Heat Notes: Robinson, Highsmith, Cain, Mulder
Duncan Robinson is in the second year of a five-year, $90MM contract. The first year of the deal didn’t go well for the Heat swingman, as he lost his starting job late in the season and was the subject of numerous trade rumors.
Robinson is ready to hit the reset button, as shown by his 29-point outing against the Grizzlies on Friday, Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald writes.
“Just based off of how last year went — lots to learn from, lots to grow from,” he said. “So just to be very discerning over what it is I want to take with me, what I want to take from the experience and how I can actually be resourceful and use it to better myself, better the team, better myself as a player.”
Robinson has worked on improving defensively and becoming a more diverse offensive player.
We have more on the Heat:
- Haywood Highsmith only has a partial guarantee on his contract this season but he’s impressed coach Erik Spoelstra in the preseason, according to Nekias Duncan of Basketball News. “I don’t view him as a young player,” Spoelstra said. “I understand he doesn’t have an extensive NBA experience — but he’s played some very good basketball in the G League. He has had to grind and earn everything and every opportunity that he’s been given. He just continues to get better each year.”
- Rookie forward Jamal Cain earned a two-way contract with his performances during camp and preseason games, according to Spoelstra. as Chiang relays. “Over the course of the last several weeks, we’ve been able to see his work ethic and how much he’s improved because of his approach and work ethic,” he said. “Then he had several good moments in training camp and the last two preseason games.” Miami is expected to keep a roster spot open and waive its players currently on Exhibit 10 deals — Mychal Mulder, Jamaree Bouyea, Orlando Robinson and Dru Smith — then have them join its G League team.
- Mulder is in his third stint with the organization and Spoelstra compares him to former swingman Rodney McGruder due to his “perseverance and grit,” Chiang writes in another story. “You might not be the 20-year-old prospect, but you’re still a prospect in our eyes,” Spoelstra said of Mulder. “We value Mychal’s makeup. His game certainly fits. His ability to catch and shoot off the ball, but his makeup, how he carries himself, his progression, these are the kind of things that we want to go out of our way to try to help him. It might be here, it might be somewhere else.”
Mac McClung Waived By Sixers
The Sixers have waived guard Mac McClung, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype tweets.
McClung joined the organization last week on an Exhibit 10 contract. It’s anticipated he’ll join the Delaware Blue Coats, Philadelphia’s G League team, once he clears waivers. The Blue Coats acquired his G League rights in a trade with the South Bay Lakers.
McClung has already passed through waivers since training camps opened. McClung was previously waived by the Warriors.
McClung was an undrafted rookie in 2021. He signed a couple of 10-day hardship contracts with the Bulls in December and January, but only appeared in one NBA game for just three minutes. He also played one game for the Lakers at the end of his rookie season on a two-way deal, but wasn’t extended a qualifying offer.
The 23-year-old guard spent the majority of last season in the G League with the Lakers’ affiliate, South Bay, where he was named NBAGL Rookie of the Year.
Pelicans Add Martin, Smart; Waive Butler, Petty Jr.
The Pelicans signed forward Kelan Martin and guard Javonte Smart while waiving two-way forward John Butler and guard John Petty Jr., according to a team press release.
Terms weren’t disclosed but Martin and Smart likely signed Exhibit 10 contracts. They would presumably be candidates for the team’s open two-way slot, since Butler had his camp deal converted to a two-way last week.
Otherwise, they’ll likely be waived and join the G League Birmingham Squadron, which would make them each eligible for a $50K bonus if they spend at least 60 days with that club.
Martin has appeared in 96 NBA games since 2019 with Minnesota, Indiana and Boston, averaging 5.5 points, 2.4 rebounds and 0.6 assists. Martin appeared in 30 games last season with the Celtics and Pacers.
Smart, who went undrafted in 2021 out of LSU, appeared in 17 games with the Bucks and Heat last season, averaging 3.0 points, 1.4 rebounds and 0.9 assists.
Butler played last season at Florida State, where he averaged 5.9 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.2 blocks in 31 games. He saw action in one preseason game.
Petty Jr. appeared in 31 games for the Birmingham Squadron last season. Petty was on an Exhibit 10 deal and will likely return to the Squadron, with Butler joining him.
Wizards Notes: Kispert, Beal, Davis, Rotation, Gortat
Wizards swingman Corey Kispert is out for four-to-six weeks with an ankle sprain, but he’s looking at the silver lining, Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington writes. Kispert is grateful that the injury didn’t happen during a playoff push.
