Miami Heat Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Southeast Notes: Herro, Burks, Hawks, Suggs

May 1st, 2025 at 3:59pm CST by Rory Maher

Heat guard Tyler Herro had an impressive regular season, making his first All-Star appearance and winning the three-point contest. He posted career highs in several statistics, including points (23.9) and assists (5.5) per game while making a career-best 77 appearances. The 25-year-old also struggled in the final two games of Miami’s first-round series with Cleveland, though the Heat were clearly overmatched against the top-seeded Cavs.

Herro, who is under contract through 2026/27, will be eligible for a three-year extension in October. Asked about the possibility of signing that extension, Herro made it clear that he wants to stay with the Heat, writes Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald.

“Not the biggest deal, but I would love to be here,” Herro said. “The front office, the organization, the city, everyone knows how much I love Miami. I’ve been here since I was 18, 19. I’ve got two kids here.

“This is really home for me. I love being here. Basketball is why I’m here at the end of the day. I want to win and I know how badly this organization and city want to win. We will see what happens. If it doesn’t get done in October, then we can get it done next summer. It will just be a little bit higher of a price.”

Here’s more from the Southeast:

While a few Heat veterans declined to speak to the media, guard Alec Burks would like to return to Miami, according to Jackson. “Hopefully I can come back,” said Burks, who will be an unrestricted free agent this summer after signing a one-year deal for the veteran’s minimum in 2024.
In a subscriber-only story for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Lauren Williams takes a look at which Hawks players are likely to return in ’25/26 and which players could be on different rosters next season. Unsurprisingly, young core players like Jalen Johnson, Dyson Daniels and Zaccharie Risacher fall into the former group, while impending free agents such as Caris LeVert and Clint Capela are in the latter.
At his end-of-season media availability on Thursday, Magic guard Jalen Suggs said undergoing season-ending knee surgery won’t change the physical way he defends opponents heading into ’25/26. “I ain’t changing a damn thing,” Suggs told Josh Robbins of The Athletic (Twitter link). “I ain’t going to lie. I ain’t changing nothing. That’s what all this (rehab) work is for.” Suggs, who made the All-Defensive Second Team last season, was limited to 35 games in ’24/25 due to injuries.

Heat Notes: Butler, Herro, Adebayo, Love, Jovic, Larsson

April 30th, 2025 at 7:30pm CST by Arthur Hill

Head coach Erik Spoelstra admitted Wednesday that the months-long drama involving Jimmy Butler brought “turbulent waters” to the Heat, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Butler was a distraction during the first half of the season, becoming unhappy when the team was unwilling to give him a contract extension and team president Pat Riley challenged him to be available for more regular season games. Butler publicly feuded with management and was suspended three times before being sent to Golden State shortly before the trade deadline.

Speaking at today’s exit interviews, Tyler Herro said the Butler situation was a distraction in the locker room.

“I think it was just the overall wondering when is it going to end,” Herro said. “That was kind of the main thing of when can we just focus on basketball? That’s what this profession is, it’s basketball. That’s what we’re here to do and that’s what we all get paid to do is play basketball. At the end of the day, that’s what we wanted to worry about.”

The Heat’s season didn’t get better after Butler was gone, as they posted a 12-21 record following the trade and suffered through a 10-game losing streak in March. They were able to win eight of their last 12 regular season games and made history by becoming the first 10th seed to advance through the play-in tournament, but the season crashed to an end with a first-round sweep by Cleveland and 37- and 53-point losses in their two home playoff games.

“When I say it’s a memorable season, the memories will be like the last four weeks,” Spoelstra said. “The rest of the season was a grind. But we finally started to turn the corner even during the losing streak and you felt momentum, you felt progress, you felt like everybody was coming together and it led to two play-in games. … All the other adversities, it made me better. I’ve never been in a situation like that, to try to keep a locker room together and to try to handle it during those weeks. But then also to fully change course stylistically in how to play and what to emphasize at the All-Star break. That was an invigorating challenge.”

There’s more from Miami:

Bam Adebayo talked about the need for changes after Game 4, but he declined to get into specifics while speaking with reporters today, Chiang and Barry Jackson add in a separate story. “That’s more of a Pat Riley question,” Adebayo said. “I hope you can ask that question to him and he doesn’t blow you off. He knows how much I want to win. We want to be in the best way possible to do that. After he talks to you, he will probably talk to me and we will figure out what happens.”
Kevin Love confirms that he intends to continue playing next season, according to Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press (Twitter link). The 36-year-old big man, who has one year left on his contract at $4.15MM, missed 22 games this year while caring for his ailing father, former NBA player Stan Love, who passed away over the weekend.
Nikola Jovic will represent Serbia and Pelle Larsson will play for Sweden at this summer’s EuroBasket (Twitter links from Reynolds).

