Offseason In Review: Miami Heat
Hoops Rumors is in the process of looking back at each team’s offseason, from the end of the playoffs in June right up until opening night. Trades, free agent signings, draft picks, contract extensions, option decisions, camp invitees and more will be covered as we examine the moves each franchise made over the last several months.
Signings
- Goran Dragic: Five years, $85MM. Signed via Bird rights. Fifth year is a player option.
- Gerald Green: One year, $1.356MM. Signed via minimum salary exception.
- Amar’e Stoudemire: One year, $1.499MM. Signed via minimum salary exception.
- Dwyane Wade: One year, $20MM. Signed via Bird rights.
Extensions
- None
Trades
- Acquired Boston’s 2019 second round pick (top-55 protected) from the Celtics in exchange for Zoran Dragic, Miami’s 2020 second round pick and $1.6MM in cash.
- Acquired Orlando’s 2016 second round pick (top-55 protected) from the Magic in exchange for Shabazz Napier and $1.1MM in cash.
Waiver Claims
- None
Draft Picks
- Justise Winslow (Round 1, 10th overall). Signed via rookie exception to rookie scale contract.
- Josh Richardson (Round 2, 40th overall). Signed via taxpayer mid-level exception for three years, $2.4MM. First year is fully guaranteed; second and third years are non-guaranteed.
Camp Invitees
- Keith Benson — waived.
- Corey Hawkins — waived.
- Tre Kelley — waived.
- John Lucas III — waived.
- Briante Weber — waived.
- Greg Whittington — waived.
Departing Players
Rookie Contract Option Decisions
- None
The Heat are a popular sleeper pick for a deep postseason run this year in the Eastern Conference despite losing 45 games last season. That’s because they still have one of the top coaches in the league in Erik Spoelstra and they have an improved roster. The Heat chose to remain in win-now mode instead of going through a rebuilding phase. Therefore, with two aging stars in Dwyane Wade (33) and Chris Bosh (30), there is a lot riding on this season.
There is also reason for all the optimism (albeit, even if it is under-the-radar) surrounding the team this season. The team had a sensible offseason. Miami snagged former Duke star Justise Winslow with the 10th overall pick of the draft in June, and the small forward is immensely talented. The best part for the Heat is that they don’t need Winslow to carry them this season at all. Winslow is only 19 and can use this season to grow and learn behind Wade and a batch of other veterans.
The Heat are relying on a strong starting five that features three former All-Stars in Bosh, Wade and Deng. It’s the two other players, however, that are arguably more important: Goran Dragic and Hassan Whiteside. Re-signing Dragic was the Heat’s most significant move of the offseason. Dragic, who came at midseason in a trade with the Suns, is a solid point guard with above-average court vision and the deal will look like less of an investment from Miami’s standpoint once the salary cap skyrockets, as expected, in the next few years. In other words, it was a win-win for Miami.
The deal with Wade was similar in that sense. By re-signing its longtime star to a one-year, $20MM arrangement, the Heat didn’t do much to compromise their ability to build in the future. Of course, the Heat would have preferred Wade to opt in on his old contract for 2015/16, which would given Wade a salary of $16.125MM. Wade has been limited by injuries the past few seasons, and he appeared in 62 games for Miami last season, averaging 21.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 4.8 assists in 31.8 minutes per contest. The X-factor for the Heat this season is whether Wade can stay healthy. Spoelstra will offer Wade rest whenever possible to preserve his body.
With the exception of drafting Winslow and re-signing Dragic, the Heat’s offseason was rather quiet. Miami reportedly met with LaMarcus Aldridge, but the Heat were never viewed as major players in obtaining the All-Star’s services. Miami did not want added luxury tax issues, for that matter. On the flip side, the Heat didn’t have to replace much, either. Michael Beasley, Zoran Dragic, Shabazz Napier and Henry Walker are gone from last year’s team, but none of those players were part of the big picture for Miami. Goran Dragic said he understood the team’s decision of not keeping his brother. The Heat cut ties with Zoran Dragic and Napier in salary-clearing trades.
Miami made some changes to its bench that should help. For one, Josh McRoberts, who was expected to start last year but missed time most of the season with injuries, is part of the veteran reserve group. McRoberts can stretch the floor and knock down jumpers. The Heat’s two other additions were done cheaply with the bench in mind. Gerald Green and Amar’e Stoudemire were added on one-year deals that feature very low-risk and moderate upside. From Miami’s perspective, that the way they had to be. When the Heat signed Stoudemire, they were limited to only their $3.376MM taxpayer’s mid-level exception, and they didn’t even use that with tax penalties looming. Spoelstra was high on both acquisitions when the team made them.
