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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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