- Wayne Ellington could end up being more of a 3-point specialist than he expected when he signed with the Heat this offseason, Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel speculates. Winderman believes earmarking minutes for Josh Richardson on the wing will be a priority for the franchise due to his upside. That, along with the signing of Dion Waiters, may leave Ellington on the bench for the majority of games.
- The Heat may benefit from Russell Westbrook‘s decision to accept an extension with the Thunder, contends Ira Winderman of the Sun-Sentinel. Winderman points out that Miami has had its options limited by the pursuit of a free agent every offseason since LeBron James left in 2014, and that would have happened again next summer if Westbrook had been available. With him under contract, the Heat may look more seriously at trades involving Goran Dragic or the newly re-signed Hassan Whiteside. The author also notes that next summer will be crucial for Miami because Tyler Johnson will count $19MM against the salary cap starting in 2018 and the Heat will be short on draft picks to deal, already owing the Suns their 2018 and 2021 first-rounders from the trade that brought Dragic to Miami.
Former All-Star shooting guard Ray Allen has had conversations with the Celtics and Bucks as he contemplates an NBA comeback at age 41, writes Dom Amore of The Hartford Courant. Both teams have a special significance for Allen, who won an NBA title with Boston in 2008 and broke into the league with Milwaukee in 1996.
“I would love going back to those places if it worked out,” Allen said, “because both teams are good, too. It doesn’t necessarily have to be championship-or-bust for me to go back to the NBA. I want to be in a situation where I thought I could help, play a little bit and help where they have good young talent.”
Allen hasn’t played in the league since 2013/14, when he appeared in 73 games for Miami, mostly as a reserve. He said he has started going through intense workouts to prepare him for NBA competition and has felt “great” afterward.
After winning titles with the Celtics and Heat, there has been speculation that Allen may want to join the defending champion Cavaliers or the runner-up Warriors to give himself the best shot at another ring. The Spurs and Clippers have also been mentioned as possible destinations, and Allen said Knicks’ super-fan Spike Lee has been texting him about coming to New York.
Allen made it clear that a return to the league is not definite and said he will make a decision by the time training camps open late next month. His choice will be based on finding the right franchise and the right role.
“My decision is predicated on what is available,” he said. “I said that I was interested because I never retired for a reason. I’ve been watching, seeing what teams have been doing and I’ve been waiting to see if the opportunity presented itself where I think I could fit.”
It’s been an offseason of surprises in Miami, where the Heat’s roster looks much different than it did a couple months ago.
After months of posturing over whether or not the team would be willing to offer Hassan Whiteside the max, Miami relented, holding off aggressive rival suitors to re-sign the star center to a four-year deal. However, several days later, the Heat lost their other key free agent, longtime star guard Dwyane Wade, when he decided to head to Chicago. With Wade no longer on their books, the Heat turned around and matched Tyler Johnson‘s pricey four-year offer sheet from the Nets, an outcome that likely surprised even Johnson.
The Heat also got one of the bargains of the summer when they signed Dion Waiters using their room exception, but the addition of Waiters – along with veterans like James Johnson, Wayne Ellington, and Luke Babbitt – raises questions about the club’s plan for 2016/17.
Will Miami hand the reins to young players like Whiteside, Johnson, Justise Winslow, and Josh Richardson, and start looking ahead to the future? Or is this still a team focused on immediately contending with the help of its veterans?
The status of Chris Bosh could go a long way toward determining the Heat’s future, at least in the short term. If Bosh can return to the court, the club will have its eye on the playoffs and on the 2017 free agent market, where it could pursue an impact player to complement Whiteside, Bosh, and the team’s other core players. If Bosh is deemed medically unfit to return, the Heat may shift into retooling mode. Of course, even with Bosh on the floor, it doesn’t look like Miami has enough talent to seriously challenge LeBron James and the Cavaliers in the East.
Complicating matters is Russell Westbrook‘s recent extension with the Thunder — if the Heat were already looking ahead to the 2017 free agent period, Westbrook likely would have been atop the club’s wish list. Instead, he no longer looks like a viable target until at least 2018.
What do you think? How do you think the Heat should move forward? Should they shift into retooling mode, allowing their young players to take on larger roles? Or should the team still be exploring the trade market and looking ahead to next summer’s free agent market in an effort to make upgrades and compete immediately? Are those two scenarios even mutually exclusive, or is there a way for the club to do both?