“If you had told me a year ago we would have an opportunity to sign both those players, I would have said that’s not realistic,” Spoelstra said, according to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. “We recruited Amar’e in 2010 and were fans of his game back then. His game has evolved and he has found a niche and a role the last couple of years we definitely can take advantage of. Gerald Green is an explosive player. Those type of game changing players are tough to find in this league.”
The Heat took a flyer on Green hoping they get the 2013/14 version (15.8 points per game with the Suns) instead of last year’s version (11.9 points per game with a poor shooting percentage). So far, Green hasn’t been able to provide much. He was released from the hospital Saturday after a four-day stay for an undisclosed reason. The Heat have not elaborated on Green’s condition.
The presence of Dragic was a major draw for Stoudemire to join Miami as a free agent, according to a recent report. Stoudemire is another injury-prone player on a team that seems to have many, however. The power forward did play well last year, though, in limited time. He had played in only one game so far this season.
Health isn’t the only issue for the Heat this season, though. Mario Chalmers, now the backup point guard to Dragic at the point, has been known for his inconsistency. Chalmers was involved in trade rumors for a good portion of the summer and those whispers have continued into the season. Ramona Shelburne and Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com first reported in June that the Heat were shopping Chalmers, as well as Chris Andersen, in an effort to clear the way for a new deal with Wade, though team president Pat Riley denied it. The Heat and Grizzlies have reportedly talked about a potential trade that wound send Chalmers to Memphis. The Heat are in line to pay repeat-offender tax penalties if they finish the season above the $84.74MM tax line, and they’re at about $91.9MM now. Chalmers makes $4.3MM on an expiring contract.
An interesting argument exists that whether or not the Heat had a positive offseason depends largely on their ability to ship out Chalmers and make the other moves necessary to avoid the tax. Regardless, the Heat have positioned themselves to win now with a roster dotted with veteran All-Star-caliber talent. The presence of Winslow also indicates that the Heat have an eye toward the future as well as the present.
Eddie Scarito contributed to this post. The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of it.
Heat Rumors: Kelley, Green, Wade
Tre Kelley plans to take advantage of what could be his last shot at the NBA, writes Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel. The 30-year-old point guard received an invitation to Miami’s training camp last month and is now playing for the team’s D-League affiliate in Sioux Falls. Kelley said he wants to prove he can run the Heat’s system, which could create an opportunity if Mario Chalmers gets traded to ease the luxury tax burden. “I want to build upon what I did in Miami and work hard every single day,” Kelley told Skyforce broadcaster Dan Peters of KSOO. “I have an important role of being this team’s leader as point guard. That’s all going to help.” Kelley was undrafted out of South Carolina in 2007 and has played overseas and in the D-League while trying to make an NBA roster.
There’s more news out of Miami:
- Gerald Green has been released from the hospital after an incident earlier this week, tweets Will Manso of television station WPLG in Miami. Green entered the facility Wednesday after a reported confrontation at his address involving a “combative patient.” Manso said the Heat confirmed the veteran swingman is safe and doing better.
- The Heat are being guarded in what they release about Green or the incident, Winderman writes in a separate story. The team’s last public comment came Thursday from coach Erik Spoelstra, who said, “We’re grateful that he’s safe and he’s healthy right now. And our thoughts are with him and his family.” Green signed with the Heat in July, receiving a veteran’s minimum contract for one season.
- Signing a new $20MM contract wasn’t Dwyane Wade‘s only major move of the offseason, according to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. Wade also switched trainers — going from Tim Grover to Dave Alexander — in hopes of cutting down on missed games. Wade has sat out 17, 13, 28 and 20 games over the past four seasons. “It challenged my body in a different way since I’ve been coming off injuries, since I’m older,” Wade said. “We did a lot of power and explosion work. I got fit. Got lean. I came in the same weight as last year [but] I feel better than I’ve felt in the previous three years.”
Southeast Notes: Green, Beal, Skiles
Here’s more from the Southeast Division:
- It appears to be a good thing that the Wizards reportedly intend to re-sign Bradley Beal for the maximum next summer, seeing as the shooting guard certainly considers himself worthy of that sum, Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post relays (on Twitter). When asked if he thinks he’s a max player, Beal responded, “Yeah. I do,” Castillo notes. The Wizards reportedly intend on utilizing their available cap space next summer prior to finalizing a new contract with Beal.
