Heat Notes: Stevens, Two-Way Competition, Larsson, Bisaccio, Trades
Heat guard Isaiah Stevens continues to impress in Summer League after inking an Exhibit 10 contract with the organization, Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald writes. Despite being undersized, Stevens is looking like a possible solution at the backup point guard position for Miami while registering a league-high 8.5 assists.
He’s a massive reason the Heat’s summer league team is dominating in Las Vegas. The Heat went 4-0 in Vegas and advanced to a semifinal game against the Warriors after blowing out the Raptors 109-73 on Friday. Several players on the roster are popping and Stevens’ ability to find them in their spots is a big reason why.
“First and foremost, he’s doing his thing really,” Heat summer league coach Dan Bisaccio said. “Not listening to me, being who he is. Being a player. He does such a great job of getting our offense organized. I have complete trust in him with that. I love the fact that he really picks and chooses his opportunities when to be aggressive and when to be a play-maker. Then when we need to settle, he settles.”
Stevens has recorded 41 assists to 12 turnovers in his last five summer league performances (including the California Classic).
“I’ve been playing the point guard position a long time,” Stevens said. “So far to this point, I’ve been able to have a lot of team success in that way and I think it comes from being unselfish at the helm. Just trying to get guys opportunities, I feel like it makes them want to play with you even more, it makes them want to play harder because they know they actually have an opportunity of being rewarded at the end of a cut, when they’re open, as they’re moving. So I think it just brings the team together when that’s your style of play.”
The Heat have incredibly difficult decisions to make with their developmental players. As it stands, Miami can’t sign a 15th player on a standard contract without crossing the second apron. The Heat have also filled out their two-way roster spots with Keshad Johnson, Zyon Pullin and Dru Smith.
Pullin has shown flashes in summer league, but Stevens has played more, meaning the latter may replace the former on a two-way deal. Stevens’ Exhibit 10 deal makes him eligible to be converted to a two-way. Even still, the Heat clearly had a high grade on Pullin and broke their tradition of having players battle it out for two-way deals by giving the Florida guard one right after the draft. If he’s waived, another team may sign him.
That doesn’t even address the impressive play of Josh Christopher, Cole Swider and Alondes Williams, — the latter two finished last season on two-way deals with Miami. Swider and Williams had their qualifying offers pulled and are free to sign with other teams, but could also re-sign to Exhibit 10 deals with the Heat. Christopher is also free to sign with another team but his high-level scoring should have him in strong consideration for a two-way from Miami.
Johnson’s two-way deal is safe, and Smith is someone the organization is clearly invested in. In all, the Heat have at least seven players who are worthy of two-way consideration on their summer roster and aren’t guaranteed of funneling the four who don’t make the roster to their developmental system in Sioux Falls.
We have more from the Heat:
- Heat second round rookie Pelle Larsson joined first-rounder Kel’el Ware and the two-way competitors in impressing against the Raptors, Chiang observes in a separate piece. Larsson’s averaging 12.5 PPG in his last two summer league games and finishing Friday with four assists and two triples. “He’s getting more confident in his ability to attack the paint and make plays for himself and also others,” Bisaccio said. “So we’re going to continue to look for him to continue to find that confidence and continue to find his role.”
- Bisaccio has been with the organization since 2014 and was rewarded for his hard work by being promoted to head coach of the Skyforce. He expressed gratitude for the Heat organization for continuing to believe in him and work with him when he went through a life-threatening illness in 2018, Ira Winderman of South Florida’s Sun Sentinel writes. “Coach Spo, (GM) Andy Elisburg, (president of basketball operations Pat) Riley, all these guys visited me,” Bisaccio said. “They put together flights, hotels for my family. They were in constant communication.“
- The Heat aren’t in a position to make a big trade this offseason but they’ll have some optionality when the players they re-signed become trade eligible this season, Winderman writes in a separate piece. If Miami ultimately decides to part with Jimmy Butler, that’s something that becomes more feasible when all players are eligible to be traded. The same goes for any potential deals that revolve around their larger contracts like Tyler Herro, Terry Rozier or Duncan Robinson.
