Earlier this afternoon, the Miami Heat waived former Two-Way player RJ Hampton. Hampton only got a handful or so of game action for the Heat this regular season and showed some inconsistency in his G-League Skyforce games. He suffered an injury that kept him out an extended period of time in the beginning of the season and was never fully able to make some noise as a standout development piece.
A few hours later, the Heat announced that they have signed guard Alondes Williams to fill that open Two-Way spot.
OFFICIAL: The Miami HEAT have signed guard Alondes Williams to a Two-Way Contact and waived RJ Hampton. More info – https://t.co/N83GfqyhYM pic.twitter.com/3wyJlRpF8u
— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) February 9, 2024
Listed at 6’4 and 24 years old, Williams is an explosive two-way combo guard who can shoot the ball efficiently. His promotion from the Heat’s G-League team to the pro’s comes after several impressive stat-stuffing performances:
- 55 PTS, 8 RBS, 7 ASTS
- 42 PTS, 8 RBS, 4 ASTS
- 39 PTS, 7 RBS, 6 ASTS
- 28 PTS, 10 ASTS, 5 STLS
- 23 PTS, 11 RBS, 8 ASTS
He seems to be a very well rounded offensive and defensive player, who even has a triple double stat line under his belt.
There is lots of natural athleticism and confidence to his game.
The sky is the limit for Miami’s next development piece; his 55 PT, 8 RB & 7 AST explosion about a month ago in the G-League went down as a Skyforce record.
Williams has simply made the best of his opportunities and clearly has caught the eye of Pat Riley and company. This front office has now earned a reputation of developing raw, talented young guys that are hungry for a chance.
This is another undrafted guy with so much potential as a two-way stud in Miami’s system; someone who can show lots of talent and versatility on both ends of the ball.
Recent undrafted guys who have earned call ups from the Heat are Duncan Robinson, Gabe Vincent, Max Strus, Haywood Highsmith and Dru Smith. Most notably for the franchise, their 20 year veteran Udonis Haslem came into the fold from the undrafted mix, along with rising stud Caleb Martin.
Williams now joins that category of hoopers hoping to prove his talents on a bigger stage. He went undrafted in the 2022 NBA Draft and had another stint with the Brooklyn Nets and their G-League associate before finding his way to South Florida.
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Alondes looks like someone who has skills that may come in handy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iL6HwfDoKyQ
lowry signing with phily
Yeah saw that wish we meet them in po 😁
abc needs to get van gundy and jackson back asap they were great
curry wow what a shot
Third day w/out Heat game….hmmm what to do? 😁😆
suns warriors
Thought this was interesting. #9 and 10 are Love and Joe Johnson. Can we get lucky and get another one this year?
https://hoopshype.com/lists/nba-buyout-season-the-most-successful-pickups-of-the-century/
Maybe… we will see what pat has in store for us.
Jimmy questionable vs Celtics for personal reasons. Wtf?
Thad Young and Gallo out there. I would be okay with either one. No rumors out there so far about anyone linked to Heat.
Another report I read JB is expected to suit up vs Bos. Just missed practice a couple of days. Lets all hope he plays.
I want to try Thad Young 😁
jim dont play 1% chance to win .
Rumor of Otto Porter possibly being bought out, but several teams are targeting him, like the Celtics. I would take Thad Young right now.
We’re #14! We’re #14!
https://sircharlesincharge.com/posts/nba-power-rankings-new-york-knicks-favorites-after-bold-trade/20?utm_campaign=FanSided+Daily&utm_source=FanSided+Daily&utm_medium=email&sc=e0273490fd355e2c28bdb25751d41af65a4dd80936ff00a80be9866c97887955
This chicken little routine is unbecoming for a Heat fan. 😉
Also, Biyombo signed with Thunder.
Actually the team was #18 in the last ranking so there’s that.
FYI.
I want the Heat to be in the best position possible to win in the playoffs.
I hate seeing criticism of Bam because he is unable to compete against the elite NBA centers.
Bam has his limitations and should not be expected to carry the load in the paint for the entire team, while still protecting the perimeter.Ideally, he should be playing power forward and be paired with a big two-way 3&D center.
