Heat To Sign Joe Johnson
5:24pm: The Heat are expected to waive a player in the immediate future which will help them remain under the tax line after inking Johnson, Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel relays (on Twitter).
1:47pm: The Heat expect they’ll sign Joe Johnson this weekend, sources tell Zach Lowe of ESPN.com (Twitter links). He’s indeed headed to Miami, barring an unforeseen turn of events, as Ethan Skolnick of The Miami Herald confirms (on Twitter). The 15th-year veteran clears waivers Saturday. So, it appears Miami is poised to cross back into tax territory. The Heat would have to wait until March 6th to sign Johnson or anyone else to a minimum salary contract without putting themselves in line to pay repeat-offender tax penalties. Miami could work a buyout with another player to avert the tax or waive someone and hope another team claims him, though those scenarios rely on the cooperation of others. Failing any such tax escape hatch, a minimum-salary deal with Johnson would cost about $125K in taxes, $265K in salary and force the team to miss out on a $2.5MM windfall that would come from the league’s payout to non-tax teams, according to Bobby Marks of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports (Twitter link).
Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv first identified the Heat as the front-runners for Johnson earlier today, a reversal from last week, when Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group and the Cleveland Plain Dealer heard Johnson would sign with the Cavs if he worked a buyout with the Nets. Johnson received that buyout Thursday, reportedly giving up about $3MM in exchange for his release. The 34-year-old also apparently had serious interest in the Hawks, but instead it looks like he’s on his way to Miami, reportedly feeling as though he’d see a more significant role there than with other teams. Johnson would prefer living in Miami over other places, too, as Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPNNewYork heard (Twitter link). The Cavs reportedly turned into long shots for him, and Skolnick hears the Thunder and Hawks, not the Cavs, were the teams that most appealed to Johnson aside from the Heat (Twitter link).
Johnson will supplement a Heat roster decimated by injuries and cost-cutting moves that have left them with only 10 healthy players. Conflicting reports surround the matter of whether the Heat are pressuring Chris Bosh to sit out the rest of the season because of renewed blood-clot issues, while Tyler Johnson is out until at least April and Beno Udrih at least May. Heat team president Pat Riley cited the team’s dwindling point guard corps Thursday when he left the door open a crack to the idea of paying the tax, but Johnson is a wing player. He’s nonetheless the jewel of the buyout market even though his scoring average has declined for four straight years. The seven-time All-Star posted 11.8 points in 33.9 minutes per game across 57 appearances with Brooklyn this season. He’s shot 37.1% on his 3-pointers this season, matching the rate for his career, and that figures to help Miami, which is 28th in 3-pointers made.
The Heat have eyed Johnson for weeks, if not longer, as Skolnick reported earlier this month that the Heat would have interest if Johnson became available on the buyout market.
Heat Favorites For Joe Johnson, Cavs Long Shots
1:40pm: The Heat expect they’ll sign Johnson this weekend, sources tell Zach Lowe of ESPN.com (Twitter link). He clears waivers Saturday. So, it appears Miami is poised to cross back into tax territory.
1:25pm: Miami is “far and away the most likely” destination for Johnson, but he’s yet to make up his mind, a league source said to Zagoria (Twitter link).
12:02pm: The Cavaliers have become long shots for Johnson, USA Today’s Jeff Zillgitt hears (Twitter link).
FRIDAY, 11:56am: Miami has pulled into the lead for Johnson, reports Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv (Twitter link), as the longtime starter believes he’d see a more significant role with the Heat than with others, ESPN’s Chris Broussard says (Twitter link). Heat president Pat Riley expressed at least some level of openness Thursday to re-entering tax territory, though he spoke specifically about the team’s lack of point guards.
THURSDAY, 4:20pm: The Cavaliers are confident that they’re the favorites to land Joe Johnson now that he’s worked a buyout with the Nets, but the Hawks, in whom Johnson also reportedly holds interest, plan a concerted effort to lure him back to Atlanta, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (All Twitter links). The Heat are also among the teams he’s strongly considering, with the Celtics and Thunder close behind the trio of Cleveland, Atlanta and Miami, sources tell Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops (Twitter link). Johnson appears likely to wait a couple of days before making a decision, Stein adds. He’ll be on waivers until Saturday at 4:00pm Central time, at which point he’ll most assuredly become a free agent, since no team has the cap room or an exception large enough to claim his salary of almost $24.895MM. Johnson will give back approximately $3MM of that figure as part of the buyout deal once he clears waivers, Nets GM Sean Marks said today in an appearance on The Michael Kay Show on ESPN New York radio, notes Mike Mazzeo of ESPNNewYork.com (Twitter link).
