The Latest from @HotHotHoops on YouTube

Kevin Love agrees to two-year, $8 million deal to return to Heat

Kevin Love
Kevin Love one was one of the NBA’s top backup big men last year! (Ron Chenoy/USA Today Sports)

As expected, Kevin Love is heading back to South Florida!

The 36-year-old big man has agreed to a two-year, $8 million deal, NBA Insider Shams Charania of The Athletic was the first to report Sunday.

Love declined his $4.0 million player option on Saturday to get the extra year on a similar salary. It’s a marginal decrease, but one nonetheless.

According to Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald, there is no player or team option on the contract.

Love averaged 8.8 points and 6.1 rebounds on 44.0 percent shooting, including 34.4 percent from 3-point range and 78.7 percent from the charity stripe last year. He was the team’s best backup center behind Bam Adebayo, and led the team in rebounding percentage (20.7) and defensive rebounding percentage (34.5).

Love has proven to be a valuable veteran leader in the locker room. He will now be in a frontcourt alongside rookie center Kel’el Ware, the team’s No. 15 selection, to help alleviate pressure off their franchise big man. They also have center Orlando Robinson, whose non-guaranteed contract of $2.1 million becomes fully guaranteed on July 15.

Miami is now roughly $5.6 million above the luxury tax and $1.7 million under the $178.132 million first apron, though the latter is not accounting for Tyler Herro’s $2.5 million in unlikely bonuses, a requirement for cap calculations. Thus, they are still projected to be a first-apron squad with pending decisions on Caleb Martin, Haywood Highsmith and Delon Wright in free agency.

***

This is a developing news story. Stay tuned for updates.

To check out our other content, click here.

Follow Hot Hot Hoops on Twitter/X here!

Follow Hot Hot Hoops on Instagram here!

Subscribe to our YouTube channel here!

0 0 votes
Article Rating
Subscribe
Notify of
guest
78 Comments
Newest
Oldest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Reality Czech

Not happy about Delon signing with Bucks for $3.3 million. Maybe they could make a big splash and bring back Patty Mills 😆. Maybe this means they’ll give the money they’re saving to Highsmith.

SunManFromDogBone

Patty Mills is a great guy but he’s over the hill.

Reality Czech

Yes on both

Reality Czech

2qbn was high on Pullin before they got him. Very interesting player along with Johnson, who looks like his floor is DJJ 2.

SunManFromDogBone

NBA Free Agency: Competition in East gets better as Heat stand pat. The Miami Heat’s standing in the East has only gotten worse after the first day of NBA free agency.

Does this sound familiar, or what?

“…Miami’s best chance to improve may be counting on a more engaged Jimmy Butler during what could be a contract year, a full year of Terry Rozier and internal improvement from Jaime Jaquez Jr., Nikola Jovic and Kel’el Ware.

Unfortunately, the Heat don’t have the cap space or draft capital to be as nimble as their Eastern Conference rivals. If Mitchell re-signs with Cleveland, a meaningful addition, for now, doesn’t appear to be on the table for the Heat this summer.”

https://allucanheat.com/posts/nba-free-agency-competition-in-east-gets-better-as-heat-stand-pat?utm_campaign=FanSided+Daily&utm_source=FanSided+Daily&utm_medium=email&sc=e0273490fd355e2c28bdb25751d41af65a4dd80936ff00a80be9866c97887955

Last edited 5 months ago by SunManFromDogBone
2qbn

I had no idea Bey tore his ACL. Well I guess they better sign Locksmith lol

heat for life

i hart to okc.moves the needle for them

SunManFromDogBone

ATTENTION! MIAMI HEAT FANS!

We’ve been through this drill before. The sky is not falling. There is no need for bed wetting! Riley isn’t done yet. He may still pull a rabbit out of his hat or somewhere else.

Miami never did get the chance to see what a healthy starting unit could do. Six of the team’s rotation players were involved in 60 or fewer games, including
Butler (60), KLove (55), Jovic (46), JRich (43), Herro (42) and Rozier (31).

This compares with the number of games played by Boston’s rotation players:
Prichard (82), Hauser (79), Tatum (74), White (73), Brown (70), Holiday (65), Horford (63), Kornet (63). Only Porzingas played fewer than 60 games (57).