“Well, it’s not going to last forever, right? In the grand scheme of things, a sprained ankle is not the end of the world,” he said. “It’s been a tough last couple of days. Getting out of bed and moving around has been difficult, but I know I’ll be back sooner rather than later. Thankfully I’m not missing important games down the stretch. The preseason is important, but if I were to choose a time to miss, it’d be now.”
We have more from the Wizards:
- Bradley Beal has always stayed loyal to the organization but he admitted on JJ Redick’s podcast (hat tip to Alex Kennedy of Basketball News) that he has pondered a trade request in the past. “I definitely gave it some thought; I’d be lying if I said I didn’t,” he said. However, Beal also saw the flip side that the team acquiring him would have to give up important pieces to land him.
- With Kispert sidelined, lottery pick Johnny Davis could see some significant early action, Hughes notes, though the rookie is dealing with a minor knee injury. “That’s why the team has guys like me on the bench, to be able to step up,” Davis said.
- On that subject, Josh Robbins of The Athletic examines how the rotation will shake out in light of Kispert’s injury. He doesn’t see Davis getting a lot of playing time, predicting that Beal will play around 36 minutes and Will Barton will eat up a majority of the minutes at small forward with Rui Hachimura and Deni Avdija getting steady playing time off the bench.
- Retired center Marcin Gortat has been helping out at camp as a temporary assistant coach. Coach Wes Unseld Jr. hinted he’d like Gortat to stick around beyond training camp if Gortat wants to make the time commitment, according to Hughes. “As long as he wants to stay, I love it,” Unseld said.
Heat Notes: Herro, Cain, Jovic, Oladipo, Haslem
The Heat initially offered Tyler Herro a four-year rookie scale extension with $112MM in guaranteed money and incentives that would have pushed its value to $128MM, Joe Vardon of The Athletic reports.
Miami eventually upped the ante, with Herro signing a four-year deal with $120MM in guaranteed money and another $10MM in incentives.
“I wanted to be here and they wanted me here, so I mean, it was something we both wanted to get done,” Herro said. “We’re paying a lot of guys now. … so it was just getting the right number. I think it’s a good deal for both sides.”
We have more on the Heat:
- Herro didn’t play in the back-to-back preseason games on Thursday and Friday due to a knee contusion, Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald notes.
- In the same notebook, Chiang writes that Oakland University rookie Jamal Cain may be forcing the team’s hand with some impressive preseason performances. Cain, who is on an Exhibit 10 deal, had 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the field, 11 rebounds and five steals in 27 minutes against Brooklyn on Thursday and 19 points, six rebounds and three assists against the Grizzlies on Friday. Cain may not pass through waivers without being claimed, so Miami will have to consider converting him to a standard deal or a two-way, though both of the team’s two-way slots are currently filled.
- Along with trying to make his mark on the team, Nikola Jovic is in the midst of finishing high school, Tim Bontemps of ESPN writes. Jovic still has to take one more comprehensive exam to get his high school degree from his Serbian school. He skipped the exam during the spring while undergoing draft workouts.
- Victor Oladipo hasn’t played in the preseason as the Heat are taking a cautious approach with the oft-injured guard, according to Chiang. Oladipo re-signed with the club on a two-year, $18.2MM contract this summer. “We’re just getting him ready and that’s really it,” coach Erik Spoelstra said. “He had a very good camp, he’s doing some really good work right now and we want to keep in this good place.”
- Playing 20 seasons with one franchise, putting him in rare company, was one of the reasons why Udonis Haslem decided to keep his career going this season, ESPN’s Israel Gutierrez writes in a lengthy interview with the 42-year-old big man. “I want kids somewhere to say, ‘I want to have a career like Udonis Haslem — undrafted, worked for everything I got, won three championships, retired and went into ownership with the same organization I played with for 20 years,” Haslem said.
Mac McClung To Sign With Sixers
Mac McClung is signing an Exhibit 10 contract with the Sixers, Rich Hofmann of The Athletic tweets.
It’s expected that McClung will eventually be waived and then join the Delaware Blue Coats, Philadelphia’s G League team.
McClung was waived earlier this week by the Warriors and became a free agent after clearing waivers.
McClung was an undrafted rookie in 2021. He signed a couple of 10-day hardship contracts with the Bulls in December and January, but only appeared in one NBA game for just three minutes. He also played one game for the Lakers at the end of his rookie season on a two-way deal, but wasn’t extended a qualifying offer.
