Okaro White Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Heat Have Explored Derrick Williams Trade

February 1st, 2017 at 9:04am CST by Luke Adams

The Heat are currently exploring ways to keep Okaro White on their roster when his second 10-day contract expires, and one avenue the team has looked into involves trading Derrick Williams, according to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. If Miami can’t find a taker for Williams, releasing him is also something the club will consider, says Jackson.

Williams, who signed a one-year deal with the Heat last summer, has appeared in 24 games this season, making 11 starts. He has averaged 6.1 PPG and 3.0 RPG in those contests, with a career-low .393 FG%, and has fallen out of the rotation in Miami in recent weeks, despite the fact that the team is missing a handful players due to injuries.

The Wizards are among the teams that might have interest in Williams, a source close to the player tells Jackson. But Washington would likely only seriously consider Williams if he were released. Jackson points out that teams below the salary cap floor could also take a look at claiming Williams off waivers if he’s cut, since more than half his $4.598MM salary has already been paid, but his full cap hit would count toward the salary floor.

As for White, he has emerged as a potential keeper for the Heat after having played a key role during the team’s recent winning streak. The rookie forward has averaged 4.6 PPG and 2.9 RPG in seven games (17.1 MPG), with an impressive shooting line of .526/.455/1.000.

White joined the Heat as a 16th man after the team was awarded a hardship exception. Such an exemption is available to clubs who have at least four players out with long-term injuries. Miami will likely continue to meet the criteria to carry a 16th player, since Justise Winslow, Chris Bosh, Josh Richardson, and Josh McRoberts aren’t close to a return.

However, an NBA spokesman confirmed to Jackson that league rules prevent Miami from simply signing White to a rest-of-season deal as a 16th man, meaning a roster move will be required if the club wants to hang onto him. White’s second 10-day deal will expire on Sunday night.

Southeast Notes: White, Mahinmi, Curry

January 28th, 2017 at 9:07am CST by Austin Kent

The recent play of 10-day contract signee Okaro White has the Heat reconsidering their roster. Originally added as a 16th man via a league hardship provision, White has had so much of an impact on the team that the franchise is reluctant to see him go now that Josh Richardson has returned to health.

That means it could be somebody like Derrick Williams who the Heat release instead, says Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel.

“I can assure you that White has made himself a keeper,” he writes in a Heat mailbag.

In five games with the Heat, White has proven an ability to contribute across the board. More importantly, with White in the rotation, the team hasn’t lost a game. Though they remain 14th in the Eastern Conference with their 17-30 record, the six-game win streak has given the team momentum.

There’s more out of the Southeast Division:

Since starting the year 3-9, the Wizards have emerged as a contender in the East. At the center of it all has been John Wall, finally getting the opportunity to play at full health, writes Howard Fendrich of the Associated Press. “This charge, the last seven or eight weeks,” head coach Scott Brooks said Thursday, “is because of [Wall’s] ability to lead us and get to the paint and give us a lot of open shots.”
Citing Friday’s loss to their former teammate Courtney Lee and the Knicks, Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer writes that the Hornets need to make a trade. “It doesn’t have to be splashy,” he says, just something that will “infuse some energy and scoring into the rotation.”
The Wizards have no intention of adding a big man if Ian Mahinmi will be deemed healthy enough to play during the final stretch of the season, writes J. Michael of CSN Mid-Atlantic. With regard to Mahinmi’s health, however, they’ll have to wait and see. During the summer, Mahinmi was signed to a four-year, $60MM deal. He’s played just one game of action with the team in 2016/17.
Like any star that returns to their hometown, Stephen Curry was asked about the possibility of him signing with the Hornets via free agency, writes Anthony Slater of The Mercury News. “I’ve gotten that since I’ve been in the league,” the Warriors guard said. “This is my home. So there’s obviously going to be an attachment to the city and that kind of chatter is something I’ve been asked about and dealt with since the first time I came back my rookie year. It’s fun. You know you have that support here. It just kind of is what it is.”

Heat Sign Okaro White To Second 10-Day Contract

January 27th, 2017 at 11:23am CST by Arthur Hill

11:23am: The signing is official, according to a tweet from the team.