Take to the comments section below to share your opinions on the Heat. We look forward to hearing your thoughts.
The Hornets committed nearly $200MM to free agents this summer, including over $187MM in guaranteed money, but that doesn’t mean the team didn’t lose several key players from last year’s roster. Asked about an offseason that saw the team lose Al Jefferson, Courtney Lee, and Jeremy Lin, Kemba Walker told Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer that “it sucks” to see so many teammates depart, especially when one of those players was Jefferson.
“But that’s the business: You’re always going to play with some new guys every year,” said the Hornets’ starting point guard. “You think about Big Al, who I wish we could have kept. He helped change this franchise around big time from the day he got here.”
Here’s more from Walker, along with a couple more items from out of the Southeast division:
- While Walker was sad to see Jefferson, Lee, and Lin go, he’s optimistic about the Hornets’ new additions, and is particularly intrigued by center Roy Hibbert. “I think, if he can get back to the level he once was at, he can be a huge help to us,” Walker told Bonnell. The point guard also added that he’s fully recovered from offseason knee surgery.
- Within his latest mailbag for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, Ira Winderman discusses the Heat‘s Plan B for 2017 free agency now that Russell Westbrook won’t be available, and examines whether point guard Beno Udrih – who reportedly has a standing contract offer from the team – is even a fit this year in Miami.
- Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders identifies some of the summer’s most notable team-friendly contracts, writing that Dion Waiters‘ modest deal with the Heat represents an impressive low-risk, high-reward investment for the team.
- As we detailed earlier this week, two Southeast teams (Atlanta and Miami) have used most or all of their room exceptions, while the other three clubs in the division still have that $2.898MM exception available.
- Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel cautions that Heat fans should keep their expectations in check regarding the possibility of landing Russell Westbrook in free agency next summer, since Miami – and any other team besides Oklahoma City – is a long shot for the star point guard. Winderman suggests that it makes more sense for the Heat to focus on developing their young talent rather than to “build an entire season around an all-or-nothing run for Westbrook.”
- While Lance Stephenson may be a fit with the Heat if he were willing to come off the bench, the team’s roster crunch (18 players currently under contract) would likely prevent the swingman from viewing Miami as a desirable landing spot for next season if the team were interested in him, Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel opines in his latest “Ask Ira” column.
Over the next several days, we’ll be breaking down 2016 NBA free agent spending by division, examining which teams – and divisions – were the most active this July.
These divisional breakdowns won’t present a full picture of teams’ offseason spending. Some notable free agents, including LeBron James, remain unsigned, so there’s still money out there to be spent. Our lists also don’t include money spent on this year’s first- and second-round picks or draft-and-stash signings. There are a few free agent names missing in some instances as well, since those deals aren’t yet official or terms haven’t been reported.
Still, these closer looks at divisional spending should generally reveal how teams invested their money in free agency this summer, identifying which clubs went all-out and which ones played it safe.
With the help of our Free Agent Tracker and contract info from Basketball Insiders, we’ll focus today on the Southeast division. Let’s dive in…
1. Washington Wizards
- Total money committed: $239,223,166
- Guaranteed money committed (including player options): $234,026,744
- Largest expenditure: Bradley Beal (five years, $127,171,313)
- Other notable signings:
- Ian Mahinmi (four years, $64,000,000)
- Andrew Nicholson (four years, $26,000,000)
- Jason Smith (three years, $15,675,000)
- Notes:
- Marcus Thornton will earn $1,315,448 on a minimum-salary contract, but the Wizards will only pay $980,431 of that salary, with the NBA footing the rest of the bill.
2. Charlotte Hornets
- Total money committed: $197,549,753
- Guaranteed money committed (including player options): $187,517,567
- Largest expenditure: Nicolas Batum (five years, $120,000,000)
- Other notable signings:
- Marvin Williams (four years, $54,512,500)
- Ramon Sessions (two years, $12,270,000)
- Roy Hibbert (one year, $5,000,000)
- Notes:
- Brian Roberts will earn $1,050,961 on a minimum-salary contract, but the Hornets will only pay $980,431 of that salary, with the NBA footing the rest of the bill.
