After an unfruitful season, Miami Heat big man Thomas Bryant has opted out of his $2.8 million player option ahead of the 5 p.m. EST deadline, Heat insider Anthony Chiang was first to report Saturday. He also reported–along with Hoopshype’s Michael Scotto–that Martin is opting out.
Martin was on the books for $7.1 million in 2024-25, while Bryant’s player option was worth $2.8 million.
Caleb Martin ($7.1 million option) and Thomas Bryant ($2.8 million option) are bypassing their player options to become unrestricted free agents, according to a league source.
The had a 5 p.m. deadline to decide.
— Anthony Chiang (@Anthony_Chiang) June 29, 2024
Sources: Miami Heat swingman Caleb Martin is declining his $7.12 million player option and will enter unrestricted free agency, @hoopshype has learned. pic.twitter.com/H7tHJO11ro
— Michael Scotto (@MikeAScotto) June 29, 2024
Martin opting out was expected. It was reported in mid-May that the Heat was “highly unlikely” to re-sign Martin to a larger deal due to where they were in the cap, according to Heat insider Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald.
Bryant opting out was a little more unexpected, though it would have been difficult for him to see much playing time with Kevin Love and Kel’el Ware behind Bam Adebayo in the backcourt. He was making the second-year minimum for a player with six years experience, and will now be eligible to sign a one-year minimum elsewhere for a similar $2.8 million.
Martin’s impact took a step back last season, despite having better counting stats than his 2022-23 campaign. He averaged 10.0 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.2 assists, shooting 43.1 percent from the floor, 34.9 percent from 3-point range and 77.8 percent from the free-throw line. Bryant also had an unfruitful campaign without a consistent role in his first season backing up Bam Adebayo.
He averaged 5.7 points and 3.7 rebounds on 57.7 percent shooting and 63.9 percent true shooting. He had a much stronger end to the regular season than he did at the start, but his impact was inconsistent on both ends of the floor against other team’s second units.
With Kevin Love, Martin and Bryant all opting out ahead of Sunday’s free agency, Miami clears roughly $14 million off of their cap sheet. Accounting for Kel’el Ware’s $4.2 million rookie scale contract plus Tyler Herro’s $2.5 million in unlikely incentives, it has roughly $175 million on its cap sheet, roughly $2.6 million away from the punitive first apron and $14.5 million from the ultra-punitive second apron.
Love is expected to negotiate a new contract to return and Haywood Highsmith could also return. Miami still can’t afford to offer any portion of the mid-level ($12.9M) to sign any free agents upon free agency opening on Sunday at 6 p.m. EST.
Do you think these were smart decisions? Let us know in the comments!
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Interesting article this morning on Jimmy. I was hoping Heat could wait to decide what to do until the trade deadline. However, it seems if he is going to opt out next year and possibly leave the Heat with nothing in return, it wouldn’t hurt to explore current trade options. It is better for Heat to get something/someone of value now rather than wait and let him walk away for nothing. I understand there are still some trades to be had out there.
https://hoopshabit.com/posts/jimmy-butler-s-fate-with-the-miami-heat-may-already-be-sealed?utm_campaign=FanSided+Daily&utm_source=FanSided+Daily&utm_medium=email&sc=e0273490fd355e2c28bdb25751d41af65a4dd80936ff00a80be9866c97887955
Depends on players around him.Got panthers anyway.What a parade wow
Mitchell expected to sign with Cavs today. Glad that’s out of the way and they can focus on FA’s or other trades.
I agree.
Whoa! I did not expect Bryant to opt out. I don’t think the Heat are willing to get taxed, but with this news I would beg them to sign Jalen Smith. My guess is they will now bring back Orlando. He was probably on the chopping block if Bryant opted in.
Side note on the Hawks trading Murray and our fans lamenting how the Heat could have offered something. That is incorrect. It’s being reported the Hawks wanted a pick in the loaded 2025 draft. The Heat do not own a pick in that draft if they make the playoffs. It’s owed to OKC.
We are going to need some backup bigs ,who can rebound and defend,for Bam And Ware when Bryant is gone and Orlando is removed.Jalen Smith, Biyombo, and Mo bamba are what comes to my mind.
I was hoping we can also get Nwora or Seddik Bay as a substitute for Caleb.
I have always liked Bey and thought Spo & Co could really unlock him. I like how you’re thinking
Hartenshtein prob avail
He is going to demand some serious coin. I prefer Jalen Smith anyways. More of a reasonable contract and the type of player you can pair with Bam. A lot more than Hartenstein
The Magic’s Mo Wagner?