10:06am: The Heat will sign power forward Okaro White to a second 10-day contract, tweets Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.

White joined the team on a 10-day deal January 17th after Miami was granted a hardship exception. He has appeared in four games, averaging 3.8 points, 3.0 rebounds and one block in 16.5 minutes of action.

Once the second 10-day deal expires, the Heat will have to decide whether to waive White or sign him for the rest of the season. He had been playing for the team’s D-League affiliate in Sioux Falls after being cut by Miami in training camp.

Heat Notes: Johnson, Waiters, White, Rebuild

January 24th, 2017 at 1:57pm CST by Luke Adams

The Heat still have one of the three worst records in the NBA, as our 2016/17 Reverse Standings show, but the team is on an out-of-nowhere four-game winning streak, prompting Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald to take a closer look at the primary contributors during the run. Jackson identifies a mix of younger players making a strong impression – such as Rodney McGruder, Okaro White, and Willie Reed – along with veterans who may end up being trade candidates for the club, like Dion Waiters and Luke Babbitt.

Here’s more on those players, along with a few more Heat notes:

Tyler Johnson isn’t traveling with the Heat this week on their two-game trip to Brooklyn and Chicago, but he doesn’t believe his left shoulder injury is serious, adding that it won’t require surgery. “I still think it’s day to day,” Johnson said, according to Jackson. “It’s not so much pain. More irritation.”
In a Monday mailbag, Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel explores whether it makes more sense for the Heat to hang onto the surging Dion Waiters as part of their long-term plan or to seriously explore moving him at the trade deadline.
As Winderman details for The Sun Sentinel, head coach Erik Spoelstra had plenty of praise for Okaro White, who is currently with the team as a 16th man. “We like his DNA, the fabric that it brings,” Spoelstra said of the undrafted rookie. “He’s not afraid of the moment. But he’s also trained with us. If he didn’t have that background of summer league, being here all summer, training camp and developing with us, I wouldn’t feel any kind of comfort level throwing him out there like that.”
While Heat president Pat Riley has completed successful roster revamps in the post, he has a “big challenge ahead” this time around, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said on Monday (link via Dave Hyde of The South Florida Sun Sentinel). As Kerr notes, when Golden State made its summer pitch to Kevin Durant, the presence of stars like Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green moved the needle significantly — Miami didn’t have that kind of player in attendance at its meeting with Durant.

Heat Sign Okaro White

January 17th, 2017 at 10:37am CST by Will Joseph

JANUARY 17: The Heat have formally announced the signing of White, issuing a team release to confirm the deal. While the team didn’t disclose the terms, it’s a 10-day contract, as Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel tweets.

JANUARY 15: The Heat will sign power forward Okaro White from their D-League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce, after Miami acquired a player exception, Shams Charania of The Vertical reports (Twitter link). The hardship exception was granted because Miami has four players that have missed at least three games, as Bobby Marks of The Vertical tweets. International journalist David Pick tweets that the Heat will make the signing on Monday and that it will be a 10-day pact.

The Heat have battled the injury bug all season with notable players missing significant time. Chris Bosh is out because of his ongoing battle with blood clots, second-year forward Justise Winslow is out for the year after shoulder surgery and veteran big man Josh McRoberts is sidelined indefinitely with a foot problem. It is unclear how long White will be with Miami, but the 24-year-old is averaging 18.4 ppg and 8.7 rpg while shooting 43% from the field for Sioux Falls.

White was cut by Miami after training camp before playing in the D-League. White went undrafted out of Florida State in 2014 and then headed overseas, spending the 2014/15 campaign with the Italian club Granarolo Bologna, where he averaged 12.2 points and 6.9 rebounds on the season. White then headed to Greece, notching averages of 13.9 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 26.8 minutes per outing. He shot .465/.337/.791 from the field on the year.