Butler, Herro, Bam and Rozier combined averaged 77.3 ppg last season. In addition, Duncan, Jaquez, Richardson and Love combined averaged another 43.5 ppg. The problem was, unlike Boston, they were never all healthy at the same time. Therefore, they never were able to mesh together as a team.

I’m curious to see just how good this team can be, considering the continued development of Jaquez and Jovic and the introduction of Ware as part of the rotation. Once this team meshes, it may be better than any of us has give them credit for. That does not include the possible benefit(s) of a trade.

Reality Czech

This is a GREAT comment!!

SunManFromDogBone

Thangya vera mush.😉

Dan

Found Pat Riley’s burner account lol

2qbn

Yeah we never really got to see Terry fully implemented. He was just turning it on, too.

heat for life

agree 100%.nyk got worse today.joel and porz always hurt.greek has little help.minor tweak or 2 were close

vagibugi

I disagree. Its clear, that even full team playing well cant beat top teams, like Boston, or 3-4 teams in the west.

We need improvements at all points.

Butler will be probably good enough next year, thats it. So, the time for improvements is now.

I like both Herro and Dunc and all young players, but they have to go, to get a better player or two.

If nothing happens this summer, than must be a Butler trade at the end of the season, and some growing years with young rooster, which, after all, is not bad.

Still, I see only two possibilities. Big trades (no Butler involved) now or Butler trade later.

2qbn

Damn Jalen Smith signed with the Bulls.

Zac

I may be in the minority, because I don’t think Miami really has a good shot to compete this year, I’d almost rather Miami not sign these stop gap pieces and force Spo to play the kids. I know Jalen isn’t that old, but he’s been on three teams and never really managed to crack a starting line-up, so he’s likely just a depth guy.

Seeing Miami play Niko, Jaquez, this year was one of the few bright spots, as it gave us some glimpse of their abilities. So I’d rather see Ware and Larsson get minutes than Miami sign one year rentals, who aren’t likely to make any meaningful impact.

2qbn

I would rather have Jalen as backup center than Love.

If for some reason Miami does not make the playoffs they get to keep their pick in a loaded draft. Silent tank? 😉

Reality Czech

Nice approach. We have no choice but to hope for the best and see the growth of the young players.

heat for life

Oh jalen smith i am so upset .he has played so well dam

2qbn

He would have instantly been better than any otehr backup center we’ve had recently. Dude, it’s not like we would have signed Hartenstein.

heat for life

have u ever seen jalen smith play .he never plays

2qbn

He averaged more time on the court than Love. Remember, he’s a backup. Also, why would you discount what Spo & Co could do for his game?

Anywho, he’s on the Bulls getting paid $27 to not play for three years.

heat for life

all the real good fas off the board except donovan.dont want trae young can’t imagine atl does either(could be wrong).think theyd like a do over in that draft lol.so get a couple above avg players that can play d pat and good riddance to the one wayers

2qbn

Who cares if they are off the board. This team didn’t have money to sign one of them. If they do anything of note it will be via trade.

ManilaHeat

PG goes to sixers

vagibugi

yep..

I believe this is a good news, because they give him 4 year max contract at his age. He is a good player, but not a difference maker any more.

With Embiid, him and Maxey eaten up most of the cap, their bench will be short. Looking at the injury history of Embiid and PG, that could be big problem.

I think they will finished as Phoenix. Three stars and not much behind.

heat for life

drummond e gordon would sure help us out

SunManFromDogBone

Would you play Drummond ahead of Ware and Gordon ahead of JRich? I wouldn’t.

vagibugi

Drummond is a backup center at best. Unplayable in PO.

heat for life

Big man try moving him.Better than any back up center weve had in long time.Still gets tons of off and def rebounds

SunManFromDogBone

Can’t spread the floor. Can’t shoot threes. Less mobile than Love.
Drummond: 17.1 mpg, 8.4 ppg, 9.0 rpg, 0% 3pt
Love: 16.8 mpg, 8.8 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 34.4% 3pt

heat for life

diff type of player.compare him to thomas bryant.

