Heat Notes: Deadline, Powell, Mitchell, Smith, Spoelstra
The Heat are often linked to star-level players and this season has been no exception, per Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel. Giannis Antetokounmpo and Ja Morant are among the noteworthy players who have been connected to the Heat over the past several weeks.
Still, unlike last year when a Jimmy Butler trade was an inevitability, there aren’t any Heat players looking to be sent out of Miami over the next 10 days. The Heat have good locker room chemistry, Winderman writes, but they’ve also had middling results again, currently just 25-22 and on pace to be in the play-in tournament for the fourth straight season.
Winderman takes stock of the Heat’s assets and potential trade candidates, noting that staying under the luxury tax line — they’re currently $1.6MM below that threshold — will be a priority this season.
One path the Heat could take prior to the February 5 deadline would be to consider dealing Norman Powell or Andrew Wiggins to potentially land another first-round pick, Winderman notes. Miami can currently only trade away two first-rounders (in 2030 and ’32) due to the Stepien rule, but adding another first would unlock additional picks to improve the roster.
Here’s more on the Heat:
- Powell’s recent shooting slump have coincided with lower back tightness, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. The veteran wing finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds in Sunday’s win at Phoenix, but shot just 5-of-21 from the field. “There’s more to basketball than just putting the ball in the basket,” Powell said. “There’s leading, there’s giving yourself up. I’ve done that this whole week with playing hurt with my back spasm and everything like that. But tonight I wanted to make an emphasis on getting rebounds and securing the ball so we can get out in transition, and I was able to do that and get my double-double.”
- Starting point guard Davion Mitchell, who aggravated a left shoulder injury last Tuesday in Sacramento, missed his third straight game on Sunday, Chiang adds. “He’s definitely making progress, but we need to go through some kind of workout where he takes contact and then see how he responds to that,” head coach Erik Spoelstra said when asked for an update on Mitchell’s status ahead of Sunday’s game. “But everything else is trending in a really good way.”
- Spoelstra praised backup guard Dru Smith for his play in the weekend victories in Utah and Phoenix, according to Winderman. “Dru was great both games,” Spoelstra said. “It was almost like a misprint. I think he had five steals (Saturday) night, but I think it was like 13 or 14 deflections. It was crazy.” As Winderman notes, Smith’s role may be tenuous when Mitchell and Tyler Herro (rib injury) are healthy again, but he says he’s focused on making the most of his minutes rather than how much he’s playing.
- Spoelstra, the new head coach of Team USA, is more focused on the Heat at the moment than his summer job, but he said he met with USA Basketball managing director Grant Hill and team director Sean Ford in November. “Right now, there’s not a whole lot of action going on,” Spoelstra said, per Winderman. “I’ve kept in touch with both Grant Hill and Sean Ford, and we met up probably two months ago. But it was more general talks of two summers from now and scheduling, and what that’ll look like. We’ll probably get together in some fashion this summer for a little bit more extended time. I don’t know if we’ll do anything with players, but certainly we’ll meet. I love the whole process, so of course when we play and compete against teams, there’s players that will come to mind. But I’m not sweating that right now. That’s really for Grant. It’ll be a collaborative effort. But there’s plenty of time for that.”
Flagg, Knueppel, Edgecombe Among Rising Stars Participants
The 2026 Rising Stars event will feature 11 sophomores, 10 rookies and seven G League representatives, the NBA announced in a press release. The mini-tournament will take place at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California on February 13.
Here’s the full list of participants:
Rookies
- Cedric Coward, Grizzlies
- Dylan Harper, Spurs
- Egor Dёmin, Nets
- Tre Johnson, Wizards
- VJ Edgecombe, Sixers
- Kon Knueppel, Hornets
- Jeremiah Fears, Pelicans
- Collin Murray-Boyles, Raptors
- Cooper Flagg, Mavericks
- Derik Queen, Pelicans
Sophomores
- Matas Buzelis, Bulls
- Alex Sarr, Wizards
- Stephon Castle, Spurs
Reed Sheppard, Rockets- Donovan Clingan, Trail Blazers
- Cam Spencer, Grizzlies
- Kyshawn George, Wizards
- Jaylon Tyson, Cavaliers
- Ajay Mitchell, Thunder
- Kel’el Ware, Heat
- Jaylen Wells, Grizzlies
G League
- Sean East II, Salt Lake City Stars (Jazz‘s affiliate)
- Alijah Martin, Raptors 905
- Ron Harper Jr., Maine Celtics
- Tristen Newton, Rio Grande Valley Vipers (Rockets‘ affiliate)
- David Jones Garcia, Austin Spurs
- Yang Hansen, Rip City Remix (Trail Blazers‘ affiliate)
- Yanic Konan Niederhauser, San Diego Clippers
All 10 of the rookies — headlined by No. 1 overall pick Flagg, No. 3 Edgecombe, and No. 4 Knuppel — were lottery selections in last year’s draft, notes ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter links). By contrast, only five of the sophomores were lottery picks, with three being first-rounders outside of the lottery and three picked in the second round.
