Jamal Cain

Southeast Notes: G. Williams, D. Wright, Cain, Wizards

New Hornets forward Grant Williams has “quickly woven himself into the team’s fabric” since being traded from Dallas to Charlotte 15 days ago, according to Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer.

The Hornets have won all four games Williams has played, and he has scored at least 15 points in each of those victories, averaging 18.8 PPG on .490/.429/.929 shooting. Charlotte also has an impressive +16.7 net rating in Williams’ 118 minutes on the court.

“In these four games, when he’s been on the floor we’ve been really good,” head coach Steve Clifford said. “He plays well at both ends of the floor. And that’s what you need — two-way players. Creates a lot of offense for his teammates with his space shooting and the way he plays on offense. And then he’s very much, he’s like the middle linebacker back there that organizes your defense, and he also plays with great physicality.”

A report after the trade deadline claimed that Williams quickly wore out his welcome in Dallas by rubbing people the wrong way, but his new teammates have been impressed by what he has brought to the Hornets so far.

“Just everything,” Miles Bridges said. “Leadership, toughness, greater IQ, talk, all that. Everything that we needed. He’s been great for us. Hopefully, he can keep it going.”

Here’s more from around the Southeast:

  • Practicing with his new team on Thursday for the first time, veteran guard Delon Wright called it a “no-brainer” to sign with the Heat, adding that his brother Dorell Wright helped push him in that direction and might be even “more excited than I am” about it, per Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Dorell was Miami’s first-round pick in 2004 and won a title with the team in 2006. “This was probably the best opportunity for me to play and help a team reach the Finals again,” Delon said. “And obviously the culture here. And how long I’ve known everybody here (factored in). If I want to transition in the middle of a season, Miami was probably the best place to do that for obvious reasons.”
  • Wright’s addition to the Heat‘s roster clears the way for two-way player Jamal Cain to be active for up to 50 games (teams without full 15-man rosters are limited to 90 combined games for their three two-way players). However, it also means the door is closed for now on the possibility of a promotion to the 15-man roster. While he’d love to sign a standard contract, Cain says he’s not disappointed by the development, according to Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel (subscription required). “I see all the contract spots are filled. It’s not a burden on me. I just don’t want to take the wrong mentality,” Cain said. “I’m still here with the team. They still like me; I’m still here. So that’s all that really matters.”
  • Wright gave up $947,205 as part of his buyout agreement with the Wizards, reducing his dead money on Washington’s books to $7,247,917, Hoops Rumors has learned. That figure of $947,205 is the same amount he’ll earn on his minimum-salary contract with the Heat.
  • Chase Hughes of Monumental Sports Network takes a look at five Wizards storylines to follow down the stretch, including how the team divvies up the point guard minutes and the ongoing development of Deni Avdija and Bilal Coulibaly.

Heat Notes: Butler, Two-Way Players, Richardson

After losing seven games in a row for the first time since 2008, the Heat‘s coaches and players centered a plan around Jimmy Butler to save the team’s season, writes the Miami Herald’s Anthony Chiang. Butler upped the ante on his aggression, and he’s now scored 24 or more points four times in a row for the first time this season.

He’s averaging 27.3 points, 8.0 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 1.5 steals during this stretch and — as also noted by Ira Winderman of South Florida’s Sun Sentinel — is getting 10.3 free throw attempts per game.

When he does that, when he really gets himself going, gets in attack mode, whether he’s shooting the ball or getting to the free throw line or setting up other players, that’s when we’re at our best,” Heat forward Kevin Love said.

Forty-one of Butler’s last 56 shots have come from inside the paint and he’s shooting 72.7% from the restricted area, according to Chiang.

He’s been more aggressive than he was in the beginning of the season,” center Bam Adebayo said. “We know what that man can do when he’s tapped in and is locked in. I feel like he’s starting to get his groove.

The Heat have won back-to-back games behind Butler’s aggressiveness.

We have more Heat notes:

  • Responding to NBA analyst Kendrick Perkins, who suggested Butler and the Heat should part ways, Butler’s agent Bernard Lee pushed back strongly against that notion on Twitter. “Put simply he’s never going anywhere.. EVER,” Lee tweeted. “He’s going to win a championship in Miami.” Butler and the Heat are 26-23 entering Saturday, good for seventh in the Eastern Conference and half a game back of the Pacers for sixth.
  • Because the Heat only have 14 players on standard contracts, their players on two-way contracts are limited to a total of 90 NBA appearances. If they were carrying 15 standard players, their two-way players would be eligible to be active for 50 games each. The clock is currently ticking for Miami’s trio of Jamal Cain, R.J. Hampton and Cole Swider, who only have 25 games left between them if the team doesn’t add a 15th man, Winderman observes. Games in which players are active but don’t play count against their limit “It’s tough, because you mentally prepare like you’re ready to play,” Cain said of being active on a game night and not playing. “When your number is not called, of course it’s going to take a mental, emotional toll on you. But that’s the beauty of the game, because you’re still getting those mental reps on those games when you’re active, as part of it.
  • Guard Josh Richardson was out of the rotation when the Heat played the Knicks last week. “I mean, it’s never easy,” Richardson said of being benched, per Winderman. “It’s hard. We got a lot of guys that can play, contribute, so I really had to go home and like think, like figure it out, like, ‘What do I have to do better to get minutes?’ And, ‘How can I help the team win games?’” Then, after Duncan Robinson suffered a concussion, he was right back in the following game. Richardson impressed in his subsequent outings, highlighted by a 24-point performance against the Kings to snap Miami’s losing streak.

Heat Notes: Hampton, Cain, Jovic, Love

Guard R.J. Hampton, who is on a two-way contract, made his first start with the Heat on Thursday, tweets Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. As Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel observes (via Twitter), Hampton became the 14th player to make at least one start for Miami through 31 games in 2023/24.

It was just the fourth NBA appearance this season for the former first-round pick, who finished with seven points, three assists and two rebounds in the victory over Golden State. Hampton finished with a positive plus/minus (+8) in his 25 minutes.

Here’s more on the Heat:

  • Hampton, Jamal Cain and Nikola Jovic have spent most of the season in the G League, but they all made key contributions on Thursday with several players injured, Chiang writes for The Miami Herald. Cain, another two-way player, recorded seasons highs in points (18 on 7-of-14 shooting) and rebounds (six) while tying his season high with two steals. Jovic, the Heat’s 2022 first-round pick, had 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting, three rebounds, three assists, one steal and one block in 20 minutes. “The three young guys in particular, it’s not easy,” head coach Erik Spoelstra said. “They go often times weeks without playing, but they have to stay ready, as UD [Udonis Haslem] always says, to be ready. And then they also have to improve. So they can’t just be the same players they are because they’re trying to prove themselves and really establish themselves in this league.”
  • Winderman takes a look at Jovic’s up-and-down second season, with the 20-year-old learning a new position (center) with the Sioux Falls Skyforce, Miami’s G League affiliate.
  • Big man Kevin Love has primarily come off the bench in his first full season with Miami, which is a role he grew accustomed to with Cleveland, per Winderman (subscriber link). Love enjoys the freedom of being a reserve. “You’re playing free,” Love said of getting to enter without expectation of a specific niche. “I’m on the perimeter, I’m low, I’m catching the ball in different spots, I get to play pretty free within it. So, for me, it’s been finding myself shooting the ball. But as far as being effective and finishing, I feel like I can do that every night, even if I’m not scoring the ball.”

Heat Notes: Jaquez, Two-Way Players, Butler, Herro

With Jimmy Butler missing a third straight game, Heat rookie Jaime Jaquez turned in a Butler-style performance with 31 points and 10 rebounds in Monday’s win over Philadelphia, writes Tim Bontemps of ESPN. It marks the latest achievement in a remarkable first season for Jaquez, who has long dreamed of being part of the NBA’s Christmas showcase.

“Definitely special,” he said. “Great to get a win. Career night, on Christmas … I grew up watching these games. To be able to play and have a career night, it just, I just go back to all the hard work, late nights in the gym, just preparing for moments like this.”

Jaquez is proving that he entered the NBA ready to play right away after spending four seasons in college. Injuries have given him opportunities on a team coming off a Finals appearance, and he has found ways to contribute without being a focal point of the offense.

“I don’t think I called one play for him tonight, literally,” coach Erik Spoelstra said. “I mean, they were in his zone most of the second half. But throughout the rest of the course of the game, I definitely did not call it one play for him. And he did with offensive rebounding, transition, cuts, timely threes, just a lot of plays in between, so you don’t really think that it’s, you know, a 30-point game.”

There’s more from Miami:

  • Caleb Martin is the latest injury concern for a Heat team that has been shorthanded all season, notes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Making his 10th straight start after missing the beginning of the season with a knee injury, Martin was ruled out of Monday’s contest after spraining his ankle midway through the first quarter. Two-way players Jamal Cain and R.J. Hampton saw double-digit minutes Monday and may have expanded roles while the rest of the roster heals. “They have prepared for that,” Spoelstra said. “It’s not easy for the players in their situation where you don’t know if you’re going to play. And most nights, you probably have an idea that you’re not going to play. But you still have to stay ready and things change so quickly in this league.”
  • Butler will travel with the team as it begins a five-game road trip and Heat officials are optimistic that he will be able to return soon, Chiang adds. There was hope that his calf strain had healed enough for him to play Monday, but an illness prevented that from happening.
  • Tyler Herro has been a steady presence since returning from a sprained ankle that caused him to miss 18 games, Chiang states in a separate story. Herro is averaging career highs with 24.0 points and 4.4 assists per game while shooting a career-best 45.9% from the field and 42.7% from three-point range.

