Nunn saw his role reduced during the postseason and got off to a slow start in 2020/21. However, the Heat’s shortage of players has resulted in increased minutes this week, and Nunn has taken advantage, with two big games in wins over Detroit and Toronto. If he can build off his hot streak, the 25-year-old guard – who is in a contract year – could substantially improve his value as a trade chip and/or as a 2021 free agent, writes Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel.
The Heat intend to allow “an extremely limited” number of fans to begin attending their home games as of January 28. Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald has the details on the plan, which will fill AmericanAirlines Arena to less than 10% of its capacity and will apply to six games through February 9. Presumably, the team will see how things go before committing to anything beyond that date.
Be sure to follow our Miami Heat team page for all the latest news and notes on the club.

Duncan Robinson First 2021 RFA To Meet Starter Criteria

January 14th, 2021 at 3:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Heat sharpshooter Duncan Robinson became the first potential restricted free agent in the 2021 class to meet the “starter criteria” earlier this week, increasing the value of his qualifying offer.

As we explain in our glossary entry, a restricted free-agent-to-be is considered to have met the starter criteria if he plays at least 2,000 minutes or starts 41 games in the season before he reaches free agency, or if he averages 2,000 minutes or 41 starts per season in the two years before his free agency. If a non-lottery pick reaches the starter criteria, the value of his qualifying offer increases; if a lottery pick fails to meet it, the value of his QO decreases.

Because the NBA was unable to play a full season in 2019/20 and only has a 72-game schedule on tap for ’20/21, the thresholds for the starter criteria have been prorated downward. According to ESPN’s Bobby Marks, the criteria will vary from player to player, since it’s now based on games played by his team prior to the hiatus in ’19/20, as well as the 72-game schedule for this season.

For instance, the Heat played 65 games before the coronavirus stoppage last season and will play 72 games this season, for a total of 137 contests. Robinson needed to start at least half of those games (68.5) to meet the starter criteria.

Having started the first nine games of this season, Robinson is technically up to 77 starts over the last two years, but eight of those came in Miami’s summer seeding games and don’t count toward the starter criteria. As such, his 69th start of the last two seasons – which pushed him above the starter criteria threshold – came on Tuesday vs. Philadelphia.

Having met the starter criteria, Robinson – who came into the league as an undrafted free agent – will now be in line for a qualifying offer worth $4,736,102 (equivalent to what the 21st pick would receive if he signed for 100% of his rookie scale amount) instead of $2,122,822.

That bump likely won’t be all that important for Robinson, who figures to sign a lucrative multiyear deal that far exceeds that amount. However, the difference between a standard QO and the starter criteria QO could have a major impact on certain players.

Last season, for example, Kris Dunn met the starter criteria, ensuring that his qualifying offer remained at $7.09MM instead of falling to $4.64MM. The Bulls subsequently opted not to extend him that QO, making him an unrestricted free agent, and he left for the Hawks, signing a new contract with a per-year value ($5MM) in between those two figures. If Dunn hadn’t met the starter criteria, the Bulls may have been more comfortable issuing that QO and his free agency could have played out a whole lot differently.

While Robinson is the first player to reach the starter criteria this season, he won’t be the last. RFAs-to-be like Devonte’ Graham, Jarrett Allen, Lonzo Ball, Lauri Markkanen, and John Collins are in position to get there soon if they stay healthy and remain in their teams’ respective starting lineups. Kendrick Nunn isn’t far off either, having started 62 games for Miami before last season’s hiatus, but he isn’t currently a starter for the Heat.

Eight Heat Players Unavailable Due To COVID-19 Protocols

January 11th, 2021 at 3:58pm CST by Luke Adams

3:58pm: In addition to Bradley, the Heat will be without the following players for Tuesday’s game in Philadelphia due to the NBA’s health and safety protocols, per Reynolds (Twitter link): Jimmy Butler, Goran Dragic, Bam Adebayo, Kendrick Nunn, Maurice Harkless, Udonis Haslem, and KZ Okpala.

That would leave the team with nine available players, assuming everyone else is healthy. Meyers Leonard (shoulder) is currently listed as questionable, while Kelly Olynyk (groin) and Gabe Vincent (knee) are probable, Reynolds notes (via Twitter).

2:14pm: The Heat are preparing to be without “at least five” players for the next several days due to possible exposure to the coronavirus, reports Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press.

Miami didn’t have the required minimum of eight players available on Sunday due to an inconclusive COVID-19 test and subsequent contact tracing, per Shams Charania of The Athletic. As a result, the team’s scheduled game in Boston was postponed. Subsequently, the Heat spent Sunday and Monday awaiting the results of the NBA’s contact tracing investigation to find out which players may be required to self-isolate for the next week, says Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald.

According to Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel, the Heat are arranging for the players who need to self-isolate due to contact tracing to fly back to Miami on a private plane. The player who tested positive for COVID-19 will be sequestered in a hotel, while the rest of the team flies to Philadelphia in anticipation of playing vs. the Sixers.

Based on Winderman’s report, it sounds like the Heat expect to have enough players to resume their schedule on Tuesday vs. Philadelphia, though we don’t know yet who will and won’t be available. Avery Bradley‘s absence due to the league’s health and safety protocols was the only one reported on Sunday — all signs point to Bradley being the player who tested positive for the coronavirus, Winderman notes, but that hasn’t been confirmed.

Heat Guarantee Salaries For Kendrick Nunn, Duncan Robinson

November 17th, 2020 at 1:57pm CST by Luke Adams

The Heat have guaranteed the 2020/21 salaries for guard Kendrick Nunn and forward Duncan Robinson, a league source tells John Hollinger of The Athletic (Twitter link). Previously, their matching minimum salaries ($1,663,861) for next season had been fully non-guaranteed.

Given the impact Nunn and Robinson had for the Heat in 2019/20, guaranteeing those salaries was always considered a mere formality.

Nunn, a contender for Rookie of the Year, averaged 15.3 PPG and 3.3 APG in 67 games (all starts), while Robinson emerged as one of the NBA’s most dangerous outside shooters, knocking down 44.6% of 8.3 three-point attempts per game in 73 contests.

Both Nunn and Robinson will be eligible for restricted free agency in 2021. Meeting the starter criteria next season would increase the value of their qualifying offers and accompanying cap holds. However, those holds will still be modest enough that they shouldn’t be an impediment to Miami maximizing its cap room to pursue a star free agent.

Southeast Notes: Nunn, Williams, Hawks, Heat

October 4th, 2020 at 3:31pm CST by JD Shaw

Heat guard Kendrick Nunn is working to flip the narrative after a rough first experience in Orlando, Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald writes.

Nunn has received quality rotation minutes in the Finals so far, showing great effort on both ends despite playing scarcely in previous rounds. In Game 1, he finished with 18 points and five rebounds, playing 19 minutes off the bench. He followed that up with a 13-point, three-assist outing in Game 2, providing depth behind Tyler Herro and Jimmy Butler.

“It has been an experience for me,” Nunn said. “Obviously I had some pretty rough days. Now it’s getting better. It just comes from sticking with it every day, putting in work, grinding, not making any excuses and just sticking to basically my routine and my style of play.”

The runner-up for the Rookie of the Year award, Nunn contracted COVID-19 this summer, struggling to regain his footing and seeing his role change in the weeks that followed. With Goran Dragic (plantar fascia tear) still sidelined, the Heat will need Nunn to continue producing at a high level.

There’s more from the Southeast Division tonight:

Marvin Williams has a standing offer to work for the Hornets in the future, his father, Marvin Williams Sr., told Spencer Davies of BasketballNews.com. Williams retired from the league this year after spending 15 seasons as a player, with his next job immediately unclear. “He mentioned to me that he really likes the [Basketball Without Borders] program, but because of the COVID, that whole process may have changed,” Williams Sr. said. “I think that’s the avenue he would like to go down, but if not… he’s a kinda laid-back guy, so he’s like, ‘Dad, I could be content working with North Carolina, being a film guy for the basketball team, making $60-70K a year. I’d be content with that.’ Larry Jordan, Michael Jordan and them guys have told him — and sat down with me and told me — that if he wanted to come back and work for the [Charlotte] Hornets, he was more than welcome to. So he’s got some options, it’s just a matter of which one he chooses to pick.”
The Hawks ended their mini-camp five days early, Sarah Spencer of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution notes, with the team choosing to halt activities on October 1. Spencer reports the team always planned to end early with a focus on injury prevention and keeping players engaged in voluntary workouts. “We wanted to maximize the opportunity that we had and to compete at the level that we’re doing, to be in a new environment and situation, we wanted to do what made most sense, and that’s why we’re ending today,” head coach Lloyd Pierce said.
John Hollinger of The Athletic examines why the NBA should be rooting for the Heat to win the NBA Finals. Miami is known for promoting high-level competition and is strictly against rebuilding, Hollinger notes, a formula the league would love to see more of.

Heat Notes: Roster, Haslem, ECF

September 17th, 2020 at 6:36pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Zach Lowe of ESPN tracks the Heat‘s impressive front office maneuvering that took them from the lottery in 2015 back to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2020, despite having traded away a number of their draft picks during that time. Lowe applauds the team’s savvy drafting of All-Star Bam Adebayo and potential future All-Star shooting specialist Tyler Herro in the 2017 and 2019 drafts, respectively.

“The doubt was whether [Adebayo] could really do much on offense,” said Heat senior adviser of basketball operations Chet Kammerer. “I just felt like, with his love for the game and his work ethic, he’s going to be OK in that area.”

The Heat also hit on three undrafted free agent role players in point guard Kendrick Nunn this season, shooting guard Duncan Robinson last year, and forward Derrick Jones Jr. in 2017 after a brief stint with the Suns. Miami was apparently one of two contenders for Dorian Finney-Smith after the 2016 draft, but lost out to the Mavericks.

Of course, All-Star Jimmy Butler was the key addition this offseason. During the 2016/17 “Three Alphas” Bulls season – when Dwyane Wade teamed up with Butler and Rajon Rondo in Chicago – Wade and Butler discussed just how special the much-ballyhooed “Heat culture” really was. That conversation apparently set the stage for Butler prioritizing the Heat above all other suitors in free agency during the summer of 2019, despite Miami lacking any room to sign a maximum-salaried free agent. Miami made a four-team sign-and-trade for the team’s now-top star.

There’s more out of South Beach:

The Heat’s playoff-ready roster, comprised by acquiring key under-regarded prospects and never fully bottoming out, is also examined by HoopsHype’s Frank Urbina in another quality piece.
17-season Heat lifer Udonis Haslem, a crucial role player for each of Miami’s three titles, remains noncommittal on whether or not 2019/20 will prove to be his final season as a player, per Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated. “There is a value and a need for me here,” Haslem said. “It doesn’t have to be the way that everybody thinks it should be. If I have to put on a suit and stand on the sideline, just because everybody else thinks I should. I found value in this locker room, and I’ve been able to move the needle and help us win games, and that’s what it’s all about.”
Ahead of the first game of the Heat’s Eastern Conference Finals series against the Celtics, we asked you who you expected to advance to the NBA Finals from Eastern Conference. As of this writing, the third-seeded Celtics have received 54% of over 1,300 votes.