2qbn

Jalen Smith is 10 times the C that Drummond is for the Heat’s system. Hilarious

Last edited 5 months ago by 2qbn
heat for life

Ask jimmy .Drummonds a monster.Gordon more o jrich more d

heat for life

at his age with his personal and team playoff failures and his injury history believe they fd up.id rather have derozan than pg.hes a good player but at 53 mil no thanks to that.phily gotta have sht depth again.and we know joel and porzingis are just waiting to get injured.think the knicks if healthy would have beaten boston this year and will do it next year(could be wrong),knicks have so many good players and a ss.good job by their gm.f them hate that citys sports teams

oregoner

Heat were quiet during the draft. I didn’t hear them mentioned once today, not even with cheap free-agents like Klay or Westbrook. Which leaves only one possible explanation.

The Heat are going after a trade.

The most likely target is Mitchell. His “contract extension” didn’t get mentioned once today, which means there’s a chance. I’m sure Ingram and LaVine are available. If those are the choices, I’d rather have Ingram, because the LaVine contract and injury history scare me. After that, best case scenario is someone like Lauri Markannan, worst case scenario is someone like Cam Johnson. I’d be fine with either, depending on what the Heat give up.

I can’t predict the future. But I have a pretty good feel for the present. And I think the Heat are using free agency to free up cap space so they can make a trade

SunManFromDogBone

Second possible exception is Miami has no cap space to acquire free agents unless they trade a player for younger/cheaper player(s) and draft picks/cap space.

vagibugi

Heat quiet till now.
No signs of improvement, and not many good players still available.

Reality Czech

I know it’s early, but I have this Deja vu feeling. I really hope they don’t drag their feet too long.

SunManFromDogBone

It is what it is.If Riley wants to run it back with the same basic core with a few tweaks before making any wholesale changes, there isn’t much we can do but stay tuned and continue coming up with creative ways to make the team better. Maybe someone in the Heat organization drops in on HHH from time to time and sees a suggestion that makes sense/that they consider worthy of pursuing with the front office.

If all the Eastern Conference teams had been as healthy as Boston, who knows what the final outcome would have been. Hell, despite losing more games to injuries than any other NBA playoff team and using 38 different line-ups in 82 games (46.3%), Miami still wound up at 46-36, only four games behind 2nd place (50-32) New York. Imagine if everyone stays healthy and the team can improve it’s scoring, rebounding and interior defense this season. Anything is possible.

Reality Czech

Yup. What names in the AUCH 21 free agent targets at vets minimum do you like? Delon and Jalen Smith (not sure you get him for the minimum) are 2. I like a couple of others.

DiehardHeatFanSince88

Monte Morris, we need a true point guard for the 2nd team. Jalen Smith is an intriguing prospect, but with the addition of Ware and the re-signing of Love, there would only be room for him by cutting Orlando Robinson.

Others that make sense, I don’t know if they could fit money-wise, but they are not high dollar.

  1. Tyrus Jones – again, floor general for 2nd team
  2. Mo Wagner – I love the energy and overall game of this backup big man.
  3. Saddiq Bey – Losing Martin makes a hole in our perimeter defense. Additionally losing Highsmith expands it to a huge hole.
  4. Lonnie Walker – Could he become a more consistent 2nd team scorer? He has the athleticism and energy to work within Miami’s defensive schemes.

Just a thought, or two.

SunManFromDogBone

Monte Morris is good if you can get him. Jalen Smith signed with Chicago. How about a blast from the past…Victor Oladipo.

DiehardHeatFanSince88

“If he were fit, I’d consider bringing him in for a trial, but I’m concerned about the strength of his legs. I’m a fan of his, but his previous injuries were not straightforward, which could have led one leg to overcompensate for the other. He’s had a year off to recover, but has he fully regained his confidence?”

heat for life

Dipos done o.Its ashame only guy happy is jalen brown

Zac

Here’s my problem(s) with thoughts like this:

  1. Other teams had injuries too. Knicks lost Randle, Bucks lost Giannis, Pacers lost Mathurin, 76ers lost Embiid, etc. etc.
  2. Other teams are improving their roster. Knicks added OG at the deadline, picked up Bridges in the off season. 76ers are adding Paul George, Eric Gordon, while keeping Oubre.
  3. Miami as of right now, is likely worse than they were when they finished the season. They all but guaranteed to lose Caleb Martin and his 10 points in 27 minutes; seems like losing Highsmith is becoming a reality as well, taking away one of their better bench players and overall defenders. Two rookies aren’t likely to replace what they lost.
DiehardHeatFanSince88

Yep. As for your third point, I’d say they were our best perimeter defenders (since Jimmy Butler seems to have lost a step) and definitely our two best point-of-attack defenders.