Johnson was reportedly planning to sign with the Cavs, but the Hawks have a financial edge, since Atlanta can offer a prorated portion of the room exception now worth about $2MM. Cleveland is limited to the prorated minimum salary, which would give Johnson approximately $400K. The cost of signing Johnson would nonetheless be greater to the Cavs than it would be to the Hawks because of Cleveland’s position as a luxury tax team. The 15th-year veteran would represent an investment of between $1.2MM and $1.3MM in combined salary and taxes for the Cavs.
Miami is in a tough position, since the Heat would slip over the tax line if they signed Johnson to any more than the minimum salary at any time before March 6th. The Heat would pay repeat-offender tax penalties of at least $2.50 for every dollar they’re over the tax line on the final day of the regular season. The Celtics, Rockets, Thunder and Raptors are all among those pursuing Johnson, according to Stein, and the Thunder have the most to give Johnson with about $2.4MM remaining on their prorated taxpayer’s mid-level exception.
The Nets clearly aren’t in the picture for Johnson at this point, but he wouldn’t dismiss the idea of re-signing with them in the summer, as he said before the buyout, and Marks didn’t rule out the possibility as he spoke on the radio today, Mazzeo tweets. “You never know what’s going to happen,” Marks said. Still, Johnson has also said he places a premium on winning, a remark that’s an auspicious sign for the Cavs in their competition with the Hawks and Heat and casts doubt on the idea of a summer reunion with Brooklyn.
Southeast Notes: Riley, Johnson, Anderson
Heat president Pat Riley acknowledged that injuries that have left the team with only 10 healthy players could prompt the team to change its tax-related stance against making a signing in the next two weeks, observes Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel. The Heat can’t sign anyone until March 6th without crossing the tax threshold, and Riley has said his plan is to wait even longer so Miami can fill both of its open roster spots before season’s end.
“We have our limitations financially as far as what we can do and how much and there’s a certain date,” Riley said. “But obviously being down another point guard, we may have to rethink that. But right now, that’s not a priority.”
Miami is reportedly among the contenders for Joe Johnson and would have interest in Kevin Martin if Johnson signs elsewhere. See more from the Southeast Division:
- Johnson would be a cheap addition for the Hawks who would fill a need for scoring and help on the wing, where Kyle Korver and Kent Bazemore have struggled, but he doesn’t seem like a fit within Atlanta’s offense, opines Jeff Schultz of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, who questions whether Johnson would accept a secondary role.
- Alan Anderson surprised himself with his performance Wednesday in his first game with the Wizards after injury knocked him out for most of the season, as J. Michael of CSN Mid-Atlantic relays. Anderson, who signed a one-year, $4MM deal in the summer, led the team in plus/minus at plus 11, Michael notes. “He’s going to be competitive. He’s going to play with a chip on his shoulder, an edge. He’s always one of those physical players out there. He did one heck of a job for his first game back,” John Wall said. “His defensive pressure, intensity, his talking out there, made some big shots for us to get us back into the game. Once he gets his wind [back], he’s going to be great for us. That’s the reason we wanted him on our team.”
- Soon-to-be free agent Hassan Whiteside‘s value depends on the eye of the beholder, as some teams would probably jump at adding him for the eye-popping production he delivers while others wouldn’t tolerate his mistakes, writes Rob Mahoney of SI.com, who details the Heat big man’s strengths and limitations.
Nets Waive Joe Johnson In Apparent Buyout
The Nets have waived Joe Johnson, the team announced via press release. The statement didn’t refer to it as a buyout, but the sides were in buyout talks, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com reported earlier today. The 34-year-old was making almost $24.895MM in the final year of his contract and likely relinquished a portion of that in exchange for the chance to hit free agency.
“The Nets want to thank Joe for his many contributions to the team and the organization,” Nets GM Sean Marks said in the team’s statement. “Joe has been a quality professional since joining the Nets four years ago, was a valued member of three playoff teams, and provided many thrilling moments for his teammates and Nets’ fans. We wish him much success in the future.”