NBA assistant coaches selected the 21 rookies and sophomores, according to the release, and those players will be drafted onto three different seven-player teams on Tuesday at 6:00 pm CT on Peacock. Carmelo Anthony, Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady will draft and be the “honorary coaches” of the three squads, while Austin Rivers will be the honorary coach for the G League representatives.
The four actual head coaches will be assistants from the All-Star game coaching staffs.
Six of the seven players representing the G League are actually on NBA contracts: Yang (No. 16) and Niederhauser (No. 30) were 2025 first-round picks, while Martin, Harper, Newton and Garcia are on two-way deals with their respective clubs. East, who played in Canada and Romania last season, is the lone player on an actual G League contract after Utah waived him in the fall.
Dylan Harper, the No. 2 pick in the 2025 draft, is the younger brother of Ron Harper Jr. Both players are the sons of longtime NBA guard Ron Harper, who won five championships with the Bulls and Lakers.
As for the tournament itself, the four teams will face off in a single-elimination semifinal, with the two winners competing in the final. The semifinal is first to 40 points, whereas the final will be first to 25.
Luka Doncic, Immanuel Quickley Named Players Of Week
Lakers guard Luka Doncic and Raptors guard Immanuel Quickley have been named the Western and Eastern Conference Players of the Week, respectively, according to the NBA (Twitter links). The award covers Week 14 of the season, from Jan. 19-25.
Doncic led his team to a 2-1 record last week by averaging 34.3 points, 10.7 rebounds and 9.7 assists per contest. His best game came in Denver on Tuesday when he posted a 38-point triple-double in a road victory over the Nuggets. He also beat his former team in Dallas on Sunday en route to his second Player of the Week award of the season.
Quickley, who was named Player of the Week for the first time in his career, lifted the Raptors to four straight road victories by averaging 25.3 points on 61.1% shooting while contributing 6.8 rebounds and 6.8 assists per game. He matched a career high by racking up 40 points (on 11-of-13 shooting) in Tuesday’s win over Golden State.
Quickley’s name has popped up in rumors recently, with Toronto reportedly gauging his trade value.
Saddiq Bey (Pelicans), Kevin Durant (Rockets), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Thunder), James Harden (Clippers) and Naji Marshall (Mavericks) were the other Player of the Week nominees from the Western Conference.
Bam Adebayo and Norman Powell (Heat), Jalen Duren (Pistons), Jalen Johnson (Hawks), Donovan Mitchell (Cavaliers) and Coby White (Bulls) were also nominated for Eastern Conference recognition.
Meeting Sparked Saturday's Win; Jovic Discusses Struggles
- Head coach Erik Spoelstra and star big man Bam Adebayo had some heated words during a team meeting on Saturday morning ahead of the Heat‘s blowout victory over Utah, writes Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel. “Spo kind of went off on us, especially on Bam, which I think kind of set the tone,” Nikola Jovic said. “When you start talking to the captain first, we just knew we had to take more responsibility and be more locked in. So I think it’s simple as that. Just maybe we had a little more pressure on us and it helped.” Spoelstra was upset by the team’s defensive performance in Thursday’s loss at Portland. For his part, Adebayo downplayed the exchange, Winderman adds. “I mean, it definitely is clearing the air in the room,” Adebayo said. “All that being said, we like when coach confronts us. It’s just he’s gotta be prepared when we bark back. We’re all grown men at the end of the day, so we don’t like what he said, we can always have a man-to-man conversation.”
- Fourth-year forward Jovic is having a down season after inking a four-year, $62.4MM rookie scale extension in October. He says he’s still adjusting to Heat‘s new motion-based offense, according to Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. “I’m adapting,” Jovic said. “Like I always say, whatever coaches need us to do, I’ll do it. I mean, I’m not a guy who you build a system around right now. We’re not going to build our offense around me. So for right now, it’s just whatever coaches need me to do and whatever playstyle they want to play, I just have to adapt. So I don’t think post-ups are going to be a big part of the game. Maybe at one point.”
