The Miami Heat’s roster is starting to take shape, and it looks a lot like last year’s roster. Jimmy Butler is going to play out his contract with the Heat next season, and Bam Adebayo got a new contract extension, giving the Heat a financial break with that deal. Tyler Herro, Terry Rozier, Duncan Robinson, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kevin Love, and Nikola Jokic will all be back under coach Eric Spoelstra.
Thomas Bryant will be back, too. Bryant had opted out of his $2.8 million contract to become a free agent but Wednesday agreed to re-sign with Miami on a one-year veteran minimum contract, worth about $2.8 million. Opting out and re-signing saved the Heat money — while he makes $2.8 million, he will only count as $2.1 million against the cap — and that helps with the second apron tax line, which the Heat are bumping up against but don’t want to cross. Bryant and Love re-signing, plus the Heat drafting Indiana center Kel’el Ware in the first round, means Orlando Robinson is unlikely to be back with the team (the Heat have a July 15 deadline to guarantee his salary for next season).
One new face will be veteran guard Alec Burks, who spent last season with the Pistons and Knicks and averaged 10.4 points a game, but is now headed to Miami on a veteran minimum deal (because he’s been in the league for more than 10 years is worth $3.3 million), news broken by Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
(Like Bryant, Burks salary only counts as $2.1 million against the cap under NBA rules.)
Burks adds some scoring punch, he can knock down 3-pointers (career 38.3% from deep) and had a couple of games last season where he scored 30+ points.
There are still questions to be answered about the Heat roster for next season — does free agent Caleb Martin return? — but Miami is largely going to run it back with a team that is going to make the postseason and will be scary in a playoff series if healthy, but which does not seem a real threat to Boston, New York and Philadelphia at the top of the East.
Source Agencies