No team has enough cap room or any exception large enough to claim Johnson off waivers, so he’s poised to hit the open market Saturday. He’d been planning to sign with the Cavaliers in the event of a buyout, as Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group and the Cleveland Plain Dealer reported, but Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution hears he has interest in rejoining the Hawks, the team he played for from 2005 to 2012. The Cavs and Hawks are among a group in pursuit of the 15th-year veteran that also includes the Celtics, Rockets, Heat, Thunder and Raptors, according to Stein. Ethan Skolnick of the Miami Herald first reported the Heat’s interest weeks ago, but Miami is unable to sign anyone prior to March 6th without crossing the luxury tax line.
The move leaves the Nets with two open roster spots. Brooklyn saved more than $1.5MM through a buyout deal with Andrea Bargnani this past weekend. Marks has been on the job for only a week, but both Bargnani and Johnson have hit waivers in that brief time. The Nets also released Deron Williams in a buyout deal this past summer under former GM Billy King.
Nets, Joe Johnson Start Buyout Talks
The Nets and Joe Johnson have begun talks about a would-be buyout deal, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Johnson would reportedly sign with the Cavaliers if he becomes a free agent this season, but Stein hears that the Hawks, Celtics, Rockets, Heat, Thunder and Raptors are also pursuing him (Twitter link). Multiple reports in recent weeks have cast doubt on the idea that Johnson would engineer a buyout, which would entail him giving back part of his nearly $24.895MM salary, and Johnson has said he wouldn’t rule out re-signing with the Nets this summer, when his contract is set to expire. Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group and the Cleveland Plain Dealer, who reported the Cavs link, heard that whether a buyout happens comes down to Brooklyn’s willingness to reap financial savings at the cost of a move that would help Cleveland.
Johnson, 34, is averaging 11.8 points per game on 40.6% shooting this season, his lowest figure in either category since the 2002/03 season. Still, he’s shooting 37.1% from 3-point range, mirroring his career average. He remains in a starting role and hasn’t appeared as a reserve in any game since 2003/04, though many of the teams that would sign him would probably ask him to come off the bench.
It’s nonetheless no surprise to see Johnson attract interest from multiple suitors in spite of his declining production, as he’s still capable of delivering an offensive boost. He put up 27 points and 11 assists on February 5th in Brooklyn’s win against the Kings. That was a few days after Ethan Skolnick of the Miami Herald reported that Johnson would stir the Heat’s interest if he came free on the buyout market.
The Cavs and Raptors only have the prorated minimum salary of about $400K to offer, while the Thunder have the most to spend among the teams connected to him, since they have a prorated portion of the $3.376MM taxpayer’s mid-level exception, which is now worth about $2.4MM. The Hawks and Celtics have prorated portions of the room exception now worth about $2MM. The Heat can’t pay even the minimum salary on a contract for the rest of the season until March 6th without inviting repeat-offender tax penalties, while the Rockets are roughly $500K shy of the hard cap they triggered when they signed Montrezl Harrell earlier this season.
Johnson would have to hit waivers by the close of business on March 1st to be eligible to appear in the playoffs with a team other than Brooklyn, a club with no postseason hopes of its own. The Jeff Schwartz client has been in the postseason every year since missing out with the Hawks in 2007.
Eastern Notes: Riley, Bargnani, Lee
Heat team president Pat Riley said that Miami intends to have 15 players on its roster by season’s end, Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel relays (Twitter links). The executive indicated that the team plans to add one player by March 10th and another prior to the end of the campaign, Winderman notes. The Heat currently possess 13 players on their roster and are unable to sign anyone to more than a 10-day contract until March 6th, or else the team would be back over the luxury tax line and risk repeat-offender tax penalties. Miami’s roster situation is further complicated by the losses of Beno Udrih, who is out for three months, Tyler Johnson, who is on the shelf for at least two, and Chris Bosh, whom the team is thinking about shutting down for the remainder of the 2015/16 campaign as he deals with blood clot issues for the second straight season.
Here’s more from out of the Eastern Conference:
- Andrea Bargnani gave up $323,599 in salary for 2015/16 and $1,228,060 for 2016/17 as part of his buyout arrangement with the Nets, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders relays (on Twitter). The oft-injured power forward will earn $1,039,298 this season and will give Brooklyn a cap hit worth $323,599 next season. The move gives the Nets about $1.7MM in breathing room beneath the luxury tax line.