Heat Notes: Sweep, Draft, Free Agents, Grades, Offseason Outlook

April 29th, 2025 at 8:18pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Heat got a serious dose of reality in the playoffs, getting swept by Cleveland in the opening round and losing Game 4 by 55 points, which coach Erik Spoelstra described as a humbling experience.

“These last two games were embarrassing, but Cleveland is also a very good team,” he said, per Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald. “We won whatever we won, they won 64 games. We’re as irrational as we usually are, thinking that we have a chance to win this series and they showed us why we weren’t ready for that.”

Changes are coming for a team that had to fight out of the play-in tournament just to get the last playoff seed in the Eastern Conference.

“As an organization, yeah, we’re going to look at this and say this is unacceptable,” Spoelstra said. “We got to get to another level.”

We have more on the Heat:

Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald details the draft assets the Heat have and the free agent decisions they must make this summer. Miami possesses the No. 20 pick, courtesy of the Jimmy Butler trade, but Oklahoma City will get their pick at No. 15. Other than the No. 20 pick, the Heat can only use their 2030 first-rounder in a trade before or during the draft. The team will likely issue Davion Mitchell a qualifying offer to make him a restricted free agent but that doesn’t necessarily mean the front office would match any offer sheet. The Heat also have to figure out what to do with Duncan Robinson‘s partially guaranteed contract.
Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel handed out his regular season and postseason grades for each player, with Tyler Herro, Bam Adebayo and Mitchell at the top of the class and Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Terry Rozier drawing a D-minus and F, respectively, for the regular season, and matching F’s for the playoffs.
Patience must be exercised as the Heat look for ways to improve, ESPN Insider Bobby Marks opines in his offseason outlook. They have some expiring contracts to dangle and could have much more flexibility to chase free agents in the 2026 offseason if they’re prudent. HoopsHype’s Mark Deeks also takes an extensive look at the Heat’s offseason, including the contract situation for each player on the roster.

Heat Notes: Jaquez, Elimination, Herro, Adebayo, Anderson

April 28th, 2025 at 5:29pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Jaime Jaquez Jr.‘s second NBA season hasn’t gone as smoothly as his rookie campaign. Jaquez has been out of the Heat‘s rotation in their playoff series against Cleveland after getting steady playing time last season.

“Obviously, it’s frustrating as a competitor,” Jaquez told Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald. “As a player, you want to be in the game playing. But seasons come with ups and downs. I think more than anything, you take it as a learning experience. It will help you grow as a player and as a person to go through adversity like this. If you make it out to the other side, then you’re going to see what you become.”

Jaquez averaged 8.6 points per game this season on a lower shooting percentage than last season, when he averaged 11.9 PPG and made 48.9 percent of his attempts.

“There’s going to be struggles throughout your career,” he said. “You don’t want to shy away from those. Obviously, there have been a lot of ups and downs with some bad luck with some illnesses and then obviously getting hurt. But I think it’s given me a great opportunity to just learn, learn a lot about myself and about the game and take this time to just continue to work on my craft, work on my routine and continue to get better as a professional.”

Here’s more on the Heat:

They’re facing elimination tonight and staring at a 3-0 deficit in the series. NBA teams are 0-158 in playoff series after falling behind 3-0, Chiang notes. “This is our reality right now. But like I told the guys, it’s not time to let go of the rope,” guard Tyler Herro said. “We’re going to play until the final buzzer, whether that’s next game, Game 5, 6, 7 or another series after this. We just got to keep playing. That’s what we’re paid to do and that’s who we are as an organization. We want to compete and we’re not going out 4-0.”
Herro pumped in 33 points in Game 2 but was held to 13 points in Game 3, as the Cavaliers limited him to a series-low 46 touches, according to Chiang. “I’m coming off and they’re not allowing me to get any handoffs or coming off pindowns or anything like that,” he said. “Just pretty much face-guarding me and guiding me into the corner.” Herro and his teammates will have to find counters for that strategy if they want to extend the series.
Bam Adebayo has become more comfortable attempting three-pointers this season and that’s reflected in the volume of his long-range shots through the first three playoff games. He has taken 17 and made six. “He has good balance about it, of being rugged and aggressive at the rim and in the pant, because we need that as well … he’s a very good shooter,” coach Erik Spoelstra told Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
Kyle Anderson was added to the injury report for Monday’s game due to an illness, Chiang tweets. However, he is available, Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press tweets. Anderson has only seen the floor for six minutes during the series.