Clippers’ Steve Ballmer Talks Losing Paul George, New-Look Roster
Clippers owner Steve Ballmer wasn’t thrilled to lose Paul George to the Sixers this offseason, but he was emphatic in his belief in the retooled roster when speaking to reporters on Friday, ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk writes.
“I love Paul,” Ballmer said. “Let’s start with Paul as a human being. Paul is a great human being, and I’ve really enjoyed my opportunity to get to know Paul’s family. So on a personal level, I hated it. I hated it.
“From a basketball perspective, Paul is a fantastic player, future Hall of Famer. But we knew we needed to continue to get better. And with the new CBA, what tools, what flexibility [can be restricted], we made Paul what I consider a great offer. But it was a great offer in terms of us thinking about how to win championships. It wasn’t what Paul wanted.”
George’s interest in a deal that matched or exceeded the three-year, $150MM deal Kawhi Leonard received has been well-covered. The Clippers declined to include a fourth year in any contract offer for George and opted not to give him the no-trade clause he sought on a three-year deal. George wound up accepting a four-year maximum-salary contract with Philadelphia.
After losing George, the Clippers turned their attention to replenishing their depth. The team re-signed James Harden before adding role players like Nicolas Batum, Derrick Jones Jr., and Kris Dunn, among others.
“I think we’re going to be a very, very good team,” Ballmer said. “We’re going to contend. We’ll see how far it takes us. There’s a lot of good teams in the West, let alone you’ve got the Celtics, etc. in the East. But there’s a lot of good teams. I think we are one of them, and if we stay healthy, if we play well, I think every team’s got to get a little bit of luck.
“Our two guys at the top are pretty good, and I’ll take our guys that we flank around them. Just take a look at Dallas. They rode the backs of two great players and a bunch of other very, very good players, and we certainly have that.”
Ballmer believes that sooner or later every team will be faced with a decision like the one the Clippers had to make in their negotiations with George.
“Guys like me who’ve been very willing to pay the luxury tax — it’s not about the luxury tax anymore,” Ballmer said. “It’s about the penalties in terms of how you get better. I’m not willing to sacrifice getting better. Still willing to pay the money. But it’s more than money now.“
Celtics Notes: Brissett, Hauser, Scrubb, Summer League
The Celtics find themselves with 14 players signed to their standard roster, with almost every player from their title run under contract for next year. Oshae Brissett is one of just two players from last year’s roster without a deal for the upcoming season, as MassLive’s Brian Robb observes.
“We have to be mindful of the last roster spot what our needs might be,” president of basketball operations Brad Stevens said. “Oshae had a terrific year with us, not only when he got the opportunity on the court as a teammate and as a person and obviously, in his shoes, there might be a desire to play more. I always want to be respectful of that.”
Brissett declined his player option for next season ahead of free agency, but he may be looking for a minimum deal with a chance to play more elsewhere, Robb writes. Boston kept their 15th spot open for much of last season before ultimately converting Neemias Queta to a standard deal at the end of the year. The Celtics could opt to fill that spot earlier if an injury pops up, and Robb speculates that the door will remain open for Brissett if he doesn’t like his other options on the market. Robb does not expect Svi Mykhailiuk — the only other unsigned player from last year’s title run — to be back.
“We’ll see how the next few months play themselves with regard to people’s availability,” Stevens said. “Obviously Kristaps is going to have a long rehab process ahead of him and we have to determine what’s the best need for our team in that 15th spot.”
We have more from the Celtics:
- In a MassLive.com mailbag, Robb explores the contract status of Sam Hauser. Because the market dried up quickly this offseason, talented players like Gary Trent Jr. and Caleb Martin received less than expected. Given the unpredictability of free agency, it might make sense for the Celtics and Hauser to agree to an extension approaching the value of the mid-level exception, Robb suggests.