- David Lee sacrificed $458,575 in salary to facilitate his buyout from the Celtics, Pincus tweets. Boston is on the hook for the remainder of Lee’s $15,035,105 post-buyout salary. Lee ultimately profited from the arrangement, since he signed a deal with the Mavericks that’s worth more than $2MM.
- The Bulls have officially announced today that their new D-League affiliate, which begins play next season, will be called the Windy City Bulls.
Heat Want Chris Bosh To Sit For Rest Of Season?
2:55pm: A team source who spoke with Jason Lieser of the Palm Beach Post disputes the idea that the Heat is pressuring Bosh to sit out.
2:00pm: The Heat are pressing Chris Bosh to sit out the remainder of the season with a recurrence of the blood-clot issue that prematurely ended last season for him, but the All-Star big man continues to search for a way to return to the court, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports. Doctors would also like to see Bosh sit, sharing in the team’s concern about the potential risks involved for him, Wojnarowski indicates. Bosh, Heat owner Micky Arison, team president Pat Riley and other Heat officials will meet sometime today or tomorrow, the Vertical scribe adds, and Ethan Skolnick of The Miami Herald hears that “some finality” about Bosh’s status will come tonight (Twitter link). In any case, Bosh has an encouraging prognosis for his long-term health, as The Herald’s Barry Jackson reported last week.
Bosh, who turns 32 next month, suffered blood clotting in his left calf around the All-Star break, a situation eerily similar to the potentially life-threatening blood clots in both his lungs that emerged almost precisely a year earlier. The issue doesn’t appear to be as serious this time around, but it’s still troubling, and the Heat apparently don’t have any desire to take chances. Bosh, if he agreed to stop playing for the remainder of this season, would be re-evaluated in three to six months, sources told Wojnarowski. A three-month timetable would ostensibly leave the door open by at least a crack for a return in time to play in the Eastern Conference Finals, if the Heat make it that far, but Wojnarowski doesn’t raise that possibility in his report.
The January 15th deadline to apply for a disabled player exception is long in the past, and though Beno Udrih is out for three months and Tyler Johnson at least two, Miami is still one long-term injury shy of the number needed to qualify for a 16th roster spot via hardship. Of course, the Heat have two open roster spots as it is, and they can’t sign anyone to more than a 10-day contract until March 6th, lest they creep back over the luxury tax line and risk repeat-offender tax penalties. Miami is eyeing Jordan Crawford, Jason Thompson, Tony Wroten and Dorell Wright as they consider ways to fill out the roster after March 6th, as Jackson reported.
The optimism surrounding Bosh’s long-term prognosis is a saving grace for the Heat, since he still has three seasons remaining after this one on the five-year max contract he signed in 2014. It also provides a plausible explanation for why the Heat would prefer to err on the side of caution for this season, one in which the team has risen to third place in the Eastern Conference but still lacks a strong chance at winning the title.
Southeast Notes: Bazemore, Richardson, Booker
The presence of Kent Bazemore was one reason why the Hawks let DeMarre Carroll walk in free agency this past summer, according to Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and over the first half of the season, Bazemore delivered on the team’s faith in him. However, Bazemore has slumped of late, as Vivlamore details. The fourth-year veteran heads into his own free agency July 1st, the same day he turns 27, with projections for next season’s salary varying widely between the mid-level and $12MM. Celtics coach Brad Stevens was the first to call him when he last became a free agent, in 2014, notes Shams Charania of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports. That came on the heels of Bazemore’s first significant minutes in the NBA down the stretch of the 2013/14 with the Lakers, who had acquired him via trade from the Warriors at the deadline that season, and he’s grateful for the swap, cognizant that if he was ever to carve out a substantive role for himself in the NBA, he’d have to leave Golden State, Charania writes. See more on Bazemore’s current team amid news from the Southeast Division:
- Bazemore’s slump, Kyle Korver‘s advancing age and the underwhelming impact of trade acquisition Tim Hardaway are among the reasons the Hawks have regressed this season, as Lang Greene of Basketball Insiders examines. Greene also wonders how much the looming specter of Al Horford‘s free agency and the unsettled situation at point guard, where Dennis Schröder‘s performance has pushed Jeff Teague for playing time amid trade rumors involving both, have also played into the team’s decline in play. Atlanta is 31-27 after going 60-22 a year ago.
