Heat Sign Haywood Highsmith To Three-Year Deal
MARCH 8: Highsmith’s signing is official, the Heat announced in a press release. The team used part of its mid-level exception for the minimum-salary contract, and the second and third seasons are non-guaranteed, tweets Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald.
MARCH 7: Haywood Highsmith‘s third 10-day contract with the Heat will expire on Monday night, but the team doesn’t intend to let the forward get away. Highsmith and Miami have agreed to a three-year deal, agent Jerry Dianis tells ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
Highsmith, 25, has signed a pair of standard 10-day pacts with the Heat after initially receiving a 10-day hardship contract. He has appeared in nine games for the club, averaging 2.7 PPG and 1.6 RPG in 10.0 MPG.
While Highsmith’s numbers in a small sample size at the NBA level are underwhelming, he played well in the G League earlier this season, averaging 13.6 PPG, 5.5 RPG, and 2.4 APG on .494/.393/.625 shooting in 17 games (29.8 MPG) for the Delaware Blue Coats, Philadelphia’s NBAGL affiliate.
The Heat will use a portion of their mid-level exception to sign Highsmith to a deal that covers three seasons — the rest of 2021/22, plus two more years. According to Wojnarowski, the contract will include “team options,” which suggests that it’s not guaranteed beyond this season.
Miami has an impressive track record when it comes to signing developmental players to low-risk multiyear deals near the end of a season. During the last week of the 2018/19 campaign, the club signed Kendrick Nunn and Duncan Robinson to three-year contracts that became two of the most team-friendly deals in the league when Nunn and Robinson emerged as reliable rotation players.
Once they officially finalize their agreement with Highsmith, the Heat will have a full 15-man roster.
Hoops Rumors Chat Transcript: 3/8/2022
Hoops Rumors’ live chat took place today at 12:00 pm Central time.
Click here for the transcript, and join Dana Gauruder at 11:00 am CT on Thursday for our next live chat.
Community Shootaround: Grizzlies’ Postseason Outlook
The Grizzlies have been one of the NBA’s most impressive overachievers in 2021/22. Oddsmakers projected Memphis to finish the season with a record around .500, but the team has already comfortably exceeded that projection, putting up a 44-22 record to date.
Even if they slump a little down the stretch, the Grizzlies look like a safe bet to exceed 50 wins and claim one of six guaranteed playoff spots in the West. If they continue playing like they have all season, they’d do much better than that — they’re on pace to win 55 games and claim the conference’s No. 2 seed.
The Grizzlies’ ascension has been led by Ja Morant, who has become a legitimate MVP contender, and Jaren Jackson Jr., a strong All-Defensive candidate who may receive Defensive Player of the Year consideration. Morant and Jackson have anchored a Memphis squad that ranks fifth in the NBA in offense and eighth in defense in 2021/22.
Sharpshooter Desmond Bane, who is averaging 17.8 PPG with a .412 3PT%, leads an impressive group of role players that also includes second-leading scorer Dillon Brooks (who has been limited to just 21 games due to a series of injuries), center Steven Adams, guards Tyus Jones and De’Anthony Melton, and forwards Kyle Anderson, Brandon Clarke, and Ziaire Williams.
Those players all have something in common — not a single one has celebrated his 30th birthday. At age 28, Adams is the oldest player on one of the NBA’s younger rosters.
As good as the Grizzlies have been this season, the conventional thinking is that young teams like this one generally have to pay their dues in the playoffs, gaining valuable postseason experience before they make a real breakthrough.
Two teams that Memphis has been compared to are good examples of this phenomenon — the up-and-coming Thunder team that featured Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, James Harden, and Serge Ibaka lost in the first round of the 2010 playoffs after winning 50 regular season games, then advanced to the Western Finals in 2011 and the NBA Finals in 2012. In 2013 and 2014, a Warriors team featuring Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green won just a single playoff series before they broke through for a championship in 2015.
On the other hand, it was just last spring that two rising young teams ended multiyear playoff droughts and made deep postseason runs — the Suns appeared in the NBA Finals in their first playoff appearance since 2010, while the Hawks made the Eastern Finals. It was the first time that players like Devin Booker, Mikal Bridges, Deandre Ayton, Trae Young, and John Collins had appeared in the postseason, but they still managed to win multiple series.
With all that in mind, we want to know what you think of the Grizzlies’ playoff chances this spring. The projected matchups remain fluid, but if the season ended today, Memphis would face the winner of a Timberwolves/Clippers play-in game in round one, then the winner of a Warriors/Nuggets series in round two.
Is this Grizzlies team prepared to make a run to the Western Finals or the NBA Finals, or is a first- or second-round exit more likely? If you expect Memphis to bow out of the postseason early, is it more about the level of competition in the West, or do you think this squad is still at least a year or two (or a player or two) from becoming a true title contender?