I like Mo Wagner a lot. Franz Wagner lite!
Walter Thomas Franklin !
I sent a message off the contact us form about this. Amazing that there is no ability to flag a comment here. I miss the days when we had an active moderator.
Yeah but maybe the herpes or spell casting info is helpful to HFL.
George prob going to phily.,caleb martins.kevin loves do nothing to move a teams needle. .Need some diff makers.Pat and coolio better have a plan for us.Keep rc out of the meeting room coolio.
Philly can’t win crap with two injury prone stars and no bench. Jus sayin.
Speaking of herpes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oeCDnCcwfwU
u r right coolio,when the 3 on the ct together they are prob the best 3 some in nba in reg season.pg suks in real season.
isn’t there any way to flag the spam here???
Bella James is almost as bad as hfl (just kidding bud)
Lol!
another hfl hater.first rc(coolios aasst gm)2qbn(mr sarcastic) and now the man from the great nw.alaska emily on the list to but shes kinda retired.coolios cool with me he agrees on alot of my knowledgeable opinions?.i always look forward to his posts .my main reason to read hhh
Dude, it isn’t always what you say, it’s how you say it. My ex-wife was like that. She was right more often than she was wrong. However, she had a way of voicing her opinion that was hostile, abrasive and insensitive. Her message was lost because of her delivery.
We all get frustrated with management, coaching and players from time to time. Constructive criticism with rational solutions is one thing, open hostility without step by step solutions is another. I too wish Riley would get rid of certain players and add others. However, with cap limitations and unwilling trading partners, those changes aren’t always possible. Plus, like everyone else, Riley and his staff are human. They aren’t perfect. They make mistakes.
The way I see things, sure I would like to see the Heat kick Boston’s ass every year and go on to win the championship. The reality is that isn’t going to happen. There is an ebb and flow to professional sports. Sometimes the roller coaster is at the top and sometimes it is at the bottom. All we can do is ride it out.
Right now, Miami is sitting in a pretty good position to be competitive, although I agree the Heat is not a very top tier team like Boston, New York, OKC, Minnesota, Denver etc. However, we have yet to see what a healthy Heat team can do, especially with a motivated Jimmy, a solid rotation and the addition of Ware and possibly one or two new rotation players. I don’t think Riley is done making changes. Just as he finally woke up to the fact Miami needs a legit center, he is waking up to the fact Miami needs a legit two-way shooting guard/scoring threat.
Meanwhile, from what I can see, it looks like this is the team we have under contract, so far: Rozier, Herro, Butler, Bam, Ware, JRich, DRobinson, Jovic, Jaquez, Larssen and ORobinson*. A decision on whether to extend ORob’s contract is due by July 15th. Decisions on Highsmith, Wright and KLove are also pending.
If everything breaks in Miami’s favor, the team can be competitive. With a key trade or two, the team can be more than that.Timing is everything. Since Butler isn’t being traded in the near future, we need to give Riley the space and time to try to work his magic. Meanwhile, just chill and enjoy your summer. It’s a long way until opening day 2024-2025. Much can happen!
GO HEAT!!!
Testify, Coolio!
Every wife is always right. But no man wants to know that.
Hands can be useful to cover years, when the message is delivering.
Excellent take! Unfortunately, I don’t think that leopard will ever change its spots. It’s nice to believe in one’s own opinions. It’s also nice to be respectful of other people’s opinions. He is right about some issues and wrong about others, just like the rest of us. In life, you encounter some people who are always, or mostly, negative all the time. I’ve always just moved on from such people after giving an honest effort to reason and communicate.
I feel that way about politics. Some folks have tunnel vision and won’t allow themselves to be confused by the facts.
While I agree with the premise, I have found that, unlike you, not many are willing to put forth the “honest effort to reason and communicate” you mention.
The reason is that fans are emotional, and those same emotions cloud their judgment.
I came across this quote some time ago that seems to make sense of this anomaly: “You, I am afraid, will be unable to see the truth because your self-image depends upon furthering the lie.”
C’est la vie
When healthy coolio.we can play with anybody.Hopefully ware can play with bam not as his backup.If that is the case look out.We have a full year of rozier whos our best pg since timmy.Everything is based on health.The only thing that can stop us from going far in the playoffs are injuries.No way to improve team coolio no diff makers coming here run it back with a minor tweak or 2
Ye of little faith. Be patient. If not a whale, I think we may have a great white shark in thew works.