Kevin Love Announces Death Of His Father, Ex-NBA Player Stan Love

April 28th, 2025 at 9:02am CST by Arthur Hill

Kevin Love, who has been away from the Heat for personal reasons, announced Sunday on Instagram that his father, former NBA player Stan Love, has died, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald.

“The best last lesson one generation can teach the next: how to die with peace about how you’ve lived,” Kevin Love wrote. “This may be my Dad’s greatest gift. Teaching me that healing happens in your soul and that healing is there for the taking, even in the face of imminent death. Dad loved his family unconditionally and left his children with one of life’s great lessons.”

The elder Love, who was 76, was selected by the Baltimore Bullets with the ninth pick in the 1971 draft. He was traded to the Lakers in 1973 and played one year with San Antonio in the ABA before his career ended in 1975. He finished with career averages of 6.6 points and 3.9 rebounds in 239 games. Stan Love is also famous for being the younger brother of Beach Boys singer Mike Love.

Chiang notes that Kevin Love missed Miami’s final 10 regular season games and 22 overall while caring for his father. He returned for the first play-in tournament contest on April 16 against Chicago, but then had to leave again. He has been ruled out for tonight’s home game against Cleveland as the Heat try to avoid a sweep in their first-round series.

“We could use his voice,” Bam Adebayo said following Saturday’s loss. “But K-Love is going through a lot right now. We text him here and there. But understanding we still got to play the game, still got to figure it out, still got to figure out how to get one win. And that’s what we’ll worry about on Monday.”

Love, 36, has moved into a veteran leadership role for the Heat in his 17th NBA season. He appeared in just 23 games, making nine starts and averaging 5.3 points and 4.1 rebounds in 10.9 minutes per night.

He has one year remaining on his contract at $4.15MM, and he’s expected to continue playing next season.

“We feel for him and what he’s going through right now,” coach Erik Spoelstra said. “So the thoughts are more about that, being there for him. We all know how much he means to us in our locker room, but this transcends that.”

Heat Notes: Game 3 Loss, Starting Lineup, Ware, Herro

April 26th, 2025 at 9:57pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Heat were hoping to make their series against the top-seeded Cavaliers competitive after a close call Wednesday at Cleveland. Instead, they suffered the worst playoff loss in franchise history on Saturday and are staring at a likely insurmountable 3-0 deficit, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald.

Miami built an early 15-6 lead, but things fell apart quickly as the Cavs strung together a 33-5 run to put the game out of reach. The lead got up to 40 points in the second half as Miami fans expressed their displeasure with the effort.

“Once we jumped on them at the start of the game, then they just took control of it from there and it became an avalanche going the other direction,” coach Erik Spoelstra said. “And sometimes when you care, there’s a level of discouragement that kind of fed into that avalanche and that’s what we all feel disappointed about.”

The Cavaliers dominated the game near the basket, registering 11 dunks and outscoring Miami 60-30 in the paint. Cleveland also collected 13 offensive rebounds while building a 22-10 advantage in second-chance points and had a 21-11 edge in points off turnovers.

“I know how much everybody cares,” Spoelstra added. “We just laid an egg today. A big part of it was Cleveland.”

There’s more from Miami:

Davion Mitchell replaced Alec Burks in the starting lineup for Game 2, and Spoelstra went with the same approach on Saturday, Chiang adds. The starting five kept the game even during their 13 minutes together, but Miami was outscored by 37 points otherwise. Chiang notes that Cleveland was relentless in its attack on rookie center Kel’el Ware, who is minus-24 in 57 minutes so far in the series. “I understand he’s being fed through a fire hose,” Spoelstra said. “… We’re coaching him hard and I feel for him because there’s an expectation that he has to be there like a vet. These are important learning experiences.”
In an interview with Jared Weiss of The Athletic, Tyler Herro speculates that Miami’s season would have turned out much better if Jimmy Butler hadn’t forced a trade. Butler, who played just 25 games with the Heat this season before being dealt to Golden State in February, provided Herro with a complementary offensive weapon. “Obviously, I know I need Jimmy to win. If we had Jimmy right now, I feel like it’d be a completely different situation,” Herro said. “We probably wouldn’t even be the eighth seed. So finding that middle balance of like, damn, we need him, but also understanding, sh–, that’s his career and what he wants is ultimately his right to want what he wants. It was just tough to be in the middle of both sides.”
Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson commented on this week’s war of words between Herro and Darius Garland, Weiss tweets. “I don’t control what they say at all,” Atkinson said. “… Tyler is a great player, he’s an All-Star. Great competitor on both ends, much like Darius. It’s like the playground, you got someone you’re going at at both ends and there’s some verbal stuff that’s overblown. But once the ball goes up, none of it matters.”