Heat Notes: Adebayo, Herro, Jovic, Hampton, More

Time is no longer on Heat center Bam Adebayo‘s side when it comes to potentially earning a super-max contract extension after the season, writes The South Florida Sun Sentinel’s Ira Winderman.

In order to be eligible for a super-max deal worth 35% of the cap, Adebayo has to either earn a spot on the All-NBA team or be named the league’s MVP or Defensive Player of the Year. And in order to be eligible for any of those honors, he must play in at least 65 games as a result of changes made in the latest Collective Bargaining Agreement.

Adebayo has already missed nine games this season, including six in a row. That means he can only miss up to eight more before he’s deemed ineligible for those awards. Adebayo is nearing a return to the court and is expected back sometime in December, per the Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson, but another injury or two in the coming months could cost him a shot at super-max eligibility in 2024.

Adebayo is in the middle of a strong season, averaging 22.3 points and 9.9 rebounds for the 14-11 Heat. If he’s able to stay healthy, he should be a candidate for both an All-NBA nod and for the Defensive Player of the Year award. He’s finished in the top five in voting in the latter in each of the past four seasons.

We have more from the Heat:

  • Adebayo isn’t the only key player the Heat are expecting back soon. We recently wrote Tyler Herro is expected back soon and Jackson says he’s targeting a Dec. 18 return. Herro hasn’t played since Nov. 8. R.J. Hampton also recently returned for the Heat, logging roughly nine minutes against the Bulls on Thursday in his first action since Oct. 28.
  • In the second of a three-part series, Jackson explores potential trades the Heat could make with Western Conference teams. However, there aren’t many options that are either easy or make much sense. Jackson mentions Lauri Markkanen‘s supposed availability, but writes the Jazz would rightly want a huge return and any other trade with Utah could limit the team’s availability to re-sign Caleb Martin. Other teams exploring trades, like the Spurs and the Warriors, don’t have many packages that make sense for Miami either.
  • Center Thomas Bryant and two-way player Jamal Cain have both seen their roles fluctuate with the Heat this season, observes the Miami Herald’s Anthony Chiang. Bryant opened the year as Adebayo’s primary backup, but fell out of the rotation and remained that way even with Adebayo out. Meanwhile, Cain had a strong summer and sought a standard deal but ultimately ended back up on a two-way deal that limits him to 50 regular season games. However, both players are continuing to stay ready for any opportunity, which coach Erik Spoelstra commented was “never easy.” Bryant has responded by scoring 17 points and 11 rebounds in about 27 minutes over his last two appearances. Cain meanwhile, scored 14 points in just under 29 minutes against the Hornets on Wednesday.

Heat Notes: Jaquez, Smith, Two-Way Players, Tournament

The Heat look like one of the East’s best teams despite a string of early-season injuries, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Miami has won nine of its last 10 games, including a 33-point victory Wednesday in Cleveland without three rotation players. Tyler Herro continues to recover from his sprained right ankle, while Bam Adebayo sat out the contest with a left hip contusion and Kevin Love didn’t make the trip for personal reasons.

The Heat responded with eight players reaching double figures in points, led by veteran guard Kyle Lowry with 28 and rookie forward Jaime Jaquez with 22. It’s the latest in a series of impressive performances by Jaquez, who has quickly embraced the “Heat Culture” philosophy.

“It’s like a next-man-up mentality,” Jaquez said. “We have a soldier go down, we got one to fill their place and do what we can to win. I thought we shared the ball really well tonight, had a lot of great shots and it showed. Our defense was incredible. Really pressured the ball, got a lot of steals and got out in transition.”