Heat Notes: 16th Man, Injuries, Richardson, Dragic

January 16th, 2017 at 12:29pm CST by Luke Adams

Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra confirmed today that the NBA has granted the team a harship exception, allowing for a 16th player to be added to the roster (Twitter link). According to Spoelstra, Miami has not yet determined which player will be added to the roster using that exemption (Twitter link). However, the Heat coach may simply be waiting until the move is official to formally discuss the team’s newest player — according to reports on Sunday, Miami is prepared to call up Okaro White from its D-League affiliate to take that 16th roster spot.

Here’s more on the Heat:

Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel explains why the Heat qualify for a hardship exception that allows them to add a 16th player, providing updates on where things stand on sidelined players like Chris Bosh, Josh McRoberts, and Justise Winslow.
Meanwhile, Josh Richardson will be sidelined for at least the next two weeks of action, Spoelstra confirmed today (Twitter link). When Richardson is ready to return, the Heat will have to part ways with someone to get back down to 15 players.
In a mailbag for The Sun Sentinel, Winderman discusses the possibility of the Heat matching up with the Magic for a Goran Dragic trade. In Winderman’s view, it makes sense for Miami to be patient if any such deal would involve a 2017 first-round pick, since the Heat would want to be sure that pick lands as high as possible in the draft. Of course, the further Orlando is from the playoff race in the East, the less likely the team is to part with a 2017 pick.
Within the same mailbag, Winderman also suggests that James Johnson and Wayne Ellington are more likely than someone like Derrick Williams to generate interest as trade chips.

Southeast Notes: Payton, Fournier, Waiters, White

December 26th, 2016 at 11:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

Magic point guard Elfrid Payton may have played well enough to win his starting job back, according to John Denton of NBA.com. Payton was among three players demoted when coach Frank Vogel changed the starting lineup November 27th. But Payton has raised his scoring average, assist totals and shooting percentages since the move, and Vogel is thinking about making him a starter again. “He’s competing and it’s my job to figure out if it’s best to keep him where he is and where he’s having success or to move him back in the starting lineup,’’ Vogel said. “I’m sure that we’ll probably look at that [starting him] at some point. I’d like to see him do this over a consistent stretch and I still might keep him where he is because he’s having success there. It’s just one of the things that I’m monitoring game to game.’’

There’s more from the Southeast Division:

The Magic have been without leading scorer Evan Fournier since Thursday because of a bruised right heel, Denton notes in the same story. Fournier has been trying ice, massages and stimulation to ease the pain on the heel, but he was forced to miss another game tonight. “It’s definitely getting better, but one of the bad things about the NBA is that when you have so many games and it takes a week or so, in that time you have three games,’’ he said.
Heat guard Dion Waiters may find his playing time limited when he returns from a groin injury, writes Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel. Waiters’ isolation game was useful when the team was shorthanded, but Winderman states that ball movement is now being emphasized and the development of Justise Winslow, Josh Richardson and Tyler Johnson at the wing spots is key to the team’s future. Waiters is considered very likely to opt out of the second season of his contract, and Winderman believes Miami may trade him before he can make that decision.
The Heat should consider unloading Luke Babbitt or Derrick Williams to make room for a younger prospect at power forward, Winderman suggests in the same piece. One possibility is Okaro White, who was cut by Miami in training camp and currently plays for the team’s D-League affiliate in Sioux Falls.

NBA D-League Affiliate Players For 2016/17

November 3rd, 2016 at 12:35pm CST by Luke Adams

Throughout the offseason, and in the weeks leading up to the start of the regular season, NBA teams are permitted to carry 20 players, but that total must be cut down to 15 in advance of opening night. However, up to four players waived by teams before the season can be designated as affiliate players and assigned to their D-League squads.

The players have some say in the decision — if they’d prefer to sign with a team overseas, or if they get an opportunity with another NBA club, they’re free to turn down their team’s request to have them play in the D-League. Most NBA and international teams have fairly set rosters by late October though, so having the opportunity to continue playing in the same system is appealing to many of those preseason cuts. Especially since they’ll maintain NBA free agency while they play in the D-League.