- New Magic coach Scott Skiles has gotten the most out of his young team so far this season, and despite the team’s 1-4 start, the early returns have been positive, writes Brian Schmitz of The Orlando Sentinel. Swingman Evan Fournier‘s strong play has also been encouraging, but the downside is that it may be more difficult to re-sign him next summer when he is eligible to become a restricted free agent, Schmitz notes.
- Hawks shooting guard Justin Holiday has made the most of his extra playing time as Thabo Sefolosha continues to work his way back from injury, Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes. “He’s gotten a couple of opportunities and has taken advantage of those opportunities,” coach Mike Budenholzer said of Holiday. “We went with him tonight without Kyle Korver suiting up. He got more minutes and more opportunities. I think it’s his defense, his activity and his length. He’s making some shots and making some plays. We’ve got a good group there with wings all fighting for opportunity.” Holiday inked a two-year, $1.963MM deal with Atlanta this past offseason.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Southeast Notes: Hawes, Lamb, Napier, Chalmers
- Al Jefferson doesn’t understand why the Thunder buried Jeremy Lamb on the bench before the trade that brought him to Charlotte this summer, citing his scoring ability and basketball IQ, and coach Steve Clifford has been impressed, too, notes Scott Fowler of the Charlotte Observer. The Hornets committed a three-year, $21MM extension to the former lottery pick this week. “The thing he possesses is size and skill,” Clifford said. “He can really shoot. I think he’s capable of shooting 40% from three. But this is what I didn’t really understand. He’s better off the dribble than I thought. And he can really pass.”
- Shabazz Napier doesn’t see much meaning behind the show of enthusiasm that LeBron James showed for his game before the 2014 draft, and he thinks his year with the veteran-laden Heat will help him as he adjusts to the Magic following an offseason trade, as he tells Joel Brigham of Basketball Insiders.
- The question for the Heat as they reportedly ponder trading Mario Chalmers is whether they see themselves as title contenders this season or think it wise to take a step back in the short term, avoid the tax and better align themselves for a run in the future, opines Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel.
Southeast Notes: Chalmers, Fournier, Washburn
Evan Fournier says that his focus will not be affected just because he and the Magic didn’t come to an agreement on a contract extension prior to Monday’s deadline, Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel writes. “My main focus was always just playing good basketball and winning games,” Fournier said. “And then, of course, the contract is going to follow. You don’t have to think about the contract first and then basketball. You have to think about basketball first, and then everything’s going to follow. So I’m just focused on winning, man.” Not reaching an agreement could become a positive for Fournier since the expected increase in next season’s salary cap will mean more teams will be flush with cash, which could serve to drive up the market for the swingman, Robbins adds.
Here’s more from out of the Southeast:
- Hornets GM Rich Cho said that the contract extensions the team has handed out to Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Jeremy Lamb, and Kemba Walker were partially about avoiding the free agent market that could become overheated during the next two summers thanks to the expected rise in the salary cap brought on by the league’s new TV deal, Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer relays (on Twitter).
- The trade rumors surrounding Heat point guard Mario Chalmers loom as a potential distraction for the team this season, Ethan J. Skolnick of The Miami Herald writes. Skolnick also opines that the team needs to address the issue with Chalmers as soon as possible to help avoid it becoming an issue between the player and the team. Chalmers indicated that he learned of the rumors when he arrived at the arena on Tuesday night, and he has not heard from the front office regarding his status with the franchise, the Herald scribe adds.
- Jason Washburn, who was in training camp with the Hornets this season, has signed a deal in Kosovo with Sigal Prishtina, Orazio Cauchi of Sportando relays. Washburn spent the 2014/15 season overseas playing for Brussels, where he averaged 8.9 PPG and 3.9 RPG in 27 appearances.
Heat, Grizzlies Talk Mario Chalmers Trade
9:58pm: Chalmers said that he was unaware of any trade rumors regarding himself until he arrived at the arena for tonight’s game against the Hawks, Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel writes. “It definitely surprised me,” Chalmers said of the rumors. “But I also know it’s a business. I didn’t know anything until I got here today.”
4:15pm: Some, presumably around the Grizzlies, have quietly expressed disappointment with what they see as Udrih’s lack of conditioning, athleticism and defense, according to Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal. The team’s general belief is that Smith isn’t yet ready to assume Udrih’s place in the rotation, Tillery adds.