Southeast Notes: Hornets, Wizards, Heat, Herro
Rookies Kon Knueppel, Sion James, Ryan Kalkbrenner and Liam McNeeley have re-energized the Hornets’ franchise, Steve Aschburner of NBA.com writes. Knueppel is challenging top pick and college teammate Cooper Flagg for Rookie of the Year honors.
“I knew the four guys we were bringing in … they were just so secure in themselves,” president of basketball operations Jeff Peterson said. “They’re about their team and that we win. And they all complement each other.”
All of the rookies, save McNeeley, have made a significant impact.
“The way they come in the building every day with their energy, with their curiosity to learn,” coach Charles Lee said. “Even from the standpoint of Liam [who has split time in the NBA G League], he’s brought a new term for us to break our huddles.”
Here’s more from the Southeast Division:
- The Wizards made history on Saturday afternoon. Their starting lineup was the youngest since the league began tracking starters in 1970/71, per Elias, the team tweets. That includes the first career start for Will Riley. The average age of the starting five was 20.64 years old. The Wizards had seven players ruled out, including Khris Middleton, who was initially listed as questionable (Twitter link). Alex Sarr, Kyshawn George, Tre Johnson and Bub Carrington were the other starters.
- Injuries have impacted the Heat after a strong start, the Miami Herald’s Anthony Chiang notes. The Heat are just one game over .500 after going 9-15 in their past 24 games, and they have yet to win consecutive games in January. Injury issues have resulted in Miami using four different starting lineups in the past six games. “Just got to be more consistent,” big man Bam Adebayo said. “We can’t front-run. Every game has to be, we hold the line on defense from the start of the game. And then from the start of the game to the start of the third, and we figure it out from there. We’re having too many games where we’ll play great defense one night. Another night, we’ll kind of take off. So that’s got to be the difference. We’ve just got to be more consistent on that end, even if we’re missing or making shots.”
- The Heat’s trade deadline approaching could hinge on Tyler Herro‘s health issues, Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel opines. Trading Norman Powell, without any confidence that Herro can return to form, would seem like capitulation and that’s not Miami’s style. There isn’t another scorer on the roster capable of stepping into that void to at least keep the Heat competitive if they trade Powell and Herro remains out or limited.
Southeast Notes: Magic, Ware, Heat, Wizards, Hornets
The Magic were blown out at home by the Hornets on Thursday, falling 124-97 to a team that trailed them by eight games in the standings entering the contest. Although Orlando was missing starters Franz Wagner (ankle) and Jalen Suggs (knee), several Magic players expressed frustration after the loss about the club’s inconsistent play, writes Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel (subscription required).
“There’s no true identity to our team right now,” Magic swingman Desmond Bane said. “And it’s hard to win on a consistent basis when you don’t have (a) calling card.”
Since having a three-game winning streak snapped on December 3, the Magic hold a 10-12 record and haven’t won more than two games in a row.
Orlando has been one of the NBA’s best defensive teams in recent years, finishing last season with the league’s second-best defensive rating, behind only the champion Thunder. But the Magic rank 13th in that category this season and haven’t been any better on the other end of the court — they’re 19th in offensive rating.
“I’m never a fan of saying that there’s two sides of the ball, and we’ve got to figure this out on this side,” center Moritz Wagner said. “They’re connected and, generally speaking, when you look at the swag, the energy and the spirit, it just feels not up to par to our standard and we’ve got to figure that out.”
Here are a few more notes from around the Southeast:
- Heat center Kel’el Ware missed a second straight game on Thursday due to a right hamstring strain and will be out on Saturday in Utah and Sunday in Phoenix too, per Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel (subscription required). Ware was sent home from the team’s road trip in order to receive additional treatment on his ailing hamstring. “I don’t think it’ll be a long-term thing, but I don’t have a specific timeline on it,” head coach Erik Spoelstra said. “We’ll just wait until we get back to Miami. He had a good day today. They’ll work the next few days, and we expect there to be some progress.”
- Former Heat employee Marcos Tomas Perez, who pleaded guilty last August to transporting and transferring stolen goods in interstate commerce, has been sentenced to three years in prison and ordered to pay $1.9MM in restitution, Angie DiMichele writes for the Sun Sentinel (subscription required). As DiMichele details, Perez worked in the Heat’s security department from 2016-21 and was arrested after being accused of stealing millions of dollars in game-worn jerseys and other team memorabilia.
- With an eye toward the winter storm headed for the Charlotte area, the NBA has moved up the tip-off time for Saturday’s Wizards/Hornets game from 6:00 pm to 12:00 pm local (Eastern) time (Twitter link). Charlotte isn’t the only NBA city likely to be hit by that storm this weekend, but that matchup between Southeast rivals is the only game whose start time has been impacted so far.