- The Celtics signed Jay Scrubb to a two-way contract last year but he suffered an ACL tear in the offseason and was cut before the season began. According to Robb, while nothing is done at this point, there is mutual interest between the Celtics and Scrubb in a reunion this offseason. Boston has Drew Peterson and JD Davison on two-way contracts, and Anton Watson (No. 54 overall pick in 2024) seems likely to sign to a two-way deal, so the pathway to earning one again may be difficult for Scrubb. However, Scrubb averaged 22.8 points per game in the G League in 2022/23 and could earn a roster spot later in the season if he proves himself again.
- Boston’s rookies have impressed in summer league but second-year wing Jordan Walsh has struggled with his shot, MassLive’s Souichi Terada writes. Outside of the Celtics’ draftees, Ron Harper Jr. and Jaelen House were standouts this summer. The C’s already agreed to an Exhibit 10 deal with Harper.
PJ Dozier Signs With Timberwolves
JULY 15: The signing is official, according to a team press release. The minimum-salary contract is worth $2.6MM and is partially guaranteed, Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic tweets.
JULY 3: The Timberwolves have reached an agreement with free agent guard PJ Dozier, The Athletic’s Jon Krawczynski reports (Twitter link). The contract will be for one year, per Krawczysnki, and figures to be worth the minimum, given Minnesota’s cap limitations.
Dozier is a six-year NBA veteran who holds career averages of 5.7 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game. He has spent the majority of his career in Denver, playing 97 of his 121 career games for the team and overlapping with former Nuggets president of basketball operations Tim Connelly, who now runs the Wolves’ front office.
Dozier played well as a reserve for the Nuggets in 2020/21, averaging 7.7 PPG in 21.8 MPG across 50 games. However, he suffered a torn ACL the following season and was subsequently traded and waived. He last played for Sacramento in ’22/23, but only appeared in 16 games before heading to play with Partizan Belgrade, where he averaged 9.2 PPG last season.
Dozier was actually with the Wolves for training camp in 2022, but ultimately didn’t make the team. Before signing his 10-day contracts with Sacramento in ’22/23, he spent the majority of the year playing for the Iowa Wolves, Minnesota’s G League affiliate.
After tearing his ACL, Dozier’s camp kept in touch with Connelly, who remains high on the 27-year-old guard, Krawczynski reports (Twitter link).
According to The Star Tribune’s Chris Hine, Dozier’s deal is for a 15-man roster spot (Twitter link). After reportedly coming to an agreement with sharpshooter Joe Ingles earlier Wednesday, the Timberwolves are up to 14 standard contracts.
KJ Martin Re-Signs With Sixers
JULY 15: The Sixers have officially re-signed Martin, according to a team press release.
“KJ Martin is a talented young player who brings athleticism and versatility to our front court,” team executive Daryl Morey said. “He’s a fearless competitor who is just scratching the surface of his potential. We’re eager to see his continued growth here in Philadelphia.”
The second year of Martin’s deal is non-guaranteed, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype tweets.
JULY 13: Forward KJ Martin is signing a two-year deal to return to the Sixers, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Martin is set to earn a maximum of $16MM over the two years of the deal.
While Martin’s production with the Sixers last season was modest — 3.7 points per game in 58 appearances with Philadelphia — re-signing on such a contract allows the Sixers to maintain trade flexibility.
Philadelphia originally acquired Martin as part of the trade that sent James Harden to the Clippers early in the 2023/24 season. Martin didn’t play much for either the Sixers or the Clippers, but he was impressive early in his career with the Rockets. The No. 52 pick in 2020 by the Rockets, Martin averaged 10.5 points and 4.8 rebounds across 206 games in the first three seasons over his career.
Still just 23, Martin can serve as a deep reserve option at the forward position for the Sixers or be used as a trade piece when he becomes eligible to be dealt in January.
As cap expert Yossi Gozlan observes (Twitter link), the Sixers will be over the first apron after they fill out their roster and will not be able to take in more salary than they send out. However, Philadelphia could package Martin’s deal with others to acquire another player making less at the deadline. Alternatively, he could be traded into a team’s cap space and allow the Sixers to duck the luxury tax.
We wrote that such a move was a likely outcome after the Sixers renounced nearly all of their free agent cap holds except for Martin’s earlier this week.
In 266 career appearances with the Rockets, Clippers and Sixers, Martin holds career averages of 8.9 points and 4.2 rebounds.
