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Southeast Notes: Wizards, Hayes, Heat, Draft

June 4th, 2019 at 10:30pm CST by Chris Crouse

The Wizards will work out six prospects on Wednesday, according to the team’s website. Bryce Brown (Auburn), Harry Froling (Marquette 2018), Jessie Govan (Georgetown), Frank Howard (Syracuse), Anthony Lee (Kutztown), and Myles Stephens (Princeton) will all participate in drills for Washington.

Here’s more from around the Southeast Division:

  • The Heat have invited Jaxson Hayes for a workout, according to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. However, the big man has no plans to visit Miami, as he’s expected to be selected before the Heat pick at No. 13.
  • Charles Cooke has worked out for the Heat, Jackson writes in the same piece. Cooke, who went undrafted out of Dayton in 2017, is in play for the team’s summer league team.
  • The Heat gave Duncan Robinson a $250K guarantee and Yante Maten a $100K guarantee in their respective contracts with the team, Jackson relays (same piece). Both players have trigger dates down the line that would bring additional guaranteed salary.
  • The Magic have worked out Cameron Johnson (UNC) and Kris Clyburn (UNLV), according to Josh Robbins of The Athletic (Twitter link). Orlando has the Nos. 16 and 46 overall picks in the draft.
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Pat Riley Speaks On State Of Heat

April 13th, 2019 at 6:54pm CST by Arthur Hill

James Johnson and Dion Waiters would be entering free agency if things had gone differently for the Heat in the summer of 2017, writes Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald.

At a press conference today, team president Pat Riley said he would have signed both players for two seasons instead of four if Miami had been able to land free agent targets Kevin Durant or Gordon Hayward. Once Durant picked the Warriors and Hayward signed with the Celtics, Riley agreed to longer contracts with both Johnson and Waiters.

“On July 1, I didn’t want to be left with nobody,” he said. “After five days of Gordon having to make a decision, I didn’t want to lose some players we had. I do know James had a deal [elsewhere if Miami didn’t sign him]. It was my decision. I didn’t want to lose all three of them.”

That decision left the Heat with two more expensive contracts that could help push the team $35MM above the cap next season, assuming Hassan Whiteside and Goran Dragic both opt in.

“We weren’t thinking of room after we lost Kevin Durant and Hayward,” Riley said. “We were thinking we had that 30-11 team come back [Miami’s record in the second half of the 2016/17 season]. We thought the contracts we gave were long-term contracts. That’s on me. You can put that all on me. We didn’t land Hayward and I didn’t want [to lose] the other two guys.”

Riley covered a wealth of topics during today’s session with the media. Here are a few, courtesy of Jackson and Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald:

  • Even if the Lakers were to make an offer, Riley won’t consider going to L.A. to take over for Magic Johnson. “There’s no doubt that I have a history with that team,” he said. “I have a lot of friends inside the organization. … But I’m not going to be a part of that.”
  • Riley wants coach Erik Spoelstra to find ways to get Whiteside and Bam Adebayo on the court at the same time. Despite being Miami’s highest-paid player, Whiteside averaged just 17 minutes per night over the final 19 games.
  • Riley said Waiters was slowed all season after ankle surgery and was “playing this year on 1 1/2 ankles.” He added that conditioning will be vital for Waiters next season. “I talked to him yesterday,” Riley said. “He knows. He has five months. If he gets his conditioning to world class condition, he can get back [to where he was for 25 excellent games two years ago]. I’m confident he will do it. His career is on the line.”
  • No matter what happens, tanking won’t be part of the Heat’s plans, Riley insists, noting how hard it is to fall into the bottom five in the league.
  • Riley encourages Udonis Haslem to take some time to decide whether he wants to return next season. Haslem has barely played over the past three years, but the Heat are willing to give him a roster spot for the veteran leadership he provides.
  • Duncan Robinson and Yante Maten, who were both signed through 2020/21 in the closing days of the season, may have a future with the team. “I give Duncan and Yante As,” Riley said. “They dominated the [G-League] the way you want them to dominate. That was the best team in the league for a while. We think both of them can develop and you don’t know how far they can go.”
  • Unless they get lucky in the lottery, the Heat will have the 13th pick in the draft, but Riley is optimistic they can find a contributor there. “I am not going to name names, but I’ve seen 30 players that are very good players,” he said. “At 13, I do think we would get something equivalent to who we have on our team right now, Bam, Justise [Winslow], Josh [Richardson] and Derrick Jones Jr.”
  • Riley called Dwyane Wade‘s final season “pure love” as the Heat said goodbye to their all-time leading scorer.
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Heat Sign Duncan Robinson To Standard Contract