Siegel’s Latest: MPJ, Warriors, Murphy, Giannis, Wolves, Magic
The Warriors had internal discussions about the possibility of pursuing Nets forward Michael Porter Jr. but received indications that the asking price would be higher than they’re comfortable with, according to Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints. The Lakers also aren’t expected to pursue Porter, Siegel writes, since they’re not looking to take on that sort of a big-money contract at this time (Porter is owed $40.8MM in 2026/27).
The Nets have conveyed to potential trade partners that they’re comfortable keeping Porter beyond this season, per Siegel, so if their asking price isn’t met, there’s a good chance he’ll remain in Brooklyn through the trade deadline.
While a Porter deal doesn’t seem likely, Siegel says the Warriors remain on the lookout for wings and have been linked to veterans like DeMar DeRozan of the Kings and old friend Andrew Wiggins, who was sent to the Heat in last season’s Jimmy Butler trade. It remains to be seen whether Miami will look to move Wiggins, but there’s still “a lot of mutual love” between the former No. 1 overall pick and the Warriors, who won a title together in 2022, Siegel notes.
Of course, the Warriors’ interest in Pelicans wing Trey Murphy III has been an open secret for months, and they’ve made him multiple calls about him this season, sources tell ClutchPoints.
Rivals believe New Orleans’ asking price for Murphy would be multiple first-round picks and a young player or two, says Siegel, but it’s unclear if the Pelicans would move him even if that price is met — they’ve reportedly told teams they don’t intend to. The Raptors are another team that has inquired on Murphy, Siegel reports.
Here are a few more highlights from Siegel’s latest league-wide rumor roundup:
- Although Giannis Antetokounmpo has said on the record that he has no intention of ever asking the Bucks to trade him, many people around the NBA still believe it’s only a matter of time until the two sides split, Siegel writes. There’s a sense it could happen in the offseason, which is one reason why several clubs want to hang onto their top trade assets. “It really seems like he’s made up his mind already,” an Eastern Conference executive told ClutchPoints. “But this is Giannis we are talking about, and he’s very careful with the words he picks when talking to the media because he doesn’t want to be painted as the villain in Milwaukee. And if we are being honest, he shouldn’t be, no matter if he requests a trade or not. He may not have directly requested a trade, but everyone knows what’s going on there. It’s basically just who will break the silence and actually say it is time to move on. Giannis doesn’t want to be that guy, and that’s understandable.”
- The Timberwolves are widely expected to address their backcourt in a deadline deal, with Magic guard Tyus Jones, Kings guard Malik Monk, and Hornets guard Collin Sexton among the players they’ve been connected to, per Siegel. Charlotte has conveyed that it would want at least one asset of value (ie. a draft pick or young player) in a Sexton deal, Siegel adds.
- There’s a belief that the Magic are open to moving Jones, forward Jonathan Isaac, and/or center Goga Bitadze, according to Siegel, who suggests Orlando could acquire second-round capital and 2026/27 cap relief in a deal involving Bitadze. The Magic are operating about $5.6MM above the luxury tax line, so they could look to duck the tax altogether by trading one or more of those players, whose salaries range from $7MM (for Jones) to $15MM (for Isaac).
Southwest Notes: Morant, Jerome, Finley, Flagg, Sheppard
After telling reporters over the weekend in London that he’s loyal to the Grizzlies, Ja Morant shut down questions about the trade rumors involving him when he returned to Memphis this week.
“I’m sorry y’all wasn’t able to come to London, but I’m done with those questions,” Morant responded when asked what the team told him about the possibility of a trade (Twitter link via Matt Infield of Action News 5).
Of course, just because Morant is done talking about them, that doesn’t mean those rumors will die down. Sources tell Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints that Memphis’ front office continues to engage with potential trade partners about a potential deal involving the star point guard.
Still, given the fact that Morant’s value is relatively low right now, the Grizzlies have pushed back against the idea that they need to move him, Siegel notes. Teams like the Heat and Kings hold some level of interest in the two-time All-Star, Siegel confirms, but only if he’s available at a bargain rate and they don’t have to give up assets of any real value in a deal.
Here’s more from around the Southwest:
- Grizzlies guard Ty Jerome, who has yet to play this season due to a right calf injury, “should be close” to making his debut, tweets Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal. The team announced exactly two months ago that Jerome was six-to-nine weeks away from returning to action. This Saturday will mark the nine-week mark since that announcement.