There’s more on the Heat:

  • Coach Erik Spoelstra believes an unusual feature of Cleveland’s court caused backup point guard Dru Smith to suffer a right knee injury that forced him out of Wednesday’s game, per Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. Smith had an awkward fall along the sidelines in an area that has a dropoff for fans at courtside. “It is a dangerous floor,” Spoelstra said. “It’s an accident waiting to happen. You close out and all of a sudden you’re going off a cliff. If the court was normal, there wouldn’t have been any kind of incident.” Smith will have a scan conducted on the knee while the team is in New York.
  • A prolonged absence for Smith could lead to a roster move, Jackson adds. The Heat are low on guards, and Jackson believes they may consider either temporarily filling the open 15th roster spot or adding someone on a two-way deal. He sees two-way players Jamal Cain and Cole Swider as safe, but suggests the team might consider replacing R.J. Hampton.
  • Point differential could come into play as Miami tries to advance in the in-season tournament, and Spoelstra said the Heat will “treat that appropriately” if it becomes necessary, according to Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. Miami is off to a 2-0 start in Group B, and a win Friday over the Knicks could set up a showdown with Milwaukee next week with both teams undefeated. Spoelstra is a fan of the tournament and says the financial incentive, with each player getting $50K for reaching the quarterfinals, has been a strong motivator. “I think it’s good for the league,” he said. “I think it’s good for the teams, the players. It keeps things interesting. Anything that sparks competition, I think is a great thing. And it sure would be a lot of fun to be able to get two more wins and get to the quarterfinals. Ultimately, every competitor in this league, whatever they think or say, you would want to be in Vegas to play for this.”

Heat Notes: Smith, Point Guards, Starting Five, Martin

Dru Smith‘s persistence finally paid off Saturday as the Heat rewarded him with a standard contract, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. The 25-year-old guard has signed several two-way deals since going undrafted out of Missouri in 2021, but this is the first standard contract of his career.

Smith was in his third straight training camp and preseason with the team, Chiang notes. His first season was spent in the G League as part of the Heat’s player development system. He signed a two-way contract with Miami last offseason, got a two-way deal with Brooklyn in January after being released and returned to the Heat on another two-way contract in July.

“I think it’s just, one, their developmental program, and two, just the way that they go at things,” Smith said in explaining his loyalty to the organization. “I think that they give you real opportunities no matter what your name is, no matter where you came from. I think that they truly evaluate talent and evaluate how you affect winning. If you’re doing that in a positive way, then you’re going to get a chance to play.”

Smith is set to make the league minimum of $1.7MM this season, Chiang adds, but his two-year contract will be non-guaranteed beyond a $425K guarantee on opening night. Smith and Orlando Robinson are the team’s only players without fully guaranteed deals before the league-wide guarantee date of January 10.

There’s more from Miami:

  • Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel believes the team’s need for insurance at point guard was behind the decision to give Smith a standard deal instead of Jamal Cain. The Heat don’t have a natural point guard to back up Kyle Lowry, so that role appears likely to fall to Josh Richardson, with Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, Caleb Martin and Tyler Herro also helping to facilitate the offense.
  • The Heat’s new starting lineup of Butler, Adebayo, Lowry, Herro and Kevin Love will play together for the first time when the season opens on Wednesday, Winderman adds in a separate story. Lowry was coming off the bench when Love signed with the team in February, Herro got injured in the first game of the playoffs and Butler sat out the entire preseason.
  • Caleb Martin played 13 minutes in his preseason debut Friday night and should be ready for the start of the season, Chiang writes for the Herald. Martin missed the first four preseason games due to tendinitis in his left knee.
  • In another story for the Herald, Chiang lists 10 takeaways from the preseason and considers what they’ll mean for the Heat in the regular season.

Heat Notes: Adebayo, Sioux Falls, Richardson, Highsmith, Roster Decisions

Bam Adebayo is eligible to sign a two-year, $97MM extension until Monday. However, the Heat center realizes he could get a longer and more lucrative contract if he waits, he told Barry Jackson and Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald.

Adebayo could meet the super-max criteria and become eligible to sign a four-year, $245MM extension in the 2024 offseason if he makes an All-NBA team or is named Defensive Player of the Year this season.

“The money difference does play a part,” he said. “But we’ll have that conversation at some point.”

We have more on the Heat:

  • Despite the logistics of shuttling players from Point A to B, the Heat announced a five-year agreement to keep their NBA G League affiliate in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, according to Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel (Twitter link). It’s approximately 1,824 miles between the two cities.
  • Foot injuries continue to mar Josh Richardson‘s preseason. He departed Wednesday’s preseason loss with a right foot injury and was underwent an MRI on his foot on Thursday, according to Chiang. The MRI results were negative and he’s day-to-day. He sat out the Heat’s second and third preseason games due to left foot discomfort.
  • An MRI on Haywood Highsmith‘s left knee revealed a sprain and he’ll be reevaluated in two weeks, Chiang tweets. He recently had his $1.9MM salary guaranteed.
  • There are six players on the Heat’s current 19-man camp roster competing for the 14th spot on the standard roster and the three two-way contract slots. Out of that group, Jamal Cain, Dru Smith and Cole Swider have stood out, according to Chiang. Cain and Smith are already on two-way deals and looking to get a promotion to the standard roster. “It’s just gratifying to see that kind of improvement from a young player, particularly when it’s not easy,” coach Erik Spoelstra said of Cain.