The 23-year-old guard spent the majority of last season in the G League with the Lakers’ affiliate, South Bay, where he was named NBAGL Rookie of the Year.
Thunder Sign Rookie Jaden Shackelford
The Thunder have signed guard Jaden Shackelford, the team’s PR department tweets.
The deal has been a long time coming — it was reported just after the draft that Oklahoma City would ink the 6’3” guard to an Exhibit 10 contract.
Shackleford saw action in four games with the Thunder summer league team. He went undrafted after playing three seasons with Alabama. In 33 games (32 starts) with the Crimson Tide last season, he averaged 16.6 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 34.1 minutes per game.
Oklahoma City has made a number of similar moves in recent days. A player on an Exhibit 10 contract can earn a bonus of up to $50K if he’s waived and then joins his team’s G League affiliate. That’s what will likely occur with Shackelford.
Western Notes: Huerter, Murray, Jokic, Lewis, Mavs
Kings coach Mike Brown is leaning strongly toward Kevin Huerter as his starting shooting guard, Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee reports. Acquired from Atlanta this summer, Huerter is competing with Malik Monk and Terence Davis for the starting nod.
“The more I watch, I just think Kevin might be the right fit at that two-guard spot,” Brown said. “But for me, right now, that power forward spot can be wide open.”
The list of the candidates at the ‘four’ spot includes lottery pick Keegan Murray. KZ Okpala, Trey Lyles and Chimezie Metu are the other options.
We have more info from the Western Conference:
- The Nuggets got a scare on Friday when Jamal Murray exited early with an apparent thigh injury. However, Murray just dismissed it as a cramp, he told Mike Singer of the Denver Post. “It was frustrating, but it’s OK,” Murray said. “It’s just a cramp. It’s not like it was a pull. Nothing serious. My body hasn’t had this much since training camp, three-hour practices and all that. I guess I’m just adjusting to the workload, that’s all.”
- Nikola Jokic didn’t even go to Chicago for the game due to a sprained right wrist. An MRI came back clean and coach Michael Malone is optimistic Jokic will soon return, according to Singer. “The word back in Denver is that he had a good day,” Malone said. “He’s getting more movement, more function with that wrist. We’ll get home late (Friday), we’ll figure out what the plan is (Saturday). Can he practice? Do we need to hold him out further? Come Monday, we’ll make a decision if he’ll be available for the Phoenix Suns game.”
- Pelicans guard Kira Lewis continues to progress in his rehab of a torn ACL. He has been cleared for 3-on-3 scrimmages, ESPN’s Andrew Lopez tweets. Lewis tore his ACL last December and the recovery period for a torn ACL is typically 12-plus months.
- The Mavericks are playing three preseason games, the fewest of any team in the league, and that’s by design, according to Callie Caplan of the Dallas Morning News. Coach Jason Kidd wants to keep his team fresh and healthy for the regular season. “I wanted to see less preseason games just to have the data to see how we handle it,” Kidd said. “A lot of teams are playing four, five or six, so I went on the other side to see if we can play three. … It could be something that we don’t ever do again, or if the players say they like it, it’ll be something we’ll do again.”
Jalen Suggs Has Left Knee Sprain, Bone Bruise
Magic second-year guard Jalen Suggs has sustained a left knee capsule sprain and bone bruise, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets. The team confirmed that diagnosis in an injury update (Twitter link).
Suggs will obviously miss some time as he undergoes treatment for those injuries but there’s relief within the organization that it wasn’t more serious, Wojnarowski adds.
Suggs was helped off the court following a collision with Mavericks forward Dorian Finney-Smith after being pushed by Spencer Dinwiddie on Friday night. X-rays were negative and an MRI provided the extent of the injuries.
The former Gonzaga star has dealt with numerous injuries since he was selected with the fifth pick of the 2021 draft. He fractured his right thumb last November, which caused him to miss 20 games. He also dealt with a right ankle sprain and bone bruise in the second half of the season, then underwent right ankle surgery to repair a “slight” stress fracture in April.
Overall, Suggs appeared in 48 games, averaging 11.8 PPG, 3.6 RPG and 4.4 APG with a subpar .361/.214/.773 shooting line.
Orlando was already a little banged up in the backcourt. Gary Harris underwent a knee procedure late this summer to repair torn meniscus. Starting point man Markelle Fultz is recovering from a fractured toe that will likely cause him to miss some regular season contests.
Hoops Rumors Chat Transcript: 10/6/2022
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