4:10pm: The Heat have officially waived Hammons, according to a team release.
3:20pm: The Heat will waive center A.J. Hammons in order to clear a roster spot to complete their acquisition of Dwyane Wade, tweets Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel.
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Hammons’ roster spot has been in jeopardy for much of his time with the Heat, ever since he was included in last offseason’s Josh McRoberts trade with the Mavericks for salary purposes. While the 25-year-old lasted over half the season on Miami’s roster, he didn’t appear in a single regular season game for the team. In 2016/17, Hammons averaged 2.2 PPG and 1.6 RPG in 22 games (7.4 MPG) for Dallas.
Hammons’ $1,312,611 salary for 2017/18 will remain on the Heat’s cap, assuming he goes unclaimed on waivers. Miami will also be on the hook for the big man’s $1,544,951 salary for 2018/19, though the Heat could spread that cap hit across three seasons if they want to.
I’m kind of surprised they didn’t dump Mickey. They could have used this summer and their new cash to try moving Hammon’s guaranteed ‘18-‘19 salary.
Jordan Mickey is useful, they like him, and they have been developing him. Hammons should have been gone a few months ago, and they could have eaten that minimum deal at any point