He could be so much more active running the floor, while also scoring and assisting while still rebounding and guarding in the paint. Unfortunately, with Miami’s “small ball” philosophy, that may never happen.
The NBA is evolving. The “Golden State small ball era” is over.Time for Pat to wake up and change with the times or retire.
P.S. In my 71 years on this earth I’ve been called/compared to a lot of things. You’re the first person who has ever compared me to Chicken Little.
Have a nice weekend.
GO HEAT!!!
I believe he was saying the view was chicken little, not you.
Anyway, even if Riley doesn’t get a big, or utilize the ones he has, I don’t think he needs to retire, at least not yet. I’m curious as to how this season plays out, and, particularly, what happens in the offseason if the team gets bounced earlier than the ecf.
I hope they make it to the NBA Finals again and win it all this time. I’m just not banking on it considering the improvements made by the top tier teams in the NBA this year. You know what they say about hope? “Hope in one hand and S*** in the other.”
I continue to believe a frontcourt of 6’9″, 6’7″ and 6’5″ and a backcourt of 6’5″ and 6’1″ might be at a very slight disadvantage against the bigger teams in the playoffs.
We should get a glimpse of how well the team will do starting tomorrow against Boston, Tuesday in Milwaukee and Wednesday in Philadelphia.
GO HEAT!!!
I appreciate your honest assessments. Over the years the push towards an almost aggressive optimism on these threads as a measure of one’s fandom has been an occasional annoyance. The year we got bounced out of the first round by Milwaukee many on here were totally wrong in their forecasts prior to that series. So, it has happened. But, the other recent years earned us a rightful swagger, one that this year seems to this observer, unrealistic.
I say we need a big or have to hope ORob or Bryant fill in ably. As they say, time will tell.
BTW, I’m 71 too. Maybe older guys think alike.
It has nothing to do with aggressive optimism. It’ more the annoyance of people who crap their pants on an almost weekly occurrence instead of waiting to see how it plays out.
Then you have HFL who craps himself, and on almost every player, in every game thread.
We’re Heat fans. Be proud and confident of what this organization has done and become. Look at Knicks fans. They swear they’re back every season while having done absolutely nothing in decades.
Let’s go HEAT!
Correct (the view). Then they bring up the Bucks series. One season. Can it happen again? Of course. But this team has more years advancing further than predicted, so until it happens again, I believe in Spo and Jimmy to at least get to the 2nd round every year. Once there it all depends who’s hot and who’s not.
New York Knicks are overachieving in the regular season, while the Miami Heat are underachieving. Also, in what I’m sure is a total coincidence, the New York Knicks are playing all their starters heavy minutes, their three best players are all injured and having surgery two months before the playoffs. Meanwhile the Miami Heat are just starting to get everyone healthy, hovering a few games out of the middle of the playoff race, and are going to start playing their best basketball once they come back from the all-star break.
It’s not just a coincidence that the Heat get off to a slow start, then play their best basketball in the playoffs. It’s a marathon, not a sprint. Spo knows that. Does Thibs?
Testify! The Knicks are filling a hospital ward. We’ll see what’s up when it matters most. Not some rankings from a fly by night publication
“It’s not how you start that’s important, but how well you finish” ….Jim George
Just me and my silly thoughts…
The way I see it Heat’s built now to compete first and foremost in east. To compete with the bigs in Minny and Denver is for another discussion if and when we reach what we reached last June. Is it enough? And just like last season we’ll know when we get there. Go Heat!
think the east is doable .i know we cant beat denver unless jovic got hurt.didnt marcus morris just get released id sign his ars he owes jokic a nice cheap shot
I believe a big man is the next move. It seems to me that either the FO believes that they have enough with Love, Bryant, Orlando and Jovic or they have their eyes set on one or two bigs.
Philly, Indiana, Orlando are beatable. You forgot about the bigs in Boston, Cleveland, Milwaukee and New York. This isn’t last year. Heat lose 3 out of 4 games when they get outrebounded and 2 out of 3 against winning teams. So there’s that.
Those bigs can be handled. Real monsters are in the west.
Embiid, Lopez, Mosely, Turner, Hartenstein and Robinson aren’t exactly softies.