Cavs’ Darius Garland Sidelined For Game 3

April 26th, 2025 at 11:51am CST by Luke Adams

Cavaliers point guard Darius Garland will be unavailable for Game 3 vs. Miami due to his left great toe sprain, the team announced in its last injury report prior to Saturday afternoon’s tip-off.

Garland was affected by the toe issue earlier this month, missing two of Cleveland’s final three regular season games as a result of the injury. According to Jared Weis of The Athletic (Twitter link), the 25-year-old aggravated the injury during Game 2 on Wednesday and wasn’t able to take part in a pregame warm-up on Saturday after initially being listed as questionable.

The hope, a team source tells Weiss, is that sitting out today will allow Garland to heal up and return on Monday for Game 4 in Miami.

Garland’s absence comes on the heels of an eventful media cycle involving him and Heat guard Tyler Herro. Following Wednesday’s Cavs victory, Garland told reporters that “pick on Herro” was a central facet of the team’s offensive game plan, prompting Herro to fire back two days later to criticize Garland’s defense.

Heat big man Bam Adebayo told the media that Herro’s teammates took Garland’s comments “personal,” adding that the Cavs guard “cannot hide,” but Miami won’t get the opportunity to go after him on the court for at least a couple more days.

Sharpshooter Sam Merrill will start in Garland’s place, Weiss notes.

Heat’s Herro Fires Back At Cavs’ Garland After Jab About Defense

April 25th, 2025 at 7:36pm CST by Luke Adams

The Cavaliers made it fairly clear based on their offensive strategy in the first two games of their series vs. the Heat that they were targeting a perceived weak link on Miami’s defense. Asked about the Cavs’ game plan after Wednesday’s Game 2 victory, point guard Darius Garland confirmed as much, per Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (subscription required).

“Pick on Tyler Herro,” Garland said. “Don’t play in tight spaces and pick on their weak defenders. Go at them.”

According to NBA.com’s data, the Cavaliers have attempted 33 shots through two games with Herro as the primary defender, making 21 of them (63.6%). No other Heat player has a higher number of field goals against (in terms of both makes and attempts) in the series.

Herro and the Heat didn’t have a media session on Thursday, but when the team spoke to reporters on Friday, the All-Star guard knew he’d be asked about Garland’s comments and didn’t hold back his feelings about them.

“To go to the media to talk about the game plan and this and that says a lot about him. I’m not worried about Darius Garland,” Herro said, according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst. “Somebody that doesn’t play defense shouldn’t be talking, either. He don’t play any defense and we’ll see that tomorrow. He don’t play no D.”

To Herro’s point, Heat players have made 12-of-18 shots (66.7%) in the first two games of the series with Garland as their primary defender, per NBA.com.

As Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald writes, Herro downplayed the idea that Garland’s comments would further motivate him, telling reporters that he has “enough fuel in me” and doesn’t need any more from “that guy over there.” However, teammate Bam Adebayo, who came to his teammate’s defense, suggested Garland’s remarks would make for good bulletin-board material for the rest of the Heat.

“(He) cannot hide,” Adebayo said. “He said what he said. We all take that personal.”

Both Garland and Herro told Joe Vardon of The Athletic that they have a good relationship, but as Vardon writes, that doesn’t mean the trash talk between them isn’t real.

“I mean, I’m not f—ing around. I don’t think there’s anything to f— around about,” Herro told The Athletic on Friday. “But we had said some words to each other on the court and then looked like he was in his feelings to go to the media to say that after the game. I mean, that kind of says everything right there.”

As we relayed earlier on Friday, Garland is listed as questionable to play in Game 3 due to a left big toe sprain.

Injury Notes: Butler, Garland, Heat, Bucks

April 25th, 2025 at 6:38pm CST by Luke Adams

Warriors swingman Jimmy Butler has been listed as questionable to play on Saturday vs. Houston and was referred to by head coach Steve Kerr on Friday as “day-to-day,” according to Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. Kerr isn’t ruling out the possibility of Butler suiting up for Game 3.