Head to the comment section below to weigh in with your thoughts on the Grizzlies!
Southwest Notes: Mavericks, Toliver, Kleiman, Rockets
With several key Mavericks players exceeding their season-long minutes per game averages since the All-Star break, head coach Jason Kidd wants to make a concerted effort to ease those players’ workloads going forward, per Eddie Sefko of Mavs.com.
“We’d like to get more guys involved here, Sterling (Brown) and Trey (Burke),” Kidd said. “We’ve been running the minutes for those eight to nine guys that we have been playing. So we want to get everybody involved and get some of the minutes down for Luka (Doncic) and Reggie (Bullock). We’re playing Reggie over 40 minutes a night. So those are the things I’m looking at.”
As Sefko outlines, Doncic (37.5 MPG) and Bullock (37.0 MPG) have been the Mavericks’ most-used players since the All-Star break, but the team is also leaning heavily on Jalen Brunson and Dorian Finney-Smith. Expanding the rotation should help the club avoid overusing those players without having to rest them for full games.
Here’s more from around the Southwest:
- Mavericks assistant – and WNBA star – Kristi Toliver spoke to Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic about how she ended up on Dallas’ coaching staff, what it’s like to remain active as a WNBA player while holding an NBA job, and her future coaching aspirations.
- In a separate story for The Athletic, Vorkunov examines Zach Kleiman‘s rapid ascension through the Grizzlies‘ front office and the admirable job he has done since becoming Memphis’ top basketball decision-maker. Kleiman has helped turn the team into a legit contender since being named executive VP of basketball operations at age 30 in 2019. “I wouldn’t be in this position without (Grizzlies owner) Robert Pera’s vision and emphasis on organizational culture,” Kleiman said. “He entrusted me to lead basketball operations despite me being a relative unknown in NBA circles, and has challenged us to be intentional about establishing and sticking to our core tenets.”
- The Rockets are in position to finish with the NBA’s worst record for a second consecutive year, but all is going according to plan, according to Rahat Huq of The Houston Chronicle, who argues that team owner Tilman Fertitta deserves credit for signing off on a full-fledged rebuild rather than trying to stay competitive as a borderline playoff contender following last year’s James Harden trade.
2021/22 NBA Reverse Standings Update
Throughout the 2021/22 NBA season, Hoops Rumors is maintaining a feature that allows you to keep an eye on the tentative 2022 draft order. Our 2021/22 Reverse Standings tool, which lists the NBA’s 30 teams from worst to first, is updated daily to reflect the outcomes of the previous night’s games.
Our Reverse Standings are essentially a reflection of what 2022’s draft order would look like with no changes to lottery position. We’ve noted each club’s odds of landing the No. 1 overall pick, based on the league’s current lottery format.
[RELATED: Hoops Rumors Glossary: Draft Lottery]
In instances where two non-playoff teams or two playoff teams have identical records, the order in our standings isn’t necessarily definitive — for draft purposes, the NBA breaks ties via random drawings, so those drawings would happen at the end of the year.
Of course, the 14 non-playoff teams all draft before the 16 playoff teams, even if some non-playoff teams have better records than those that made the postseason. Our reverse standings account for playoff seeding, though for now they assume that the Nos. 7 and 8 teams in each conference will earn those final two postseason spots. Since the NBA’s play-in format opens the door for the Nos. 9 and 10 seeds to sneak into the postseason, we may have to account for a little movement in the draft order at season’s end.
Traded first-round picks are included via footnotes. For example, the note next to Charlotte’s pick says the Hornets will send their pick to the Hawks if it’s not in the top 18. As of today, the Hornets’ pick projects to be No. 15, meaning that selection wouldn’t change hands.
Currently, the Magic and Rockets are in a dead heat for the “top” spot in the reverse standings — they have matching 16-49 records, separating them from the 18-47 Pistons by two games. All three teams would have a 14% chance to receive the No. 1 overall pick if the lottery were based on today’s standings.
As we noted last week, the Lakers‘ spot in the reverse standings is worth monitoring closely down the stretch, since they’ll send their unprotected first-round pick to the Pelicans if it lands in the top 10 or to the Grizzlies if it ends up between 11-30. The 28-36 Lakers currently rank No. 11 in the reverse standings and are just a single game from moving into the top 10.
Our Reverse Standings tracker can be found at anytime on the right sidebar under “Hoops Rumors Features” on our desktop site, or on the “Features” page in our mobile menu. It’s a great resource not just for monitoring a team’s draft position, but also for keeping an eye on whether or not traded picks with protection will be changing hands in 2022. So be sure to check back often as the season progresses!
Note: Mobile users are advised to turn their phones sideways when viewing the Reverse Standings in order to see team records and lottery odds.