There are a few other rules related to D-League affiliate players. A player whose returning rights are held by a D-League team can’t be an affiliate player for another club, which is why undrafted free agents from the current year are commonly signed and assigned. Additionally, an affiliate player must have signed with his team during the current league year, which explains why we often see players signed and quickly waived in the days leading up to the regular season. And, of course, not every NBA team has a D-League affiliate, so clubs like the Hawks, Nuggets, or Clippers have no place to send affiliate players.

With all that in mind, here are the NBA D-League affiliate players to start the 2016/17 season:

Austin Spurs (San Antonio Spurs)

Canton Charge (Cleveland Cavaliers)

Jonathan Holmes
Eric Moreland

Delaware 87ers (Philadelphia 76ers)

Heat Part Ways With Five Players

October 22nd, 2016 at 3:06pm CST by Eddie Scarito

3:06pm: The Heat have announced via press release that the moves are official.

1:40pm: The Heat intend to part ways with Briante Weber, Beno Udrih, Okaro White, Luis Montero and Vashil Fernandez, Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel relays (All Twitter links). The team will be on the hook for $100K for White, $327,989 for Weber and $980,431 for Udrih, unless those players are claimed off waivers by another team.

Udrih played 36 games with Miami last season before agreeing to a buyout in February to help the team avoid the luxury tax, which certainly gained him some fans within the organization. In those 36 games for the Heat last season, Udrih averaged 4.4 points, 1.8 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 16.3 minutes per outing. He shot .434/.333/.882 from the field.

Weber, 23, appeared in a combined seven games with Miami and Memphis in 2015/16. He averaged 4.4 points, 3.6 rebounds and 3.0 assists in 24.1 minutes per outing while shooting .359/.000/.750.

White went undrafted out of Florida State in 2014 and then headed overseas, spending the 2014/15 campaign with the Italian club Granarolo Bologna, where he averaged 12.2 points and 6.9 rebounds on the season. White then headed to Greece, spending this past season with Aris BC, notching averages of 13.9 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 26.8 minutes per outing. He shot .465/.337/.791 from the field on the year.

A 6’7″ swingman from the Dominican Republic, Montero signed with the Heat after being waived by the Blazers earlier this month. He appeared in 12 games as a rookie last season for Portland, averaging 1.2 points and 0.3 rebounds per night in limited playing time. Montero played just one game this preseason for Portland before he was cut, scoring three points against Utah on October 3rd.

Fernandez went undrafted this June after spending his four-year college career at Valparaiso. The 6’10” big man averaged just 5.6 PPG during his senior season, but also chipped in 7.3 RPG and 3.3 BPG over the course of 36 games.

Heat Notes: Bosh, D-League, Winslow, Weber

September 6th, 2016 at 2:47pm CST by Luke Adams

Discussions between the Heat and Chris Bosh remain focused on the team’s comfort level with the All-Star big man taking new blood thinners, says Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. According to Jackson, those thinners would be out of Bosh’s system within eight hours or so, and the Heat are exploring ways for him to play while taking that type of medication. Jackson recently reported that Bosh’s camp was frustrated with the way the Heat had handled the situation. However, the club is trying to work on a solution, which has led to some optimism on both sides, according to Jackson.

Here’s more on Bosh and the Heat:

Former Florida Panthers player Tomas Fleischmann, who deals with blood clot issues frequently, has spoken to Bosh over the phone, according to Harvey Fialkov of The South Florida Sun Sentinel (Twitter links). Fialkov notes that Bosh “picked Fleischmann’s brain” on how he might be able to stay on the court while managing those health issues, with the NHL veteran advising the NBA veteran to continue his career.
Within his previously-linked piece, Jackson writes that it’s tough to imagine Rodney McGruder, Stefan Jankovic, or Okaro White making Miami’s regular-season roster unless the team trades or waives veterans. However, the Heat would like to stash all three players in the D-League.
Jackson’s piece also features rave reviews on Justise Winslow‘s development, with one Heat staffer asserting that we’ll “see a major difference” with Winslow’s jump shot in 2016/17. The 20-year-old has been working with a shooting specialist this summer.
In a pair of mailbags, Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel discusses Bosh’s situation, the potential Heat starter at shooting guard, and Briante Weber‘s roster spot — or possible lack thereof.