Heat Notes: Richardson, CBA, Cain, Highsmith, More

Josh Richardson, who returned to the Heat as a free agent this summer after playing for the team from 2015-19, has been used exclusively as a point guard this fall, writes Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. While Richardson spent some time at the point during his first stint in Miami, he had morphed in recent years into more of a swingman who plays the two and three.

“First day of camp, [coaches said] I’m with the point guards and I’m like, ‘All right,'” Richardson said. “And every day since that, it’s, ‘I’m with the point guards. All right.'”

Richardson added that he doesn’t mind the move back to point guard, since serving as the primary ball-handler in the Heat’s system is “not too difficult.”

“It’s quick. Space and pace,” he said. “It’s not like I’m just walking down calling plays every time.”

Unfortunately, Richardson left Wednesday’s game early due to a foot injury, as Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald notes (via Twitter). The 30-year-old will be reevaluated on Thursday and the Heat will be hoping the injury is minor, given their relative lack of point guard depth.

Here’s more out of Miami:

  • Jackson and Chiang of The Miami Herald take a closer look at how new rules in the Collective Bargaining Agreement affecting teams over the tax apron(s) will impact the Heat during the 2023/24 season and going forward. We recently covered how the trade rules will change for tax-apron teams after the season. As the Herald writes note, Miami also won’t be able to sign players on the buyout market this season if their pre-waiver salaries were greater than the mid-level exception ($12.4MM)
  • While two-way player Jamal Cain was hoping to be part of the Heat’s standard roster by now, he remains confident in his ability and believes that promotion will happen sooner or later, according to Chiang. “It doesn’t change my work ethic. I feel like it amped my work ethic a little higher,” Cain said. “No frustration. I know I’m an NBA player. I know I can play at this level, so it’s just a matter of time.”
  • Heat forward Haywood Highsmith scored a team-high 15 points in Wednesday’s preseason loss to Brooklyn and may be on his way to earning some of the rotation minutes that had been earmarked for Nikola Jovic, says Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel. “He just has great fortitude,” head coach Erik Spoelstra said of Highsmith. “He’s just been so consistent with his work.”
  • Appearing on SiriusXM NBA Radio (Twitter video link), big man Bam Adebayo said that he wishes the Damian Lillard trade had been completed earlier in the offseason for the sake of the players involved in the final deal — as well as the Heat players rumored to be part of a potential package for Lillard. “Guys got kids, guys got families, guys need to know what’s about to happen,” Adebayo said. “Some people in that mix of what happened got that phone call and… it was like three or four days before camp. … That’s a lot to move in 72 hours.”

Heat Notes: Cain, Smith, Butler, Injuries, Peterson, Williams

Jamal Cain is making a strong bid to have his two-way contract with the Heat converted into a standard deal, according to Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel. Cain had 24 points and 10 rebounds in 27 minutes against San Antonio on Friday.

Miami currently has 13 players on standard deals and needs to add at least one more by the season opener.

“He really competed and played hard,” coach Erik Spoelstra said, as relayed by the Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson. “It’s satisfying to see. He’s put in so much time in the last year. His effort and attention to details defensively have gotten a lot better.”

We have more on the Heat:

  • Dru Smith is participating in his third straight training camp with Miami and also hopes to earn a spot on the 15-man roster, according to The Miami Herald’s Anthony Chiang. “I’m just really grateful and really appreciative of the opportunities that I’ve been able to have, the chances that I have in front of me right now,” Smith said. “After that, it’s in my hands but also it’s out of my hands. Whatever they decide to do, that’s what they decide to do. So I just have to go out there and try to play the best basketball that I can and let the rest fall where it may.” Smith currently holds a two-way contract.
  • Jimmy Butler is recovering from dental surgery, Winderman tweets. He remains on track to play in the team’s season opener on Oct. 25.
  • Caleb Martin (knee), Jaime Jaquez Jr. (groin), Nikola Jovic (hip), R.J. Hampton (hip), Smith (hamstring) and Josh Richardson (foot) also sat out the Heat’s preseason game against the Grizzlies on Sunday, Winderman tweets.
  • Spoelstra is hopeful Drew Peterson and Alondes Williams will join the Heat’s NBA G League team, Sioux Falls Skyforce, after they clear waivers, Winderman relays in another tweet. The duo was cut loose on Saturday.