Mavericks Sign Emanuel Miller
The Mavericks have signed forward Emanuel Miller, according to a team press release. While the terms of the deal weren’t revealed, the move was announced alongside the signing of Jazian Gortman, who agreed to an Exhibit 10 deal. It stands to reason that Miller is likely also joining the team on an Exhibit 10 contract.
Miller went undrafted in 2024 after playing five collegiate seasons — first at Texas A&M and then at TCU. In his final season of college ball, Miller averaged 15.8 points, 6.1 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.1 steals while shooting 48.6% from the field and 38.3% from beyond the arc.
According to Mike Curtis of Dallas Morning News (Twitter link), Mavericks summer league coach Jared Dudley referred to Miller as one of the most physical players on the team.
Miller ranked as ESPN’s 22nd-best available undrafted free agent. Most of the players on the list ranked ahead of them have signed or agreed to two-way deals. If Miller signed an Exhibit 10 deal, he could have it converted to a two-way contract at a later date. The Mavericks currently have one two-way contract opening, with Alex Fudge and Brandon Williams occupying two of the team’s three spots.
An Exhibit 10 contract is a non-guaranteed minimum-salary deal that doesn’t count against a team’s cap unless the player makes the regular season roster. It can be converted to a two-way contract before the season begins or the player can earn a bonus of up to $77.5K if he’s waived and then spends at least 60 days with his team’s G League affiliate.
Jamal Cain Signs Two-Way Deal With Pelicans
JULY 13: The Pelicans have officially signed Cain, per the transaction log at NBA.com.
JULY 12: Free agent wing Jamal Cain has agreed to a two-way deal with the Pelicans, Adrian Wojanrowski of ESPN reports (Twitter link).
Cain, 25, spent the first two seasons of his career with the Heat. He appeared in 44 games with the Heat from 2022-24, averaging 4.4 points and 2.0 rebounds per contest.
The 6’6″ guard/forward has impressed in limited stints with Miami, averaging 8.0 points and 5.3 boards in a three-game win streak in 2022/23 as well as recording 18 points and six rebounds in a win over the Warriors in ’23/24.
Cain played the first four seasons of his collegiate career for Marquette before transferring to Oakland. After going undrafted in 2022, he joined the Heat and earned a two-way contract.
While he played sparingly for the Heat in the regular season, he saw much more playing time in Summer League, preseason and the G League in Miami’s system. He averaged 10.9 PPG across nine games in two seasons with Miami in preseason games and then averaged 21.6 PPG, 9.3 RPG and 1.6 SPG on .540/.372/.815 shooting splits in two years with the Skyforce.
Cain angled for a standard contract last offseason but ultimately didn’t receive one before re-upping with Miami on a two-way deal. Due to the Heat’s roster crunch with their young two-way players, Cain didn’t receive a promotion from his two-way deal over the two seasons he spent in the organization. After the Heat filled out all three of their two-way spots early in free agency and then filled out their regular roster, it was clear Cain wouldn’t be returning.
Now, the Pelicans land a productive wing who spent two years in Miami’s successful development program. As our two-way contract tracker for 2024/25 shows, the Pelicans only have one such spot filled — with Malcolm Hill occupying a spot. For what it’s worth, No. 47 overall pick Antonio Reeves hasn’t signed his rookie contract with the Pelicans, so it’s possible he will fill one of those two open spots alongside Cain.
Pistons Hiring Luke Walton As Assistant Coach
The Pistons are hiring Luke Walton to join J.B. Bickerstaff‘s coaching staff as the lead assistant, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania (Twitter link). As noted by Charania, Walton has spent the last two seasons serving as an assistant coach in Cleveland under Bickerstaff.
Walton played in the NBA for the Lakers from 2003-12 and then spent the 2012/13 season with the Cavs before retiring. He then enjoyed brief stints as an assistant for the University of Memphis and the now-South Bay Lakers of the G League.
