Category: Miami Heat Blog

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Should the Heat pursue Spencer Dinwiddie in free agency?

Here’s the Sun Sentinel answering one of their reader’s questions, on if Nets free agent guard Spencer Dinwiddie would be a good addition to the Miami Heat:

I believe he would be an excellent fit . . . if fully healthy. Among the reasons Spencer Dinwiddie might fall to the Heat’s price point in free agency would be the fact that he is coming back from a partially torn ACL. Still, he is confident enough to the point that he elected to bypass his $12.3 million player option from the Nets. For the Heat, the question becomes whether they can afford another risk on a player with such a recent injury, after coming up short in their move with Victor Oladipo. At least with Oladipo, the Heat have the direct medical reports. When signing an outside player, it’s even riskier. But yes, Spencer can play on the ball and off the ball, which helps in the Heat’s system with Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo. And at 6-5, there is decent size, as well. But if Dinwiddie, then no Kyle Lowry. So it also could come down to how that sits with Butler, or if Kyle will opt to sign elsewhere. Basically, Spencer could be one of many moving parts for the Heat this offseason, including potentially in a sign-and-trade.

A look how how the Miami Heat use their G League affiliate team

Here’s the Sun Sentinel on how the Miami Heat have made use of their G League affiliate squad, the Sioux Falls Skyforce:

The Heat have taken a mixed approach with their two two-way slots since the inception of the program in 2017-18, sometimes with an eye toward added depth to the NBA roster, other times for full developmental-league immersion.

The Heat in 2017-18 opened with Matt Williams Jr. and Derrick Walton Jr. as their two-way players, before replacing Williams in that role with Derrick Jones Jr.

In 2018-19, the Heat’s two-way players were Duncan Robinson and Yante Maten.

In 2019-20, when the G League shut down for the season in March due to the pandemic, the Heat opened the season with Daryl Macon and Chris Silva as their two-way players, before moving on to Gabe Vincent and Kyle Alexander.

This past season, Vincent and Max Strus held the team’s two-way slots.

Former Miami Heat trainer Ron Culp has died

The original head athletic trainer of the Miami Heat has passed away. Via the Sun Sentinel:

Banners commemorating the careers of six members of the Miami Heat hang above the team’s court. Ron Culp is one of them.

Tuesday, the team noted the death of the franchise’s first athletic trainer, on June 9, at the age of 75.

Unlike the retired jersey numbers of former Heat players Alonzo Mourning, Tim Hardaway, Shaquille O’Neal, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade, which hang from the west rafters of the facility now known as FTX Arena, Culp’s banner stands as a tribute to his 21 seasons with the team, featuring the words “Head Athletic Trainer.”

Heat shooting guard Duncan Robinson set to enter free agency

Miami Heat shooting guard Duncan Robinson will be a restricted free agent this summer. Will his time on the squad extend to future seasons? Via the Miami Herald:

“Just trying to get all the information possible so I can make the best decision possible,” Robinson said Monday afternoon when asked to look ahead at free agency, as the Heat held exit interviews at AmericanAirlines Arena after it was swept out of the first round of the playoffs. “In terms of the different factors that contribute, all of them do to some extent. First and foremost, the fit. A place where I can really feel comfortable. Winning is obviously a priority for me, as well. Then of course, it’s also a business and there’s an opportunity to make money to take care of the people I love the most. That’s also a priority, as well. Any place that can offer all of those is a destination that I would be excited about.”

The Heat will have the right to match any offer Robinson receives from other teams, assuming Miami extends a qualifying offer as expected. His 2021-22 cap hit for the Heat will be modest (about $4.7 million), but his salary easily could top $15 million per season after playing on a $1.7 million salary this past season…

“Obviously, I’ve had an incredible experience here and love this organization for many different reasons. So yeah, we’ll see,” Robinson said of the Heat. “For the most part, I haven’t really shifted my focus toward that just yet. But the next weeks, months, it will be mostly just about gathering information and trying to make the best decision possible.”

The 2020-21 Miami Heat season was rocky from the start

The Miami Heat’s postseason ended in a hurry with a four-game sweep at the hands of the Milwaukee Bucks. Though, considering how the regular season went, it’s not a total surprise that the Heat fell short in the playoffs. Via the Miami Herald:

The Heat entered the season after a COVID-19 pandemic-shortened offseason that lasted 71 days, which is the fewest between the end of a season and the start of the next season in NBA, MLB, NHL and NFL history, according to Elias Sports. The Heat lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 6 of the NBA Finals on Oct. 11, and Miami began team practices in December before opening the regular season on Dec. 23.

But the Heat’s season ended abruptly on Saturday afternoon, as it was swept out of the first round of the playoffs, 4-0, by the Milwaukee Bucks. It marks just the second time in franchise history that the Heat has been swept in a best-of-seven series and the first time since Erik Spoelstra took over as head coach prior to the 2008-09 season…

It was a bumpy season from the start for the Heat following its magical bubble run to the Finals as the fifth seed. At one point this season, Miami stood at 7-14.