Jazz Notes: Wade, Gobert, Mitchell, Butler
As a part of the Jazz‘s ownership group, Dwyane Wade views it as one of his responsibilities to improve the experience for players and to narrow the “disconnect” between the people in the locker room and the people running the team, Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic writes.
Wade acknowledged that his input into basketball operations decisions is fairly limited for the time being, but he hopes to eventually take on a larger role as he gets more comfortable in his position in the front office.
“My name is probably bigger than the piece I have,” Wade told The Athletic. “As I’m trying to learn this space, I’ll hopefully one day be more involved. But right now I’m sitting back and I’m learning from (general manager) Justin Zanik, I’m learning from (CEO) Danny Ainge, and (team owner) Ryan (Smith) is as well.
“I don’t want that responsibility of trading a guy or signing a guy. That’s not my role. I don’t want anybody thinking that’s my role. My role is to give my perspective if asked. If I feel like, ‘Hey, what are we doing on this and that, these are the players that I see, that I like.’ And things about these players. Just conversations that anybody would have. But I don’t make the decisions. I’m not the decision-maker.”
Here’s more on the Jazz:
- All-Star center Rudy Gobert thought the referees in Monday’s game in Dallas let the Mavericks‘ bench get away with comments that crossed a line, as Sarah Todd of The Deseret News relays. “There were a lot of things being said that wouldn’t be said outside of a basketball court,” Gobert said. “A lot of things that I would never say. I’m not perfect but I don’t say things to guys on the court that I wouldn’t say to their face outside the locker room.” The Jazz and Mavs will play again in Dallas later this month, and could face each other in the postseason — they currently hold the fourth and fifth spots in the West.
- Tony Jones of The Athletic, in considering the Jazz’s long-term future, envisions the team eventually moving Donovan Mitchell to the point guard role on a full-time basis. If and when Mitchell assumes that role, Utah would probably want to complement him with a secondary creator and with a couple long, athletic wings who can shoot, Jones suggests. Mike Conley, the team’s current point guard, is under contract for two more seasons beyond this one, though his 2023/24 salary isn’t fully guaranteed.
- A Louisiana native, Jazz rookie Jared Butler got his first opportunity to play an NBA game in New Orleans last Friday night, logging seven minutes of mop-up time in Utah’s blowout loss to the Pelicans. Speaking to local media, Butler discussed the challenges he has faced this season during a transition period. “This year has been interesting, because it’s brand-new for me,” Butler said, per Rod Walker of NOLA.com. “The coolest thing is I get to learn right now. That’s been a change of pace for me going from playing 30 minutes a night in college to just sitting and learning. So that’s been an adjustment. But there’s also just been the adjustment to the NBA lifestyle.”
Draymond Green Targeting March 14 Return
Warriors forward Draymond Green expects to return next Monday, March 14 against Washington, he said on his podcast (video link; hat tip to Marc Stein).
“That is the day I’m targeting,” Green said. “It’s been almost two-and-a-half months. I’ve never missed that much time during a season. … This is something different for me. I’m excited to get back out there with my guys to try to help right the ship.”
Green has been sidelined since early January due to a back injury. Golden State could certainly use the boost. The team has lost five straight and nine of its last 11 games.
The Warriors have three more games before Green’s target date — home games against the Clippers on Tuesday and the Bucks on Saturday sandwiching a road stop in Denver on Thursday.
The Warriors were 29-7 before Green was forced to the sidelines. He was averaging 7.9 PPG, 7.6 RPG, 7.4 APG, 1.4 SPG and 1.2 BPG in 34 games.
Green’s defensive presence has been sorely missed, especially in recent games. The Warriors have allowed 122 or more points in their last four contests.
Atlantic Notes: Nets, Noel, Jordan, Raptors
The Nets would have to go on a major winning streak to escape the play-in tournament. Winding up in that extra round could have major offseason consequences, Brian Lewis of the New York Post writes. Coach Steve Nash could find his job in jeopardy, despite all the obstacles he’s been forced to deal with this season. The roster could be overhauled, as Lewis notes only six players have guaranteed contracts for next season and two others can opt out of their deals.
We have more from the Atlantic Division:
- Knicks center Nerlens Noel did not play on Sunday due to plantar fasciitis and he could be out for an extended period, according to The New York Post’s Marc Berman. Coach Tom Thibodeau said Noel would not play until he recovered from the foot ailment and got some regular practice time. Noel has played in just 25 games due to an assortment of knee, hamstring and foot injuries. He signed a three-year, $27.7MM contract last summer with a team option for the final year.
- DeAndre Jordan said his prior relationships with coach Doc Rivers and starters James Harden and Tobias Harris, plus the need for a backup center, made the Sixers an easy choice after he cleared waivers, Tim Bontemps of ESPN tweets. Jordan heaped praise on his former Clippers coach, Gina Mizell of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweets. “He’s the best coach I’ve ever had, he’s more than a coach to me … when a new player comes to a team, it’s always everybody trying to get them to feel acclimated, but with Doc, he’s gonna curse me out like I’ve been here all season,” said Jordan, who played 10 minutes in his Sixers debut on Monday.