April 9th, 2019 at 5:44pm CST by Luke Adams

5:44pm: Robinson’s contract is a three-year, minimum-salary deal like Maten’s that runs through 2020/21, a source confirms to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald (Twitter link). The Heat used part of their mid-level exception to complete the deal, which features guarantee trigger dates in the offseason.

5:29pm: Two days after promoting Yante Maten to their 15-man roster, the Heat have done the same with their other two-way player, announcing today (via Twitter) that they’ve signed forward Duncan Robinson to a standard contract.

Robinson, who will turn 25 later this month, signed a two-way deal with the Heat in 2018 after going undrafted out of Michigan. He has seen limited minutes in 13 games for Miami, having spent most of his rookie year with the Sioux Falls Skyforce, the Heat’s G League affiliate.

In 33 games for the Skyforce, Robinson averaged 21.4 PPG, 4.3 RPG, and 3.0 APG to go along with a very impressive .514/.483/.803 shooting line. He was named to the All-NBAGL Third Team.

While terms of Robinson’s new contract have yet to be reported, the Heat presumably attempted to lock him up to a deal similar to Maten’s — that contract will run through the 2020/21 campaign, though it isn’t guaranteed beyond this season.

The Heat, who ducked under the tax line today when Rodney McGruder was claimed off waivers by the Clippers, now have 14 players under contract, so they could add one more to their 15-man squad before Wednesday’s regular-season finale in Brooklyn if they so choose.

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Heat Notes: Maten, Robinson, Haslem, Waiters

April 7th, 2019 at 11:42am CST by Arthur Hill

The Heat‘s confidence in Yante Maten‘s offensive game led the team to sign him a new contract this morning, writes Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. Playing all season on a two-way deal, the undrafted rookie forward out of Georgia was signed for the three games of this season, along with a partial guarantee over the next two years. His salary for 2020/21 becomes fully guaranteed if he makes the opening night roster this fall.

Maten had a productive season in the G League, averaging 23.5 points, 9.6 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.1 blocks per game despite missing time in January and February with an ankle injury. Heat coach Erik Spoelstra believes Maten would have been in the running for MVP honors if he hadn’t gotten hurt.

“He’s got a great offensive skill set,” Spoelstra said. “You can’t teach that kind of touch for somebody of his size. He’s a gym rat, very coachable. We’re looking forward to growing with him. He’s a good kid.”

There’s more out of Miami:

  • With an available roster spot remaining, the Heat are considering a standard contract for their other two-way player, Duncan Robinson, Jackson reports in the same story. Robinson played 13 games for Miami this season and must be given a standard deal to become eligible for the playoffs.
  • Udonis Haslem has barely played over the past three seasons, but Spoelstra will lobby him to return for another year, Jackson adds. The team believes Haslem’s leadership is worth investing a roster spot, even though he has appeared in just eight games this season. “I’m going to try to convince him to keep on going,” Spoelstra said. “He has the right to take his time, and that’s what he’s going to do. But at least we got him to that point, where it’s not an automatic package deal with Dwyane [Wade]. That would be fitting, but I would like to see him continue. We need it and what he brings to the table is what so many organizations are missing — that leadership, knowledge, somebody that really understands your culture. I will respect whatever decision he makes, but I am going to recruit him hard this summer.”
  • Dion Waiters‘ late-season performance may have dissuaded the Heat from trying to trade him this summer, writes Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. However, he adds that conditioning will be important and Waiters will need to meet his weight requirement for training camp to prove his commitment to management. He still has two years and $24.75MM left on his contract.
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Southeast Notes: Green, Wade, Young, Heat

April 5th, 2019 at 9:55pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Jeff Green has played for six teams since the 2014/15 season and he’d like to stay put for a change. The veteran forward said he “would love to come back” to the Wizards, Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington tweets. Green is averaging 12.3 PPG, 4.0 RPG and 1.8 APG for Washington. Green, 32, signed a one-year, minimum-salary contract with the Wizards last summer and will be an unrestricted free agent once again.

We have more from around the Southeast Division:

  • Heat guard Dwyane Wade said he’ll probably need a therapist after he retires at the end of the season, as he told Rachel Nichols of ESPN. “It is going to be a big change. This is what I know, like, my life has been this,” he said. “I told my wife I need to do therapy and we need to do a little bit. I was always against someone that don’t know me telling me how to live my life or giving me instructions. But I need someone to talk to about it. Because it is a big change.”
  • Hawks point guard Trae Young hopes that voters look at the body of work when deciding the Rookie of the Year award, Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today reports. Luka Doncic looked like the runaway victor but Young’s strong second half has made it a much closer race. “This is a season-long award,” Young said. “Early on, everybody was saying (Doncic) was Rookie of the Year and deservedly so. He was playing really well, and I wasn’t playing the best. I was still playing well. In the second half, it’s flipped. … If you do a full-season look, it’s definitely closer than some people think.”
  • The Heat need to add another player to the roster by Sunday to get back to 14 on the 15-player roster, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel points out. They might even add two players and could convert the two-way contracts of Duncan Robinson and Yante Maten to standard contracts to make them playoff eligible. However, that would also boost their qualifying offers from $50K to $1.4MM apiece, Winderman notes.
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NBA G League Announces 2018/19 All-NBAGL Teams

April 3rd, 2019 at 2:56pm CST by Luke Adams

After being named the G League’s Most Valuable Player and the Defensive Player of the Year for the 2018/19 season on Monday, Raptors 905 big man Chris Boucher – now a member of the Toronto Raptors – headlines the All-NBA G League first team, as the league announced today in a press release.

Boucher was joined on the All-NBAGL first team by teammate Jordan Loyd, as well as Capital City Go-Go guard Jordan McRae, Long Island Nets big man Alan Williams, and Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario center Angel Delgado. All four players are currently on two-way contracts with NBA teams.

That’s a common theme for this year’s All-NBAGL teams, as most of the 15 players named to the three squads aren’t currently NBA free agents, having signed two-way or NBA contracts.

The complete list of the 2018/19 All-NBA G League teams, along with the All-Rookie and All-Defensive squads, is below. Players currently on a 15-man NBA roster are marked with an asterisk (*), while players on two-way contracts are noted with a caret (^).

All-NBAGL First Team:

  • Chris Boucher (Raptors 905) *
  • Angel Delgado (Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario) ^
  • Jordan Loyd (Raptors 905) ^
  • Jordan McRae (Capital City Go-Go) ^
  • Alan Williams (Long Island Nets) ^

All-NBAGL Second Team:

All-NBAGL Third Team:

NBAGL All-Rookie Team:

  • Chris Chiozza (Capital City Go-Go) *
    • Note: Chiozza wasn’t on an NBA contract for most of the season, but was recently called up by the Rockets.
  • Angel Delgado (Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario) ^
  • Yante Maten (Sioux Falls Skyforce) ^
  • Theo Pinson (Long Islands Nets) ^
  • Duncan Robinson (Sioux Falls Skyforce) ^

NBAGL All-Defensive Team:

The All-Defensive team is the only squad that features players who are currently NBA free agents — Brimah and Pelle haven’t been on an NBA roster this season, while Payton only briefly spent time with an NBA team, signing a 10-day contract with the Wizards in January.

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Southeast Notes: Richardson, Winslow, Ariza, Carter-Williams

March 30th, 2019 at 8:13pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Heat may have to make their final push for the playoffs without Josh Richardson and Justise Winslow, relays Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. Neither player traveled with the team on its two-game trip to New York and Boston, and there’s no guarantee that either will return over the final week and a half of the regular season.

Richardson, Miami’s leading scorer at 16.7 PPG, suffered a bruised left heel when he was undercut in Tuesday’s game. He has been wearing a walking boot for protection and because he’s not able to put pressure on the heel.

Winslow missed his eighth straight game tonight with a bruised right thigh. The team hoped to have him back this week, but he hasn’t made enough progress to resume playing. Rodney McGruder also didn’t make the trip because of an aching left knee, and coach Erik Spoelstra confirmed that they’re all getting “as much treatment and work they can get around the clock. That’s their focus.”

There’s more from the Southeast Division:

  • The short-handed Heat are turning to rookie power forward Duncan Robinson to help fill the gap until their injured players return, Jackson adds in the same story. Robinson signed a two-way contract last summer and has only appeared in 12 NBA games. However, he played 22 minutes Thursday night. “He’s certainly gotten better,” Spoelstra said. “He had a phenomenal year in the G League, but he’s improved his defense, his body, conditioning, his strength. He’s improved his ability to work on the move for catch and shoot opportunities. He’s become much more dynamic.”
  • Bradley Beal‘s competitive nature will likely prevent him from taking any nights off, even though the Wizards are out of playoff contention, writes Candace Buckner of The Washington Post. However, Trevor Ariza appears to be done for the year after aggravating his left groin strain on Tuesday.
  • The Magic have been so impressed by Michael Carter-Williams that they would like to have him on the postseason roster if they qualify, but that will require a difficult decision next week, notes Josh Robbins of The Athletic. Orlando received an injury hardship waiver that enabled it to sign Carter-Williams to a pair of 10-day contracts. His second deal expires Thursday, and he must be added to the 15-man roster to be eligible for the playoffs. Robbins identifies Jerian Grant and Isaiah Briscoe as candidates to be waived to make room.
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Heat Rumors: Winslow, Wade, Robinson, Weber

August 31st, 2018 at 10:03am CST by Luke Adams

It remains to be seen how aggressive the Heat will be in trying to lock up Justise Winslow to a rookie scale extension this offseason, according to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald, who writes that the team has yet to present an offer to the fourth-year forward. The Heat also haven’t indicated whether or not an offer will be forthcoming, but the two sides are expected to meet in the coming weeks, Jackson reports.

Miami will have until October 15, the day before the start of the regular season, to work out an extension with Winslow. Without a new deal in place, the former lottery pick would be on track to reach restricted free agency in 2019, and one GM tells Jackson that he could see the 22-year-old fielding offers starting at about $9MM per year. Of course, Winslow’s play in 2018/19 would go a long way toward determining his market value next summer.

Here’s more on the Heat:

  • It doesn’t appear that anyone outside of Dwyane Wade‘s inner circle knows his intentions for the coming season, but two sources – one Heat person and one person who has spoken to Wade – tell Jackson that Wade “seems inclined to play” in 2018/19. That’s far from definitive though. The future Hall-of-Famer has been mulling a return to the Heat, but it’s still possible that he’ll follow fellow veterans Manu Ginobili and David West into retirement.
  • The Heat haven’t ruled out the possibility of converting Duncan Robinson‘s two-way contract to a standard NBA deal if he impresses the club during training camp and the preseason, writes Jackson. Even if Wade and Udonis Haslem re-sign with Miami, the team would have one open spot on its 15-man roster for the regular season.
  • Briante Weber finds himself in a familiar spot this fall, as he prepares to head to training camp with the Heat for the third time in his four-year professional career. Weber, who has only ever appeared in a single regular season game for the Heat, is hoping that his fourth overall contract with the club will be the one that sticks, as Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel details.
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Southeast Notes: Robinson, Hornets, Wade, Carter

August 25th, 2018 at 1:47pm CST by Clark Crum

Despite being invited to participate with USA Basketball in its World Cup qualifying round games, Heat swingman Duncan Robinson has opted to remain in Miami for informal team workouts in the hopes of landing a standard NBA contract for the upcoming season, reports Ira Winderman of the Sun-Sentinel.

“I’m really proud in the fact that Duncan Robinson has been invited to play in the international series,” said Heat team president Pat Riley, “but he decided to stay here because he wanted to make our team, he wants to force us into giving him a real (standard NBA) contract.”

Robinson, 24, signed a two-way contract with the Heat on July 10th that would limit him to 45 days in the NBA this coming season and maximum earnings of about $385K, per Winderman. A standard NBA contract at the rookie minimum would pay Robinson just north of $838K.

Robinson says that his goal in passing over the opportunity to play for Team USA is to maximize his opportunities in the Heat developmental program. “I mean the margin between having this job or being overseas or being in the G League, whatever it might be, is so thin,” Robinson said. “And I understand that. I understand I caught some breaks and was able to put myself in a situation to be successful. I’m certainly thankful for that.”

There’s more today out of the Southeast Division:

  • The Hornets have struggled to attract big name free agents since the franchise returned to North Carolina in 2004, but Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer doesn’t think it has as much to do with the city of Charlotte itself as it has to do with the team’s lack of cap space. Per Bonnell, money is the No. 1 factor in free agency and, unfortunately, the Hornets don’t have significant space under the salary cap now or in the immediate future.
  • In another piece for the Sun-Sentinel, Winderman opines that Riley is fully committed to signing Wade to a free agent contract this summer, luxury tax concerns be darned. Riley’s greater concern would be Wade’s level of commitment. Per Winderman, Riley would likely want a commitment from Wade that this season isn’t simply a retirement tour, but that Wade is seriously interested in making the Heat a better team.
  • While Vince Carter could have spurned the Hawks and signed with a serious title contender this offseason, he tells Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that such a quest is “not his style.” Rather, Carter will be relied upon to be a veteran influence over the youthful roster Atlanta has assembled. “Let them see me and let them see how annoying I can be, but in a good way,” Carter said during an introductory press conference. “I’m going to stay in their ear. At least you know at any time throughout the year, whether it’s practice games, any situation, they will have me to fall back on. Or I’ll come up to them and help them out any way I can.”
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Heat Notes: Vaughn, Stoudemire, Whiteside, Robinson

July 15th, 2018 at 10:55am CST by Arthur Hill

At age 21, former first-round pick Rashad Vaughn is trying to salvage his NBA career, relays Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. Vaughn was part of the Heat’s entry in the Las Vegas Summer League, hoping to earn another shot after being traded twice and waived twice last season.

Vaughn was taken by the Bucks with the 17th pick in the 2015 draft, but his career tailed off quickly after a promising rookie season. In February, Milwaukee dealt him to the Nets, who sent him to the Pelicans two days later. After being waived by New Orleans, Vaughn signed two 10-day contracts with the Magic, but wasn’t kept when the second one expired.

“This is kind of my journey,” Vaughn said. “I’ve got to take a look at it and see what I did wrong and go from there and continue to try to just persevere from there.”

There’s more news out of Miami:

  • Amar’e Stoudemire, who will be back in Miami this week with the Big3 League, is also hoping for another NBA opportunity, Winderman writes in a separate story. Stoudemire, 35, sat out last season after winning a championship in Israel the year before. He said he would be interested in a return to the Heat, but hasn’t spoken to anyone from the team. “As of right now, I’m showing my athletic ability and the way I move,” Stoudemire said. “I think a lot of teams haven’t really seen me play since the last time I played in Israel, so I just want them to see I have great heath and am able to be on that level. Once they see how healthy I am and how good I feel, I think teams will be able to sign me at that point.”
  • The Heat have been open about their desire to trade Hassan Whiteside, but Stoudemire believes his former teammate can succeed in Miami, Winderman adds in the same story. Stoudemire said Whiteside needs to work on his post skills this summer and become a more effective inside scorer. “You can’t be satisfied with the money and the fame; you have to be able to work to become great,” Stoudemire said. “And that’s one thing that a lot players don’t understand. You can have amazing potential, but you’re never going to reach that potential unless you put in that work.”
  • Duncan Robinson was among the biggest winners in summer league, earning a two-way contract with the Heat. Robinson quickly impressed the team with his outside shot, summer league coach Eric Glass tells Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. “He came in and really played well and shot it like we thought and showed us that he can do a couple other things on the court that we liked,” Glass said. “And obviously a two-way came out of that, which he really earned.”
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