The Heat used 18 different starting lineups in the first 36 games because of injury and COVID-19 issues that kept various players out.

Massive free agency decisions must be made this summer. Potential franchise-changing decisions. We’ll post more about that as the offseason approaches.

Heat must step up in a big way vs. Bucks in Game 3

The Heat are in some trouble. Against a Bucks team that so far looks fully able to raise their game to a playoff level. Via the Miami Herald:

Toward the end of the second-most lopsided playoff loss in Miami Heat history, the crowd of about 9,000 in attendance at Fiserv Forum made its prediction for the outcome of the first-round series between the Heat and Milwaukee Bucks.

“Bucks in four,” the fans chanted in the final minutes of Game 2.

That seemed like an obvious prediction to make at the time, with third-seeded Milwaukee on its way to a 34-point win on Monday to take a 2-0 series lead over six-seeded Miami. But the Heat will look to change the narrative and bounce back as the series moves to AmericanAirlines Arena for Games 3 and 4.

Game 3 is Thursday at 7:30 p.m. (Bally Sports Sun and TNT).

Heat and Bucks to face off in first round of playoffs

The Heat and Bucks faced each other in the playoffs last year, and will do so again this year. Via the Miami Herald:

This year, the sixth-seeded Heat (40-32) will take on the third-seeded Bucks (46-26) in the first round of the playoffs. The best-of-7 series will begin either Saturday or Sunday at Fiserv Forum, with the schedule yet to be released.

“They’re a really good team, obviously. They’re much different than last year,” Heat second-year guard Tyler Herro said of the Bucks. “They added a bunch of guys with Jrue [Holiday] and Bobby Portis and some guys off the bench. So it’s going to be a great series. I feel like two great teams in the Eastern Conference going at it.”

At the surface, the Bucks don’t seem as dominant as they were last season when they entered the playoffs with the NBA’s top record and net rating.

The Bucks enter the playoffs this season with the league’s seventh-best record and fourth-best net rating.

While the numbers might not be as overwhelming as last season’s, the Bucks’ roster seems better suited for the playoffs this season after adding Holiday, Portis and reserve guard Bryn Forbes in free agency last offseason and trading for veteran three-and-D specialist P.J. Tucker in March.

And the Sun Sentinel:

Familiar competition, with the Heat having defeated the Bucks 4-1 in last season’s Eastern Conference semifinals.

But also dissimilar circumstances. Unlike like last year’s playoffs, there will not be the cocoon of the Disney World quarantine bubble, with Milwaukee this time receiving true homecourt advantage at Fiserv Forum. It also is a Bucks team bolstered by the offseason addition of Jrue Holiday. And this time, after a march to the 2020 NBA Finals, it is not a Heat team that will be taking anybody by surprise.

Miami Heat sign center Omer Yurtseven

The Miami Heat have signed center Omer Yurtseven.

Yurtseven appeared in 14 games (one start) with the Oklahoma City Blue of the G League this season and averaged 15.2 points, 9.3 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.36 blocks and 21.1 minutes while shooting 62.6 percent from the field and 38.1 percent from three-point range. He scored in double-figures 11 times, including two 20-point games and one 30-point performance. He posted five double-doubles, including a season-high 34 points, 13 rebounds, three assists and three blocks against the Long Island Nets on March 1.

Yurtseven played two seasons at NC State before transferring to Georgetown. As a senior in 2019-20, he appeared in 26 games (25 starts) and averaged 15.5 points, 9.8 rebounds, 1.46 blocks, 1.2 assists and 27.3 minutes while shooting 53.4 percent from the field.

Heat guard Victor Oladipo undergoes surgery

Miami Heat guard Victor Oladipo underwent surgery yesterday on his right quadriceps tendon. The surgery was performed by Dr. Jonathan Glashow at the NYU Medical Center.

Oladipo, who was acquired by the HEAT in a trade on March 25, appeared in 33 games (all starts) this season averaging 19.8 points, 4.8 rebounds, 4.6 assists, 1.39 steals and 32.7 minutes. He appeared in four games with Miami averaging 12.0 points, 3.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.75 steals and 27.8 minutes, helping the HEAT to a 3-1 record over that span.

here is no timetable for his return at this time.

Heat guard Victor Oladipo to undergo season-ending surgery

Miami Heat guard Victor Oladipo has decided to undergo season-ending surgery on his right quadriceps tendon. The surgery will take place tomorrow, Thursday May 13, in New York. There is no timetable for his return at this time.

Oladipo, who was acquired by the HEAT in a trade on March 25, appeared in 33 games (all starts) this season averaging 19.8 points, 4.8 rebounds, 4.6 assists, 1.39 steals and 32.7 minutes. He appeared in four games with Miami averaging 12.0 points, 3.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.75 steals and 27.8 minutes, helping the HEAT to a 3-1 record over that span.