- Mavericks co-interim general manager Michael Finley recognizes that the trade deadline can make players “uneasy,” but believes he’s in a good position to connect with his players and make them more comfortable because he knows what it’s like to be in their shoes. “Like I tell players, I’ve been overlooked in the draft. I’ve been traded. I’ve been amnestied. I’ve been waived. I’ve been the first man on the bench. I’ve been the 15th man on the bench,” Finley told Mike Curtis of The Dallas Morning News (subscription required). “Everything that you’ve experienced, I’ve experienced, so I pretty much know what you’re going through.”
- Even though it has been a disappointing season overall for the Mavericks, No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg has been a bright spot, according to ESPN’s Tim MacMahon, who solicited feedback on the rookie forward from rival scouts, coaches, and executives. “He’s better than advertised, if that’s possible,” one Western Conference scouting director said of Flagg.
- After barely playing for the Rockets as a rookie, Reed Sheppard has emerged as an invaluable part of the team’s rotation in his second NBA season, writes Varun Shankar of The Houston Chronicle (subscription required). Sheppard leads Houston with 2.5 made three-pointers per game and is knocking them down at a 40.9% clip, providing crucial floor spacing for a team that ranks 29th in the NBA in total threes.
Heat Notes: Powell, Ware, Spoelstra, DSJ, Adebayo
While Norman Powell has long been a productive scorer and excellent shooter, he has taken his game to new heights in recent years. In 2025/26, he’s averaging a career-high 23.7 points per game on .485/.416/.846 shooting for the Heat, making a strong bid for his first All-Star appearance.
As Fred Katz of The Athletic writes, Powell has become a “one-on-one savant.” As a result of the Heat’s offensive system, he’s on pace to more than double his previous career high in isolation plays, and he’s thriving in those situations. According to Katz, the Heat score 127.2 points per 100 possessions out of Powell’s isolations, which leads the NBA and would be the best mark single-season mark (for a player with at least 200 isos) since 2013, when Second Spectrum began tracking the stat.
Powell is earning roughly $20.5MM in the final year of his current contract and will remain eligible for a veteran extension up until June 30. If he doesn’t sign a new deal by that time, he’ll become an unrestricted free agent on July 1.
Here’s more on the Heat:
- Second-year big man Kel’el Ware sat out Tuesday’s game against Sacramento due to right hamstring tightness.It was Ware’s first missed game of the season, according to Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel (subscription required), who notes that the banged-up Heat have an open roster spot and can add a 15th man without surpassing the luxury tax threshold but have shown no urgency to do so.
- Within a mailbag for the Sun Sentinel (subscription required), Winderman writes that Heat personnel decisions are “now a village” and aren’t made solely by team president Pat Riley. Head coach Erik Spoelstra has “considerable input” in those decisions, Winderman adds.
- After being waived by the Wisconsin Herd, former NBA lottery pick Dennis Smith Jr. has been acquired by the Sioux Falls Skyforce, Miami’s G League affiliate, tweets NBA insider Marc Stein. Smith, who hasn’t played in the NBA since the 2023/24 season, averaged just 8.0 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 3.5 assists in 23.4 minutes per game across 11 appearances for the Herd. While the veteran guard is regarded as an above-average defender, he continues to struggle as a shooter, posting a .354/.250/.667 line for Milwaukee’s NBAGL team.
- Heat star Bam Adebayo is the winner of the NBA Cares Bob Lanier Community Assist Award for December, having been recognized for his off-court work, per a press release.
Tyler Herro Likely Out At Least Five Games With Rib Injury
Heat guard Tyler Herro recently underwent an MRI which revealed a costochondral injury on the right side of his ribs, according to Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald.
Herro, who didn’t travel to Golden State ahead of Monday’s contest, is expected to miss Miami’s entire five-game road trip, Chiang writes. After making 77 appearances en route to his first All-Star game in 2024/25, Herro has been limited to just 11 games thus far in ’25/26 due to offseason ankle surgery, a toe contusion, and now the rib issue.
Costochondral refers to the joints where ribs connect to cartilage, according to Chiang, who writes that it can be a very painful injury which is typically a matter of pain tolerance. Herro, who turns 26 years old tomorrow, has averaged 21.9 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.0 steal on .497/.358/.902 shooting this season (31.7 minutes per game).
Herro also missed Saturday’s win over Oklahoma City, so Monday will mark his second straight absence. There’s no official timeline for the seventh-year guard’s return, per Chiang.
On a more positive note for the Heat, starting point guard Davion Mitchell and sixth man Jaime Jaquez Jr. are both expected to return on Monday. Both players have been sidelined for the past two games with shoulder and knee injuries, respectively, but they’re probable to suit up against the Warriors.
Miami is currently 22-20, the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference.