Markieff Morris

Heat Re-Sign Kyle Guy, Chris Silva To 10-Day Contracts

January 10th, 2022 at 1:47pm CST by Luke Adams

1:47pm: The Heat have officially re-signed both Guy and Silva to 10-day hardship deals, the team confirmed in a press release.

12:03pm: In addition to retaining Guy, the Heat will re-sign Chris Silva to a 10-day deal, according to Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel (Twitter link). Both players will be signed via hardship exceptions, since Garrett remains in the COVID-19 protocols and Markieff Morris has entered the protocols as well, Winderman notes.

A 6’8″ forward, Silva averaged 4.8 PPG and 5.2 RPG in five games (12.2 MPG) during his first 10-day contract with Miami.

10:37am: The Heat intend to re-sign guard Kyle Guy to a second 10-day contract, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link). Guy’s first 10-day deal with the team expired on Saturday night.

Wojnarowski says Guy is expected to return to the club via a hardship exception. Currently, the Heat only have one player – Marcus Garrett – in the NBA’s health and safety protocols. Miami’s pending agreement with Guy suggests the team either expects Garrett to remain in the protocols a little longer or knows that another player is about to enter the protocols.

The 55th overall pick in the 2019 draft, Guy spent his first two seasons on a two-way contract with Sacramento, but played a very limited role with the Kings, appearing in 34 games and averaging 2.7 PPG and 1.0 APG in 7.2 minutes per contest. He played the best basketball of his NBA career during his recent 10-day stint with the Heat, recording 9.8 PPG, 2.6 APG, and 1.6 RPG on .514/.350/.800 shooting in 20.2 minutes per contest.

Guy will earn $95,930 over the course of his new 10-day deal with the Heat, but that money won’t count against team salary for cap or tax purposes as long as it’s a hardship signing.

While Guy is poised to re-sign with the Heat, there’s no indication yet that any of the other five players whose 10-day contracts expired over the weekend – Aric Holman, Haywood Highsmith, Mario Chalmers, Nik Stauskas, or Chris Silva – will be retained in the short term.

Heat Notes: Chalmers, Morris, Haslem, Silva

January 7th, 2022 at 6:12pm CST by Rory Maher

Heat guard Mario Chalmers is enjoying every second of his 10-day hardship reunion with Miami, as Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated relays. Chalmers made four consecutive NBA Finals appearances with the Heat from 2011-2014, winning two championships in the process.

“He is a major part of the banners that are up there,” Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra said. “We were together from the beginning of his career. A lot of development was spent with Rio in the summer, working with our staff, preparing himself to be one of the mainstays of those championship years. I really enjoyed seeing his growth and progress as a professional and as a human being.”

Unfortunately, Chalmers was a DNP-CD for his three active games, then was moved to the inactive list after Duncan Robinson and Max Strus returned from the health and safety protocols. His contract expires January 9. Chalmers says he doesn’t have any expectations going forward, but he’s grateful for the opportunity.

“I really don’t know what to expect,” Chalmers said, per Spears. “I hope I get another 10-day contract. I hope I get to sign for the rest of the year. The biggest thing is to keep playing. Expectations? I really don’t have none. Let’s see what happens. …

“I just appreciate them giving me the opportunity to come back and getting the love from the fans. Even though I haven’t gotten a home game, I still have got a lot of love from Heat fans saying, ‘Welcome back.'”

Here’s more from Miami:

Spoelstra told reporters, including Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald (Twitter link), that forward Markieff Morris, who’s missed 30 straight games with a neck injury, was able to participate in part of the team’s practice Friday.
Heat veteran Udonis Haslem, who’s played his entire 19-year NBA career with the Heat, has cleared the health and safety protocols, Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press tweets.
Big man Chris Silva was distraught when the Heat traded him last March, Chiang writes for the Herald, but Silva says his 10-day hardship contract is a welcome return to Miami. “When I signed a 10-day with the Heat, I felt like I signed a multiyear contract,” Silva said with a laugh ahead of the Heat’s matchup against the Portland Trail Blazers at Moda Center on Wednesday night. “The Heat fans were sending me posts and messages welcoming me back. When I stepped in the locker room, I saw a couple faces that I recognized. I saw the coaching staff, I knew everybody.” Through four games with the Heat this season, Silva is averaging 5.3 points and 4.8 rebounds in 12 minutes per contest.

Southeast Notes: Heat, Hornets, Magic, Spoelstra

December 12th, 2021 at 6:38pm CST by JD Shaw

The Heat will be missing several players to start their four-game road trip on Monday in Cleveland, including Jimmy Butler (tailbone) and Markieff Morris (neck), Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel tweets. The club will also be without Bam Adebayo (thumb) and Caleb Martin (protocols).

All four players won’t be traveling with the team, receiving their treatment in Miami instead. In addition, veteran guard Victor Oladipo (knee) has yet to play this season, but Winderman notes that he’ll be traveling with the team and sitting on the bench.

Morris has been sidelined for the past 17 games, while Butler returned on December 6 after missing four games. Butler re-injured himself during that contest, costing him the past two games (and counting). Despite playing without several key players, Miami still holds the fourth-best record in the East at 16-11.

Here are some other notes from the Southeast Division:

Roderick Boone of the Charlotte Observer examines whether the Hornets should pursue Pacers big men Domantas Sabonis and Myles Turner. Indiana is reportedly open to discussing the players in trades as it ponders whether to start a rebuilding phase. Both Sabonis and Turner would likely start if they were acquired by the Hornets, who currently starts Mason Plumlee at center.
Despite owning a 5-22 record, the Magic remain optimistic due to the impending return of guard Markelle Fultz, Khobi Price of the Orlando Sentinel writes. Fultz suffered a torn ACL last January and fully practiced with the team on Friday for the first time since sustaining the injury. “It was great to have ‘Kelle on the floor,” head coach Jamahl Mosley said of Fultz. “As long as there are no hiccups, he’s going to continue to progress in the right direction.”
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra questioned the league’s strategy with handling players in health and safety protocols, Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel writes. “Why would they be held out extensively longer than if they have the flu?” he asked. “I think there’s a contradiction there.” The same couldn’t be said a year ago when vaccines weren’t widely available, but now that they are, it could raise an interesting discussion.

Injury Notes: Towns, Butler, Morris, Warren, Wood, KPJ

December 1st, 2021 at 10:11pm CST by Rory Maher

Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns hopefully avoided a major injury Wednesday night, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (via Twitter).

Towns fell on his lower back after slipping off the rim after a dunk. However, Woj says X-Rays on Towns’ lower back came back clean. We’ll have to wait and see if there’s an update from the team to determine if Towns might be sidelined.

Here are some more injury notes:

Heat star Jimmy Butler (tailbone) missed his second consecutive game Wednesday night against the Cavs and it sounds like he could miss more time. Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel tweets that he’s likely to miss the back-to-back games Friday and Saturday against the Pacers and Bucks.
Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra told reporters there’s still no update on Markieff Morris, who has now missed 12 games in a row with whiplash, per Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald (Twitter link).
Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said that scans on T.J. Warren‘s foot had positive results, but there’s still no timeline for his return, the team announced (via Twitter).
Rockets starters Christian Wood and Kevin Porter Jr. were both injured in Wednesday night’s game against the Thunder and did not return. Wood suffered a sprained ankle, while KPJ has a left thigh contusion, per Kelly Iko of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Heat Notes: Dedmon, Robinson, Vincent, Rotation, Nuggets Rematch

November 27th, 2021 at 11:43am CST by Rory Maher

Veteran center Dewayne Dedmon had trouble finding a standard contract last season before finishing the season with the Heat. He re-signed with the team on a minimum-salary deal over the summer, and he’s making the most of his minutes, according to Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald.

Coach Erik Spoelstra says Dedmon is an excellent communicator defensively and is ecstatic with his production.

“He has been so vital to our team,” Spoelstra said. “He’s a big big, as Pat [Riley] likes to say, and he makes his presence felt. Defensively, he’s one of our best communicators, if not our best communicator. He’s big at the rim. He protects the rim. He gives us a different kind of feel at that center position than Bam. And he has a great knack for the ball — offensive rebounding, sliding into open spots, making himself available so he can finish in the paint. And he has a good touch for a big. We couldn’t be happier with the minutes and productivity he’s giving from that position.”

Miami has been a been a far better team with Dedmon on the court than off — Chiang writes that Dedmon has a team-high plus/minus of plus-99, and advanced stats point to his high-level contributions in limited minutes. The big man says he’s having fun with the Heat, and no matter how many minutes he receives, he’s going to play as hard as he can.

“It’s just fun basketball, man,” Dedmon said. “Just come in, give it my all no matter how many minutes I’m going to play. Whether its 10, 15, 20, just play as hard as I can. So just having fun with it.”

Sharpshooter Duncan Robinson says Dedmon’s consistency has been crucial to the team’s success. The Heat are currently 12-7, third in the East.

“I think a huge strong suit of Dewayne is you just know what you’re going to get,” Robinson said. “He’s going to communicate, he’s going to be vocal, he’s going to be physical, he’s going to set screens, he’s going to be unselfish, he’s going to rebound, he’s going to put pressure on the other team to box out and then also to protect the rim. He’s super consistent and he has definitely, in many games, given us a boost particularly just creating second chances and protecting the rim and that paint.”

It’s an interesting article from Chiang with some more good quotes — it’s worth checking out in full.

Here are some more Heat notes:

In an “Ask Ira” mailbag, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel wonders whether Robinson, who’s struggled the first quarter of the season, is a fit for a championship-caliber team. He notes that Robinson’s defense is a definite concern, but when he’s making shots, he can be an X-factor for the Heat.
In the same piece, Winderman opines that backup Gabe Vincent shouldn’t be shoe-horned into being a primary ball-handler, when his skill set is more in the mold of a shooting guard who is solid defensively.
In a separate “Ask Ira” column, Winderman writes that he isn’t concerned with the team’s rotation, which has fluctuated at times beyond the top-eight core of starters Bam Adebayo, P.J. Tucker, Robinson, Jimmy Butler, Kyle Lowry, and reserves Tyler Herro, Dedmon and Markieff Morris. He believes other members of the team will receive minutes based on matchups.
Winderman recently asked former NBA executive Stu Jackson about the Heat’s rematch with the Nuggets on Monday night. The last time the team’s faced, there was an altercation between MVP Nikola Jokic and Morris. Morris has been sidelined since the incident with whiplash. Jokic has missed the past six games with an unrelated wrist injury. Jackson says the officials will be on high alert. “In short,” Jackson, now a Big East executive, said, “the officiating crew will be on high alert. Not only because of the matchup between the two of them, but also just the tone of the game, early on, which I suspect the referees will establish a mindset that they’re not going to tolerate any BS. The last thing an official wants to do is have something break out in their game that doesn’t have to do with the game.”

Southeast Notes: Butler, Morris, Hachimura, Mulder

November 21st, 2021 at 9:16am CST by Arthur Hill

The Heat may have enough talent to challenge for an NBA title, but they’ll have to break their habit of letting big leads slip away, writes Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. Jimmy Butler addressed the topic Saturday night after Miami squandered a 16-point third quarter advantage while losing to the Wizards in a battle of two of the East’s top teams.

Most troubling for an organization built around its defensive mentality is that the Heat couldn’t stop the Wizards in the fourth quarter. Miami allowed Washington to shoot 73.3% in the final 12 minutes, including 5 of 9 from three-point range.

“I just think everybody’s got to grow up a little bit and realize, if we want to be a really good team, we’ve got to win these games, we’ve got to hold on to these leads, we’ve got to keep playing basketball the right way, keep getting stops, even when we’re not making shots,” Butler said. “Because that’s what’s going to win us a championship, on the defensive end. And if we’re making shots, great. Maybe we’ll win by a little bit more. But it we’re stopping other teams from scoring, that’s what champions are borne of.”

There’s more from the Southeast Division:

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra provided an update on Markieff Morris, who is still recovering from whiplash after being hit from behind by Nikola Jokic, Winderman adds in a separate story. Morris didn’t accompany the team on its current four-game road trip, which means he will miss at least 10 games. “It was a very dangerous play and it’s really unfortunate,” Spoelstra said. “That’s the byproduct of those kind of dangerous actions. But he is feeling better. We’ll just continue to take it one day at a time.”
Rui Hachimura attended the Wizards‘ shootaround Saturday and is getting closer to making his season debut, tweets Josh Robbins of The Athletic. “The fact that he was able to go through parts of shootaround today were terrific,” said coach Wes Unseld Jr. “I think it’s just another step in his ramp-up. We still don’t have a definitive timetable, but every day it seems like it’s more.”
Mychal Mulder, who signed a two-way contract with the Magic late last month, enjoys being with his new team, notes Matt Murschel of The Orlando Sentinel. The former Warriors guard turned in his best performance of the season Saturday night as Orlando’s reserves nearly erased a 28-point deficit in Milwaukee. “We’ve got good chemistry all around, up and down the roster,” Mulder said. “Guys love playing with each other here. We like one another. We’re a unit and we’re connected. That connectedness in our group is going to show up over time.”

Eastern Notes: Sheppard, Anthony, Thybulle, Morris

November 20th, 2021 at 3:59pm CST by JD Shaw

Wizards president Tommy Sheppard is “grateful” for and “humbled” by his recent promotion with the franchise, he told NBC Sports Washington’s Chase Hughes. Sheppard had been serving as general manager and also received a multi-year contract extension.

“I’m just so grateful and I’m very humbled. I think it’s a reflection that we have good people here. I’m very, very grateful for all of them,” Sheppard said. “The thing I look forward to most every day is the people I work with, the people and the staff. I’m very grateful to Ted and his belief and his support. I look forward to greater days ahead.”

Sheppard constructed a Wizards roster that’s opened the season with a 10-5 record. Washington has succeeded despite Rui Hachimura (personal) and Thomas Bryant (torn ACL rehab) not appearing in a game to date.

The Wizards overhauled their roster this past offseason, signing Spencer Dinwiddie and trading for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Kyle Kuzma and Montrezl Harrell. The club was eliminated from the playoffs last year in a five-game, first-round series against the Sixers.

There’s more from the Eastern Conference tonight:

Magic guard Cole Anthony has suffered a sprained right ankle, the team announced on social media (Twitter link). Anthony will miss the club’s game against Milwaukee on Saturday. He’s averaging 19.6 points, 5.9 assists and 34.1 minutes per game on 42% shooting.
Sixers wing Matisse Thybulle will return from a seven-game COVID absence on Saturday against the Blazers, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes. Pompey notes that Thybulle isn’t scheduled to receive many minutes. The Sixers are still missing Joel Embiid (health and safety protocols), Danny Green (left hamstring tightness), and Ben Simmons (personal).
Heat veteran Markieff Morris (neck) isn’t traveling with the team for its four-game road trip, according to Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press (Twitter link). Morris has yet to play since being intentionally hit from behind by Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokic on Nov. 9 — an altercation that began with Morris’ hard foul in transition.

Injury Notes: Durant, Harris, J. Brown, Gay, Morris

November 15th, 2021 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Nets forward Kevin Durant, named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week earlier today, is putting up MVP-type numbers while playing through a sore right shoulder, writes Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. Durant admitted on Sunday that he’s been getting some treatment on the shoulder.

“He’s got a little tweak,” Nets head coach Steve Nash said. “But the ball still goes in the hole, so I think he’s hanging in there. I don’t think it’s the type of thing that we expect to get worse so he’s kind of playing through it, so it’s not terrible.”

Meanwhile, Durant’s teammate Joe Harris is dealing with a left ankle sprain, Youngmisuk says in the same story. Harris left Sunday’s game due to the injury, but Nash didn’t have an update on it after the game, so the severity remains unclear. Harris has, at least, been ruled out of the Nets’ Tuesday contest vs. Golden State, tweets Youngmisuk.

Here are a few more injury updates from around the NBA:

According to Celtics head coach Ime Udoka, Jaylen Brown (hamstring) went through on-court work on Sunday, but it was determined that isn’t ready to return to action yet (Twitter link via Chris Grenham of Forbes). Brown will remain on the shelf for Monday’s game in Cleveland, with the C’s hoping he can make it back later in the week.
Veteran forward Rudy Gay was among the players briefly assigned to the G League by the Jazz on Sunday, the team announced (via Twitter). Gay, who is recovering from offseason heel surgery, was back with Utah on Monday and went through practice in full, though head coach Quin Snyder remains reluctant to commit to a return date, tweets Tony Jones of The Athletic.
Heat forward Markieff Morris (neck/whiplash) will miss a fourth consecutive game on Monday night, as Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel tweets. Morris has been sidelined since his on-court altercation with Nikola Jokic last Monday.

Heat Notes: Morris, Haslem, Strus, Herro

November 10th, 2021 at 5:15pm CST by Arthur Hill

With a couple of days to cool down following Monday’s incident in Denver, Heat players are hoping to put the skirmish behind them, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Nuggets center Nikola Jokic was suspended for one game for striking Markieff Morris in the back following a hard foul late in Monday’s contest. Morris was fined $50K for the initial hit, while teammate Jimmy Butler received a $30K fine for “attempting to escalate” the conflict.

Morris suffered whiplash and has been ruled out of tonight’s game against the Lakers, Chiang adds. He was at the team’s shootout this morning, but didn’t participate and left for a doctor’s appointment without speaking to reporters.

“Obviously in a situation like that, alpha males and reactions take over,” said team captain Udonis Haslem. “A couple of days later, we all want what’s best for everybody. I don’t think Jokic is a bad guy. I actually love him as a basketball player and I love him as a person. I think he’s a really good guy. I think emotions just got the best of everybody.”

There’s more on the Heat:

Max Strus will miss his fifth straight game tonight with a sprained left knee, Chiang adds. Strus was initially listed as probable, but woke up with pain in the knee today following a workout Tuesday. “He had a really good day of work yesterday,” coach Erik Spoelstra said. “He’s definitely making progress and I think he needs a little bit more time.”
Tonight will mark Miami’s first meeting with Kendrick Nunn since he signed with the Lakers in free agency, notes Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. The Heat decided to rescind their qualifying offer to Nunn because of luxury tax concerns, but Spoelstra said he enjoyed the two years they spent together. “He surprised everybody in the league,” Spoelstra said. “He really contributed and helped us win at a high level. And he got better as a basketball player. And he developed a relationship with some that I know will continue. I’m a big fan of K-Nunn.”
The offseason addition of Kyle Lowry is one obvious reason for the Heat‘s 7-3 start, but Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer identifies a few more. One is the resurgence of Tyler Herro, who is back to being the dangerous offensive threat he was after the NBA’s restart in 2020. He’s averaging 20.3 PPG and has become a more efficient scorer in his third season.

Nikola Jokić Suspended; Markieff Morris, Jimmy Butler Fined

November 9th, 2021 at 9:12pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

As anticipated, the reigning NBA MVP, Nuggets center Nikola Jokić, has been suspended by the NBA following an on-court altercation with Heat forward Markieff Morris in last night’s 113-96 blowout Denver win.

The league announced (Twitter link) that Jokić will miss one game after shoving Morris from behind and giving him whiplash, though Morris had initially instigated contact with a mild shoulder check seconds prior. Both players were instantly ejected with Flagrant 2 foul calls.

As Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets, Jokić, a three-time All-Star, will lose $210,417 in salary as a result of his single-game suspension.

The NBA has also opted to fine Morris $50K for his role in the dispute. A bit more surprisingly, All-Star Heat small forward (and current 2022 MVP candidate) Jimmy Butler was dinged to the tune of $30K for “attempting to escalate” the conflict between the two players and “failing to comply with an NBA Security interview” about the incident, per the league’s statement. Though players from both the Nuggets and Heat rushed to the aid of their respective comrades, the league opted to single Butler out.

Jokić will thus miss the Nuggets’ next contest, a home matchup against the Pacers tomorrow night. Denver head coach Michael Malone said earlier today that, provided Jokić indeed was suspended, Denver would look to feature forwards Jeff Green, JaMychal Green, and Aaron Gordon more in the paint. Malone also floated the possibility that little-used young centers Bol Bol and Zeke Nnaji would get some run.

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