Jus sayin…
True, but they are not Jokic.
embids the only one big and talented.but hes tua injured.and the fat boy in denver with that big ass body wont last to long either
Dude? I thought you were on board a month ago that the Heat needed a good PG and a legit two-way PF/C to play alongside Bam in order to compete? Now you think getting Rozier and doubling down on “small ball” is sufficient to match up to any team in the East? I want to see how you feel after this next 7 game stretch.
GO HEAT!!!
theyneed a big but we didnt get one so it is what it is.we have orob but spo dont want to use him hes athletic bigger than bam and young not sure what he did to spo
Tua injured as in one of the only QB’s to play in every game this past season. You can’t predict concussions, so again another A level contribution on your behalf.
Nov 16, 2019Non-NFLInguinal Hip StrainTagovailoa suffered a dislocated right hip in the second quarter vs. Mississippi State and underwent successful surgery. He missed the rest of the season.Mar 20, 2018Non-NFLHand Finger FractureTagovailoa suffered an injury to his left throwing hand when he hit his hand on a lineman’s helmet. He underwent surgeryOct 13, 2018Non-NFLKnee Patella SprainTagovailoa tweaked his knee after sliding on a play in the third quarter during the Missouri game on Oct. 13. He was available for the next gameNov 10, 2018Non-NFLLeg Quad StrainTagovailoa suffered a quad injury late in the third quarter during the game against Mississippi State. He was available for the next game vs. the CitadelDec 1, 2018Non-NFLPedal Ankle (high) Sprain Grade 3Tagovailoa suffered a left ankle injury against Georgia in the SEC Championship Game vs. Georgia. He underwent surgery to repair his ankle.Oct 19, 2019NFLPedal Ankle (high) Sprain Grade 3Tagovailoa injured his right ankle during Alabama’s win over Tennessee. He underwent a successful tight-rope procedure and missed one gameNov 25, 2020NFLHand Thumb SprainTagovailoa missed the Week 12 game against the Jets as he suffered a thumb injury in practice.Sep 19, 2021NFLChest Rib FractureTagovailoa suffered fractured ribs during the Week 2 game against the Bills. He was placed on IR and missed three gamesNov 3, 2021NFLHand Finger FractureTagovailoa missed the Week 9 game due to a small fracture in the middle finger of his throwing hand.Sep 29, 2022NFLHead Cranial Concussion Grade 1Tua was stretchered off in a Week 4 loss to the Bengals.Dec 25, 2022NFLHead Cranial Concussion Grade 3Tua missed the remainder of the regular season. He didn’t clear concussion protocol until around January 31.Dec 31, 2023NFLShoulderTagovailoa left in the fourth quarter of Week 17 due to a shoulder injury. He returned to play the following Sunday.
This comment (cut and pasted, I assume) is entirely unreadable with its lack of punctuation and spacing.
Smart, smart, smart. Now we are talking.
Go Heat Go!
As stated in previous thread, a solidly built player that can drive and hit from distance. Plays fast.
Also his assist numbers show that he can do more than just shoot and drive. He’s a combo guard with pg potential probably more so than Hampton.
He was 19/10/8/2/2 today tonight
Those are some great numbers as well, I feel like he can be jrich 2.0 or maybe someone entirely better. All I can say is that force is strong with alondes .
Can always use another shooter. Still need a big to help Bam. Choices appear to be Bryant or Robinson.
Maybe, we can get Gallo. He qualifies as a big, and is a career 38 percent from behind the arc. So he’s a big shooter.
Not good enough to make rotation. Not a good defender. Maybe OK to bring in off the bench if second unit scorers are cold.
He’s like a taller Duncan but older, slower, slightly better rebounder, less scoring. Younger than Love but not nearly as good a rebounder or scorer.
Heat need a legit big, not more spare parts.
Well if that’s the case, the heat will have to wait next season to get a legit big. Since love is better then any option out there.
Unless Spo gives Orlando a chance to develop with the second unit. His Sioux Falls stats were pretty good.
26.3 ppg, 11.7 rpg, 2.7 bpg, 1.7 spg, .545 fg%, .357 3pt%, .731 ft%
I have to agree with 305 here, but I’ll agree with you with the obvious disclaimer.
Orlando did, indeed, have an impressive stint with the Skyforce. But it’s doubtful that Spo gives him that chance this season. Not that I agree with Spo on this, just being realistic.
Love and Orlando not or.
Sorry. Lost you on this one.
Again, that is my hope too. I even would like to try Bryant over Love.
Seems like I am always in agreement with your point of view.
Gallinari can serve as Babbit, KO, Leonard, a stretch 4 or 5, basically open the space for Bam and Butler, which is quite essential for Heat to play well. Haysmith or Martin are not at the same level doing that.
I suppose he can be used as the starter for 5-6 minutes in the first, and if he hits something, he can start in third too. If not, he is benched.
Thats the same Spo did with Babbit and Leonard.
Already have Love who is a better rebounder and passer. Miami needs a big body who can bang in the paint. Demarcus Cousins, Dwight Howard, Miles Leonard, Harry Giles, Bismack Biyombo somebody…anybody to come in and defend the paint and bang with and soften up the big boys so Bam doesn’t get killed.
My man, you know the Heat aren’t going to bring in Cousins, so we can scratch that idea. I don’t see anything wrong with Gallo off the bench, and in some instances, as Vagi said, playing that Babbit role where he frees up other players. Gallo would create space on just reputation alone. Plus, Gallo has been waived, so it’s a legit possibility.
We still have Bryant on the roster, so why go after Howard or Biyombo just play them in some situational playoff minute. Bryant can do that and probably will. I see a guy who can play with Bam and create gravity from the 4 spot as more valuable than some spot minutes guy. Love can do this, but it would be smart to stagger his minutes during the regular season. Jmo
“Small ball” it is. Seems to be working this season (19-8 vs losing teams). Unfortunately, only 9-16 against winning ones (like Boston, Milwaukee, New York, Denver, OKC, Clippers, T’Wolves, Suns, etc., etc., etc.).
P.S. Galinari is a #11-12 bench guy. The “Gallo” of four years ago when he turned the Heat down maybe. Today. No thank you.
My man, you know I don’t think it’s Gallo of 4 years ago. We’re talking 10-15 mins, max. Or allowing Love more rest during regular season can be beneficial, so an occasional night off for him. I have not heard of a single player on the buyout market that can do what you say this team needs. Like 305 said, that is an after season move and not a buyout player. The Heat aren’t the only team looking for that, and other teams are ahead of us in the standings, so we might not even be the most attractive to said player. We have to work within the current situation
Soooooo, if Love needs a rest during the rest of the regular season, why not let Orlando get some of those minutes? He needs minutes, time with rotation players and confidence. Kind of like Yurtseven two years ago when Bam was out.
The Heat is destined for the play-in round as the 10th seed at worst and maybe the 4th seed at best (behind Boston, Cleveland and New York). Why not use the opportunity to develop Robinson and find out if he can be the best big we have to help Bam in the paint during the playoffs?
Am I missing something here or are the majority of you in denial about the Heat’s real chances against the “new & improved” Celtics, Knicks and Cavs?
Yurtseven is still not doing anything, so as of today, Spo has been proven correct on that decision to not play him.
I’m not against giving O minutes, but there is a reason he doesn’t play as much. We know Spo and Co love vet players in some of those roles like an Iggy, Crowder and Love.
Who’s in denial? I think people understand that a trade wasn’t made, and trade season is over, along with the impact of buyout guys is limited. No idea how that has anything to do with the fans like we GM’ed these moves.
Love serves as a backup center. Different role.
gallo way way to old pj wash would have been nice pick up.im more worried about brunson and donovan mitchell.is rozier good enough to guard them dont think so.maybe this new guy we can stick on those two.duncan defense wins champ
PJ was traded FOR, not bought out. So no idea what the point of bringing him up considering the team wasn’t going to trade anything of value.
PJ is stuck in LAC. I have no pitty for him, he has an option. Buyout. He would left a lot of money on the table, but, hey, he would play somewhere else. If that what he wants. He wont get both money and playing time. Its just a matter of choice.