- The defensive versatility of Josh Richardson, who can guard every position but center, figures to come in handy for the Heat down the stretch this season, as Manny Navarro of the Miami Herald wrote Monday, and that’s doubly so in the wake of Tuesday’s news that backup point guard Beno Udrih is likely done for the year. A utility role isn’t new for this year’s 40th overall pick. “I was like that in college all four years,” Richardson said, according to Navarro. “It’s not any different now.”
- The Wizards may well have been better served re-signing Trevor Booker in 2014 instead of signing-and-trading for Kris Humphries instead, given the team’s change of styles since then, observes J. Michael of CSN Mid-Atlantic. Booker instead signed with the Jazz, while Washington traded Humphries along with DeJuan Blair and a protected first-rounder for Markieff Morris, creating a roster spot that the team is poised to fill with fellow power forward J.J. Hickson.
Beno Udrih Likely To Miss Remainder Of Season
WEDNESDAY, 10:26am: Udrih will undergo surgery for what the Heat are calling a torn plantar plate in his right foot, the team announced via press release. He’ll miss three months, according to the club. That timetable would put him back in action by late May, so ostensibly a slim chance exists that he’ll play again this season, if the Heat make the Eastern Conference Finals.
TUESDAY, 9:44am: Heat backup point guard Beno Udrih will undergo surgery to repair damage to his right foot, Shams Charania of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports reports. As a result of the procedure Udrih will miss the remainder of the 2015/16 campaign, Charania adds. No official announcement has been made by the team as of yet regarding Udrih’s injury.
Miami isn’t able to apply for any sort of roster relief to compensate for the injury, with the January 15th deadline to apply for a disabled player exception well in the rearview. Further complicating matters for Miami is the fact that they are unable to sign anyone to more than a 10-day contract until March 6th or else they would creep over the luxury tax line once again. The Heat are currently just $218,000 below the tax line, Bobby Marks of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports notes (on Twitter).
Combo guard Tyler Johnson is already out indefinitely after undergoing left shoulder surgery earlier this month, which makes the loss of Udrih sting even more. Udrih became the team’s primary backup to Goran Dragic after Johnson went down, appearing in 36 games for the team since being acquired from Memphis back in November. The 33-year-old averaged 4.4 points, 1.8 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 16.3 minutes per outing to go along with a slash line of .434/.333/.882 since arriving in South Florida.
Heat Eye Jordan Crawford, Jason Thompson, Others
The Heat have Jordan Crawford and Jason Thompson on a list of players they will consider next month when they’re eligible to sign someone for the rest of the season without crossing the luxury tax threshold, reports Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. Jackson also mentions Tony Wroten and Dorell Wright, whom the Heat have checked in on, as Jackson wrote last month. The list includes D-Leaguers and others likely to be available as well, Jackson adds.
Miami is down to 10 healthy players following the loss of Beno Udrih to season-ending foot surgery. Fellow backup point guard Tyler Johnson is already out at least two months with an injured shoulder and uncertainty surrounds Chris Bosh, who’s again dealing with a blood-clot problem. The Heat have two open roster spots, but they can’t add anyone to more than a 10-day contract before March 6th without leaping back into tax territory, which they escaped at the trade deadline. Any 10-day deal would push that date farther back into March. Heat GM Andy Elisburg said Miami had no strict mandate to escape the luxury tax before the deadline, but team president Pat Riley, speaking to Couper Moorhead for the Heat’s website, stressed that avoiding the tax, and the repeat-offender penalties the Heat would have been subject to, was a high priority.
Crawford, outside of a preseason stint with the Bulls this past fall, hasn’t played in the NBA since 2013/14, when he started 35 games at point guard for the Celtics. He averaged an eye-popping 43.1 points in 37.9 minutes per game against relatively weak competition in China this year. The 27-year-old has mostly played at shooting guard during his NBA career, but he’d make more sense for the Heat than would Thompson, a power forward. The 29-year-old Thompson, who’s also drawing overseas interest, is scheduled to clear waivers today in the wake of his release from the Warriors. He started 63 games for the Kings in 2014/15 but averaged only 6.4 minutes per game across 28 appearances for Golden State this season.