2:44pm: Sources who spoke with Stein raised the possibility that Udrih could be included in a would-be deal, as Stein writes in a full story. The Grizzlies would have to give up another player to take in Chalmers, however, since Udrih only makes slighly more than $2.17MM this season, as Stein alludes to. The Grizzlies could only absorb 150% plus $100K of the salary they gave up.
2:00pm: The Jazz attempted to trade for Chalmers over the offseason, but the Heat didn’t take them up on it, a source recently told Jody Genessy of the Deseret News (Twitter link).
1:06pm: The Heat and Grizzlies have talked about a potential trade that wound send Mario Chalmers to Memphis, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com, who cautions that no deal is imminent (Twitter links). The Heat are in line to pay repeat-offender tax penalties if they finish the season above the $84.74MM tax line, and rumors have persistently surrounded Chalmers, who makes $4.3MM on an expiring contract and ceded his starting job to Goran Dragic last season. Miami had seemingly tabled the idea of a Chalmers trade as of late August but weren’t ruling out a deal as soon as October, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reported this summer.
Heat officials offered Chalmers in trades earlier this offseason with the tax in mind, one GM told Jackson (Twitter link), which jibes with reports from throughout the summer. Ramona Shelburne and Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com first reported in June that the Heat were shopping Chalmers, as well as Chris Andersen, in an effort to clear the way for a new deal with Dwyane Wade, though team president Pat Riley denied it. Still, ESPN colleague Zach Lowe heard soon after that Chalmers and Andersen were available “for nothing” in return, an indication that the team was simply looking to shed salary.
The Grizzlies, fresh off a 50-point loss Monday to the Warriors, have Mike Conley firmly entrenched at the point, though he, like Chalmers, is on an expiring contract. Beno Udrih is Conley’s backup, with Russ Smith the third point guard. Nick Calathes departed in free agency this past summer. They’re roughly $5MM shy of the tax line, so they could take in Chalmers’ salary, but they don’t have a trade exception large enough that would allow them to absorb Chalmers without sending salary in return. Their only contract without a fully guaranteed salary for this season belongs to JaMychal Green, and it carries a partial guarantee of $150K.
The sides could seek a third team to facilitate a swap that would allow the Heat not to have to take salary in return for Chalmers, though it’s unclear if that idea has come up in the talks between Miami and Memphis. Shedding the $4.3MM owed to Chalmers would lower Miami’s tax bill, but it wouldn’t eliminate it. The Heat have about $91.9MM in guaranteed salary as it counts toward the tax, so the Heat would still need to eliminate about $3MM to duck under the tax threshold. Andersen is on an expiring contract worth $5MM this year, but his name isn’t involved in the latest report.
Chalmers is averaging 6.7 points, 3.0 assists and 1.7 turnovers in 18.0 minutes per game in three regular season contests so far, figures that would extrapolate to one of the worst lines of his NBA career if the numbers held for the entire season. Still, he has a wealth of playoff experience, unlike Tyler Johnson and Josh Richardson, who are behind him on the depth chart, and offloading Chalmers without bringing in a comparable player would weaken the Heat as they seek to return to prominence this season, observes Ethan Skolnick of the Miami Herald.
The interest from Memphis would appear to indicate the Grizzlies want to upgrade their point guard depth, though Udrih has seemingly as well if not better than Chalmers has so far this season, averaging 6.5 points, 4.0 assists and 1.3 turnovers in 15.8 minutes per game. Chalmers could help their outside shooting, which Memphis has long lacked, but he shot just 29.4% from 3-point range last season, well beneath his 36.1% career accuracy from behind the arc.
Do you think the Grizzlies make sense as a trade destination for Chalmers? Leave a comment to share your thoughts.
NBA Teams Designate Affiliate Players
NBA teams cut as much as 25% of their rosters at the end of the preseason, but franchises that have D-League affiliates have a way to maintain ties to many of the players they release from the NBA roster. An NBA team can claim the D-League rights to up to four of the players it waives, as long as the players clear waivers, consent to join the D-League, and don’t already have their D-League rights owned by another team. These are known as affiliate players, as our Hoops Rumors Glossary entry details.