“I’m relatively optimistic,” Kerr said. “I mean, Jimmy is Jimmy. We know he’s willing to play through anything, so we’ll see. I mean, this is a day-to-day thing for sure, and we’ll see how he feels tomorrow, but I think there’s a chance he plays.”

Kerr noted Butler’s injury is “very similar” to the one Stephen Curry suffered in March, which cost the Warriors star two games.

“It’s a pain tolerance thing, that’s why he’s day-to-day,” Kerr added.

Butler isn’t the only Warrior whose status for Saturday’s contest is up in the air. Veteran guard Gary Payton II has been listed as questionable due to a right shoulder strain after averaging just under 14 minutes per night in the first two games of the series, Youngmisuk notes.

The good news for Golden State is that guard Brandin Podziemski isn’t listed on the injury report after being limited to 14 minutes in Game 2 due to an illness. Podziemski said he’s ready to go for Game 3.

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

Cavaliers point guard Darius Garland is listed as questionable to play in Game 3 vs. Miami on Saturday due to a big toe sprain on his left foot, tweets Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Garland has averaged 24.0 points and 7.0 assists per night in the first two games of the series, both Cleveland wins.
Heat big man Kevin Love (personal reasons) and guard Terry Rozier (left ankle sprain) will remain out for Game 3 on Saturday, but the rest of the roster is available, per Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel (Twitter links). Rozier was unable to practice on Friday due to his ankle injury, Winderman adds.
While neither player would have been in the rotation, the Bucks have ruled out Tyler Smith (left ankle sprain) and Chris Livingston (personal reasons) for Friday’s Game 3 vs. Indiana, the team announced (Twitter links).
In case you missed it, while Shams Charania reported that Grizzlies star Ja Morant would miss Game 4 on Saturday vs. Oklahoma City due to his hip injury, Memphis isn’t entirely closing the door on the possibility of Morant suiting up, having listed him as doubtful. His injury designation is a hip contusion.

Southeast Notes: Salaun, Mann, Magic, Heat

April 24th, 2025 at 11:02pm CST by Tristan Tucker

Hornets forward Tidjane Salaun got thrown into the deep end earlier than expected as a rookie due to the team’s extensive injury list. His first NBA season had highs and lows, Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer writes, but ultimately Salaun showed glimpses of what he can be at the next level and displayed what president of basketball operations Jeff Peterson values in building a contender.

“I had a lot of experience during this year,” Salaun said. “That was cool, to be around all of these guys, this organization. And yeah, my role was different so I could have more time than I think [was expected] but that was great. All of this experience is going to translate into everything for next season.”

Salaun ended the year averaging 5.9 points and 4.7 rebounds per game in 60 outings, including 10 starts.

“I would say he had a season that was probably pretty consistent with being the second-youngest player in the NBA,” Peterson said. “There were some good moments and there were some not-so-good moments. None of that came as a surprise to us. We knew there was going to be a learning curve. You come from the French league and then try to assimilate to this level playing against grown men, it’s hard. It’s really, really hard at this level, and we knew it would take some time.”

We have more from the Southeast Division:

Hornets guard Tre Mann looked to be a big part of Charlotte’s game plan early in the season, averaging 14.1 points across 24.5 minutes per night in his first 13 games. However, he suffered a season-ending back injury in November, and his future with the team seems to be shrouded in mystery, according to Boone. Mann is eligible to be a restricted free agent this summer.
In order to have a chance against the defending champion Celtics, the Magic will need to get more physical, Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel writes. In another piece, the Orlando Sentinel’s Jason Beede explains why the Magic feel good about avoiding a sweep against Boston and recognize the areas where they match up favorably. “Defensive intensity is always there for us,” forward Paolo Banchero said. “We know we can hold these guys under their [scoring average]. We know we can guard them. It’s just these little runs that we let them go on is what kills us.”
The Heat‘s draft pick situation was in flux all season, but they ended up with the 20th overall pick via the Jimmy Butler-to-the-Warriors trade while sending their own pick to Oklahoma City as a result of making the playoffs, Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald writes. “This time is the recalibration,” Heat vice president of basketball operations and assistant general manager Adam Simon said. “You find out where you’re picking. If you’re in the lottery, you go from there. But that’s not the case for us right now. And then we’re waiting for the early entry list to come out and that basically fires off the gun to start the race to the draft.”