Walton got his first NBA coaching job in 2014 as an assistant for the Warriors for two seasons. He helped the organization win a title in ’14/15 and earn an all-time best 73-9 record in ’15/16. Filling in as Golden State’s interim head coach at the start of the ’15/16 season while Steve Kerr recovered from back surgery, Walton led the Warriors to a 24-game winning streak and a 39-4 overall record. He was hired by the Lakers the following season as a first-time head coach.
The Lakers went 98-148 in three years under Walton. After leaving the Lakers, Walton was hired as the head coach in Sacramento, where he won 68 games in a little more than two seasons. In all, Walton owns a 166-241 record as a head coach.
Groups Revealed For 2024 NBA Cup
The NBA has announced the five-team groups for this year’s in-season tournament, now renamed the Emirates NBA Cup, the league announced in a release on Friday (Twitter link).
Like last year, there are six groups — three each from the Western Conference and Eastern Conference — and each conference was split into five groups based on last year’s standings. One team was selected at random from each group to determine the group round matchups.
The results are:
- West Group A: Timberwolves, Clippers, Kings, Rockets and Trail Blazers
- West Group B: Thunder, Suns, Lakers, Jazz and Spurs
- West Group C: Nuggets, Mavericks, Pelicans, Warriors and Grizzlies
- East Group A: Knicks, Magic, Sixers, Nets and Hornets
- East Group B: Bucks, Pacers, Heat, Raptors and Pistons
- East Group C: Celtics, Cavaliers, Bulls, Hawks and Wizards
The NBA Cup begins with group play, which runs from Nov. 12 to Dec. 3. Each team plays one game against each of the four opponents in its group. The NBA released a matchup matrix to help fans follow along (Twitter link).
Just like last season, the winner of each group advances to a knockout round alongside the team with the best record in each conference that didn’t win a group. The semifinals and finals will again be played in T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Last year, the Lakers won the inaugural in-season tournament over the Pacers. LeBron James was named the tournament MVP after dropping 24 points in the title game.
The full game and broadcast schedule for group play will be announced next month.
Scotto’s Latest: Jones, Kennard, Martin, Okogie, Knicks, Shamet, Klintman
The Clippers are showing interest in free agent guard Tyus Jones in sign-and-trade scenarios, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype reports in his latest around-the-league notebook.
While this is just speculation on Scotto’s part, the Clippers could look to use some combination of the expiring contracts of P.J. Tucker and Russell Westbrook or draft compensation and Bones Hyland in sign-and-trade scenarios for the Wizards guard.
Jones, our No. 15-ranked free agent, averaged 12.0 points and 7.3 assists per game last season while shooting 48.9% from the field and 41.4% from beyond the arc.
We have more from Scotto:
- The leaguewide expectation is that Luke Kennard will return to the Grizzlies after the organization declined his team option before free agency, Scotto writes. Kennard averaged 11.0 PPG on 45.0% shooting from deep last season.
- As we noted earlier Friday, it’s likely the Sixers look to use newly signed KJ Martin‘s contract as a trade chip when he becomes eligible to be moved on Jan. 15. The Sixers could trade for a player making $14MM if they packaged Martin alongside three minimum-salary players in a trade.
- The Suns gave Josh Okogie a similar deal to what Martin got and could also look to utilize his salary as a trade chip, Scotto reports. However, unlike Martin, Okogie’s deal can’t be aggregated with other players on Phoenix’s roster due to the team’s position relative to the second tax apron.
- The Knicks are trying to add both size and shooting to their roster this offseason, Scotto writes. Davis Bertans has previously been mentioned as an option for the Knicks, and they’re also expressing interest in free agent guard Landry Shamet. As reported, New York has shown interest in Walker Kessler but Utah’s asking price remains high. Meanwhile, Precious Achiuwa remains open to a return to New York.
- Outside of the Knicks, Scotto reports that Shamet has drawn “exploratory interest” from the Bucks, Heat and Timberwolves. A return to the Wizards isn’t out of the question either.
- The Pistons are attempting to finalize a contract with their No. 37 overall pick Bobi Klintman. Klintman is expected to end up on the 15-man roster on a multiyear contract, according to Scotto. The Pistons were intrigued by his size and shooting ability and are hoping to have him on a standard deal.