NBA teams allocated 46 affiliate players to the D-League at the beginning of the season last year, and this year, that number has risen to 56, according to the list the D-League announced today. These players are going directly to the D-League affiliate of the NBA team that cut them and weren’t eligible for the D-League draft that took place Saturday. Teams that designated fewer than the maximum four affiliate players retain the ability to snag the D-League rights of players they waive during the regular season, but for now, this is the complete list:
Boston Celtics (Maine Red Claws)
Cleveland Cavaliers (Canton Charge)
Dallas Mavericks (Texas Legends)
Detroit Pistons (Grand Rapids Drive)
Golden State Warriors (Santa Cruz Warriors)
Houston Rockets (Rio Grande Valley Vipers)
Indiana Pacers (Fort Wayne Mad Ants)
Los Angeles Lakers (Los Angeles D-Fenders)
Memphis Grizzlies (Iowa Energy)
Miami Heat (Sioux Falls Skyforce)
New York Knicks (Westchester Knicks)
Oklahoma City Thunder (Oklahoma City Blue)
- Michael Cobbins
- Mustapha Farrakhan
- Michael Qualls
- Dez Wells
Orlando Magic (Erie BayHawks)
Philadelphia 76ers (Delaware 87ers)
Phoenix Suns (Bakersfield Jam)
Sacramento Kings (Reno Bighorns)
San Antonio Spurs (Austin Spurs)
Toronto Raptors (Raptors 905)
Utah Jazz (Idaho Stampede)
Also, several players who were on NBA preseason rosters are on D-League rosters through means other than the affiliate player rule. Most of them played under D-League contracts at some point within the last two years, meaning their D-League teams have returning player rights to them. Others entered through last weekend’s D-League draft, while others saw their D-League rights conveyed via trade. Most of these players aren’t with the D-League affiliate of the NBA team they were with last month, with a few exceptions.
- Keith Appling, Magic — Magic affiliate
- Jordan Bachynski, Pistons — Knicks affiliate
- Earl Barron, Hawks — Suns affiliate
- Sampson Carter, Grizzlies — Cavaliers affiliate (D-League draft)
- Patrick Christopher, Grizzlies — Grizzlies affiliate
- Bryce Cotton, Jazz — Spurs affiliate
- Michael Dunigan, Cavaliers — Cavaliers affiliate
- Jarell Eddie, Warriors — Spurs affiliate
- C.J. Fair, Pacers — Pacers affiliate
- Jimmer Fredette, Spurs — Knicks affiliate
- Stefhon Hannah, Bulls — Pistons affiliate
- Jaron Johnson, Wizards — Rockets affiliate
- Omari Johnson, Trail Blazers — Celtics affiliate
- Perry Jones III, Celtics — Grizzlies affiliate (D-League draft)
- Tre Kelley, Heat — Heat affiliate
- Jordan McRae, Sixers — Sixers affiliate (D-League draft)
- Cartier Martin, Pistons — Grizzlies affiliate
- Toure’ Murry, Wizards — Mavericks affiliate (traded with Rockets affiliate for his D-League rights)
- Dan Nwaelele, Grizzlies — Warriors affiliate
- Marcus Simmons, Bulls — Pacers affiliate
- E.J. Singler, Jazz — Jazz affiliate
- DaJuan Summers, Knicks — Knicks affiliate
- Adonis Thomas, Pistons — Pistons affiliate
- Sam Thompson, Hornets — Pistons affiliate (D-League draft)
- J.P. Tokoto, Sixers — Thunder affiliate (traded for his D-League rights)
- Talib Zanna, Thunder — Thunder affiliate
Roster information from Adam Johnson of D-League Digest, Chris Reichert of Upside & Motor and freelancer and Hoops Rumors contributor Mark Porcaro was used in the creation of this post.
Heat Notes: Whiteside, Andersen, D-League
Center Hassan Whiteside, poised to hit free agency in the summer, is the biggest weapon for the Heat when opponents utilize smaller lineups against them, according to Ethan J. Skolnick of the Miami Herald. Whiteside had 25 points and 15 rebounds when Miami staged a second-half rally on Sunday against the Rockets, who tried to play small ball against them, Skolnick continues. “That’s the thing with Hassan, he’s a conventional center but he’s a mobile center,” point guard Mario Chalmers told the team’s beat reporters. “He’s able to move, get blocks, get out on the perimeter if he wants to. So [small-ball] plays into our hands a little bit.” Veteran shooting guard Dwyane Wade concurs that the Heat can handle the small-ball strategies by unleashing Whiteside, Skolnick adds. “I’m sure there will be moments where they’re gonna get us on it, and it’s gonna affect us, but we can’t take him off the floor,” Wade said to Skolnick. “He means so much to our defense.”
In other news regarding the Heat:
- Backup center and trade candidate Chris Andersen did not play in the first three games but Spoelstra anticipates that he’ll soon get opportunities, Winderman adds in the same piece. “We’re not going to, on every night, suit up every center. That’s not an indictment on anybody,” Spoelstra said. “That’s not a storyline at all, it really isn’t. He practiced [Monday] and he’ll be ready, and when his number’s called, he’ll produce, as we have full confidence in that.”