- The Raptors’ loss to the Cavaliers on Sunday makes it seem almost inevitable that Toronto will wind up in the play-in tournament, Josh Lewenberg of TSN Canada writes. The defeat dropped Toronto three games behind Cleveland, which sits in sixth place in the East and also holds a tiebreaker advantage over the Raptors.
Southeast Notes: Hayward, McDaniels, Collins, Highsmith, Young
Hornets forward Gordon Hayward, who has been out since February 7 with sprained ligaments in his left ankle, is making steady progress though there’s still no timetable for his return, Roderick Boone of the Charlotte Observer reports.
Hayward has shed his walking boot and coach James Borrego is hopeful by the end of the week that Hayward will make “serious progress.”
“He’s pushing it, he’s headed in the right direction,” Borrego said. “Where that leaves us, I don’t know yet. But what I can say is he’s making positive progress and hopefully we’ll have a better update here soon.”
Jalen McDaniels, who has been out since January 21 due to a sprained left ankle, is listed as questionable for tomorrow’s game against the Nets.
We have more from the Southeast Division:
- Hawks forward John Collins returned to action over the weekend after missing seven games due to a right foot strain. That doesn’t mean the injury has completed healed, according to Sarah Spencer of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “I definitely feel like it’s going to be a process to get back to 100% as it is with anything, but I’m just trying to do my best to maintain and damage control, if you will, to just make sure I’m healthy and ready to go enough to do well for my team,” Collins said.
- The Heat have opted to retain Haywood Highsmith on a three-year contract. They’d like to see him develop into a P.J. Tucker-type forward, Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald writes. The team has Highsmith focusing on “defense and shooting threes” to resemble “a little bit of P.J. Tucker,” Highsmith told Chiang.
- Though the Hawks are struggling to reach the .500 mark, Trae Young believes they can make another deep and surprising run in the postseason, as he told Chris Kirschner of The Athletic. “I feel like we can beat anybody if you put us in a seven-game series and give us a chance to look at you,” Young said. “We have talent and smart-enough guys to make some noise. I feel confident.”
Community Shootaround: Rookie Of The Year
A majority of the teams in last year’s lottery have received an immediate boost from their draft picks. While it remains to be seen whether any of these players will be considered superstars during their careers, there was clearly plenty of talent at the top.
That has led to a spirited chase for the Rookie of the Year award. There are plenty of worthy candidates, so with fewer than 20 games left on regular-season schedule, let’s take a look at their credentials:
- Cade Cunningham – After a slow start, Cunningham has established himself as a player the Pistons can build around. He leads all rookies at 16.3 PPG and ranks second in assists (5.1 per game) and fourth in rebounds (5.8). During crunch time, coach Dwane Casey has put the ball in Cunningham’s hands, trusting that the top pick in the draft will deliver.
- Evan Mobley – The Cavaliers have been the league’s biggest surprise and a lot of that success can be attributed to the addition of Mobley. He’s fifth among rookies in scoring (14.6) and first in rebounding (8.2) and blocked shots (1.7). The No. 3 selection in the draft has lived up to his billing as the draft class’ top big man.
- Scottie Barnes – Barnes leads all rookies in minutes per game (35.4), showing coach Nick Nurse’s trust in him. He’s fourth among rookies in scoring (14.9), third in rebounding (7.6) and tied for third in assists (3.3). The fourth pick in the draft should be a fixture with the Raptors for many seasons.
- Josh Giddey – A bit of an unknown after playing last season in Australia, Giddey has displayed the ability to rack up triple doubles on any given night. The Thunder guard leads all rookies at 6.4 APG. He’s also seventh in scoring (12.5) and second in rebounding (7.8).
- Franz Wagner – The eighth pick in the draft, Wagner ranks second among his peers in scoring (15.6 PPG) and 3-point shooting (37.2%). He’ll continue to be a matchup problem for Magic opponents.
- Jalen Green – Like Cunningham, Green had some early shooting struggles but has come on strong. The Rockets guard and No. 2 overall selection has moved into third place (15.3 PPG) on the scoring list. He’s also advancing as a playmaker, contributing 15 assists in the last three games.
- Herbert Jones – While his counting stats are not as impressive as more heralded prospects, Jones has become a defensive stalwart for the Pelicans. The second-round pick is averaging 30.1 MPG while often being assigned to the opponent’s main offensive threat.
That leads us to our question of the day: Who is your current selection for Rookie of the Year and what makes him stand out among all other first-year players?
Please take to the comments section to weigh in on this topic. We look forward to your input.