- Sessions’ deal contributes significantly to the gap between the Hornets’ total money and guaranteed money committed, since his second year ($6.27MM) is a team option.
3. Orlando Magic
- Total money committed: $197,000,000
- Guaranteed money committed (including player options): $197,000,000
- Largest expenditure: Evan Fournier (five years, $85,000,000)
- Other notable signings:
- Bismack Biyombo (four years, $68,000,000)
- D.J. Augustin (four years, $29,000,000)
- Jeff Green (one year, $15,000,000)
- Notes:
- The Magic have yet to add any camp invitees or players on partially-guaranteed deals, so the four players listed above make up the team’s entire free agent haul so far.
4. Miami Heat
- Total money committed: $186,713,810
- Guaranteed money committed (including player options): $175,347,388
- Largest expenditure: Hassan Whiteside (four years, $98,419,537)
- Other notable signings:
- Tyler Johnson (four years, $50,000,000)
- Wayne Ellington (two years, $12,270,000)
- Dion Waiters (two years, $5,926,410)
- Derrick Williams (one year, $4,598,000)
- Udonis Haslem (one year, $4,000,000)
- James Johnson (one year, $4,000,000)
- Notes:
- Like Sessions for the Hornets, Ellington’s second-year salary of $6.27MM is not guaranteed, which contributes to the gap between the Heat’s total money and guaranteed money committed.
5. Atlanta Hawks
- Total money committed: $151,929,151
- Guaranteed money committed (including player options): $150,530,431
- Largest expenditure: Dwight Howard (three years, $70,500,000)
- Other notable signings:
- Kent Bazemore (four years, $70,000,000)
- Malcolm Delaney (two years, $5,000,000)
- Kris Humphries (one year, $4,000,000)
- Notes:
- Jarrett Jack will earn $1,551,659 on a minimum-salary contract, but the Hawks will only pay $980,431 of that salary, with the NBA footing the rest of the bill.
Previously:
Southwest
As Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel details, Dwyane Wade‘s decision to leave the Heat this offseason essentially boiled down to eight words he said during a Sunday interview with ESPN: “They made a choice; I made a choice.”
“My time, the clock ticked out on me,” Wade said in the ESPN interview. “And whether they (the Heat) felt it, whether they wanted to do it, I did. And I respectfully walk away saying I tip my hat to their organization and to the city for embracing me and giving me the platform to be great. And I did that. I was great. It will always be there. But I’ve got more things to do.”
Here are a few more items from out of the Southeast, including more on the Heat:
- The Heat essentially have a “standing invitation” out to Beno Udrih for a minimum-salary contract if he can’t find a better deal than that elsewhere, writes Winderman. It’s not clear whether or not Miami’s standing offer to the veteran point guard would be fully guaranteed.
- While a player like Dion Waiters could help the Heat win more games this year, Winderman suggests that the Heat should prioritize the development of their core players like Hassan Whiteside, Justise Winslow, Josh Richardson, and Tyler Johnson.
AUGUST 1, 8:50am: Stoudemire has officially signed a two-year deal with Hapoel Jerusalem, according to Pick (Twitter link). “I’m looking forward to help the team compete for titles,” Stoudemire said.
JULY 31, 10:01am: Amar’e Stoudemire, who announced his retirement on Tuesday, has signed to play in Israel next season, tweets international basketball writer David Pick. Stoudemire officially ended his NBA career at age 33 by signing a ceremonial contract with the Knicks, but he isn’t ready to give up the game completely.
Stoudemire will play for Hapoel Jerusalem, a team he partially owns along with several other investors. Pick notes that he will become the most famous former NBA star ever to play in Israel.
Stoudemire spent 14 years in the NBA, playing for the Suns, Knicks, Mavericks and Heat. He appeared in 52 games for Miami last season, starting 36, and averaged 5.8 points and 4.3 rebounds in nearly 15 minutes per night.
Stoudemire’s links to Israel are based in his embrace of Judaism. When he joined the Heat in 2015, he told Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel that he considers himself “culturally Jewish” and was planning to obtain Israeli citizenship.
“When I traveled to Israel for the first time, the world took hold of that and [the media] made it a big deal, and … it just kind of blew up from there,” he said. “But I was always this way, even when I was in Phoenix or even in high school here in Florida. But it just happened to become more visible when I traveled to Israel.”