- All but one of the six players the Heat released during the preseason have joined their D-League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce, tweets Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. Greg Whittington, Keith Benson, Briante Weber, Corey Hawkins and Tre Kelley are all on the Skyforce’s training camp roster. The only released player not to join the Skyforce is veteran point guard John Lucas III. Miami claimed the D-League rights to Whittington, Benson, Weber and Hawkins through the affiliate player rule, while the Heat already had the D-League rights to Kelley.
Southeast Notes: Wizards, Heat, Hawks
This is an important year for Wizards coach Randy Wittman, who has been referred to as “old-school” with a defense-first philosophy, but has adjusted his philosophy to fit his roster with the implementation of more speed and more shooting, Jorge Castillo of the Washington Post writes in an in-depth piece. The season is key for Wittman, as Castillo points out, because his contract is only partially guaranteed for next season. Players are in favor of Wittman’s approach to having an offense suit the skills of the players he has, Castillo adds.
Here’s more from the Southeast Division:
- While the Heat need Hassan Whiteside, who is set to hit unrestricted free agency in July 2016, as a rebounder and shot-blocker, Miami has enough depth to play the hot hand if the center is struggling or seemingly sulking, Ethan Skolnick of the Miami Herald writes. Such was the case in the Heat’s season opener when head coach Erik Spoelstra elected to go with Udonis Haslem after the Hornets‘ Al Jefferson had his way with Whiteside, Skolnick adds.
- Tim Hardaway Jr., whom the Hawks acquired in June in a draft-night trade with the Knicks, was inactive for the season-opener and since Atlanta gave up its first-round draft pick to obtain Hardaway, it will be a move under scrutiny, Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution relays.
- Speaking of Hardaway, the guard told Brian Lewis of the New York Post that he never received a reason for the trade and was surprised by the move. “No, nothing,” Hardaway said. “Just a call that said … I got a call from my agent first that broke the news to me. I was surprised. I was at Clyde Frazier’s. It was myself, Cleanthony Early, Langston Galloway, and some more of my friends. I was there for draft night, to see who we got — well, when I was part of the team, to see who we had. Then later on I didn’t know what was going to happen. It happened 30 seconds before they made the trade.’’
Southeast Rumors: Heat, Fournier, Batum, Wizards
Even though they’re facing a large luxury tax bill, the Heat should hold on to Mario Chalmers and Chris Andersen, writes Ethan Skolnick of The Miami Herald. He notes that although both players are drawing salaries beyond their expected contribution — $4.3MM for Chalmers and $5MM for Andersen — they have value for a Miami team that will need depth to become a threat in the East. The columnist points to Chalmers’ familiarity with the system, which gives him an advantage over younger guards like Tyler Johnson and Josh Richardson, and Andersen’s durability, which will come in handy if new addition Amar’e Stoudemire gets injured or cannot overcome his defensive lapses. Skolnick cautions that the Heat shouldn’t make moves that could be perceived as “skimping” while they’re trying to build a contender.
There’s more news from the Southeast Division:
- Magic guard Evan Fournier can already feel a difference under new coach Scott Skiles, writes Brian Schmitz of The Orlando Sentinel. Even though Orlando is off to an 0-2 start, Fournier said the team’s role has been clearly defined. “I feel like we have an identity right now,” he said. “We are a defensive team and we share the ball offensively.” When asked about the team’s identity last season under coaches Jacques Vaughn and James Borrego, Fournier said, “We didn’t have one. We were basically looking for it throughout the whole season.”
- The Hornets want their offense to run through Nicolas Batum, according to Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer. Charlotte traded for Batum in June with the confidence that he could handle a playmaker’s role. “He comes across as a very quiet player, but he’s one of the most intense, competitive kids we had in our time in Portland,” said Hornets assistant GM Chad Buchanan, who worked with the Trail Blazers while Batum was there. “He internalizes that competitiveness. But he’s very driven to win, very team-first. He has a very high IQ, always knows what everyone on the court has to do and where they’re at. Such a student of the game.”
- After being ousted from the playoffs last spring, the Wizards identified four strengths and tried to add players to complement them, writes Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post. The team was rebuilt around John Wall‘s speed and passing, Bradley Beal‘s shooting, Otto Porter Jr.‘s cutting and Marcin Gortat‘s willingness to run the floor and get to the rim on pick-and-rolls.