2qbn

If they lose both they have to go after someone like Bey. Agree with RC in that the rookies should not be depended on to make up for that production. If it happens, amazing. But can’t bank on it.

DiehardHeatFanSince88

I agree with both you and RC, the Heat need to add a veteran defender and Bey could fill that need.

Zac

I thought Bey was consider a liability on defense?

heat for life

Indirectly saying were fkd

Zac

Is it really dragging your feet when you have no cap room, and no real assets to make a trade? Miami is stuck in the Jimmy purgatory. He isn’t viewed on the level of many of the leagues super stars, so he’s not an amazing recruitment tool. Miami looks more and more like a 7/8 seed, so they aren’t recruiting based on championship expectations. This off season and the past few, show how mismanagement by over valuing your own players (looking at you Duncan) and the new NBA punitive cap rooms, have crippled Riley’s management style. Couple that with a cheap ownership group and you have mediocrity now and into the future.

DiehardHeatFanSince88

Yep, but it’s not just the Jimmy purgatory. More like the Jimmy ($48,798,677), Duncan ($19,406,000), Herro ($29,000,000), and Rozier ($24,924,126) purgatory, for the reason you mention. Plus, aside from Jimmy, I don’t think teams are trying to position themselves to get one of these guys.

Last edited 5 months ago by DiehardHeatFanSince88
heat for life

dunc 19 herro 29 gtfoh wow id rather have rc as gm

heat for life

Don mitchell has not signed his extension,jjj ty dunc get u donovan coolio?

SunManFromDogBone

They are also gonna want 2 draft picks. That’s too much unless you trade Butler first for assets. I wonder which teams may still be open for a trade?

oregoner

good call. Maybe secretly the biggest story of the day. I’ve spent the past two months reading that Mitchell was going to sign an extension with the Cavs. I didn’t hear his name once today. (Brian Windhorst fingers) I wonder why?

SunManFromDogBone

Awesome! His stats for minutes played are very good and he is a great team player. Much better choice than Bryant.

Last edited 5 months ago by SunManFromDogBone
ZechMerquise

hey Pat, do something. Most free agents are getting scooped. East teams improving and getting tough

herro for john collins straight up
herro, ware, picks for markkanen
sign anyone, wiseman, jalen smith, deroza, yurtseven, i dont know

heat for life

80 years old has done everything there is to do.an icon but time to get a hungry young gm in there.

heat for life

derozan would be my guy a scorer .hes an la guy.might be pg replacement.

SunManFromDogBone

It ain’t gonna happen. He has $80 million/2 year deal on table with Chicago. Plus he’s almost as old as Jimmy. I thought you wanted to go younger.

heat for life

If keeping jimmy hed be a perfect running mate.Guys played lot bball seems fairly healthy.Borderline hofer derozan

SunManFromDogBone

Correct that. I understand DeRozan has 2 year/$90 million offer from Philly.

heat for life

If hh could score a little more im fine with him and jim defending jt jb.bam got injurezingisor al,jjj on d white.delon jrue.terry tro small for jrue or d white.didnt understand the non usage of delon.his d and playmakingdef better than terry.terrys def a better scorer.terrys a 2g with pg body.teams fine just stay healthy get improvement from jjj.jovic not high on hope im wrong(wont be the first time)

ZechMerquise

i mean its ok..as of now among our bigs, KLove is probably the best frontcourt partner for bam due to his 3pt shooting, but whatever. Jovic is not there yet

heat for life

drummond e gordon also going to phily

heat for life

The Los Angeles Clippers have announced that Paul George has decided to sign with another team. The Philadelphia 76ers are expected as leading suitors.

heat for life

shams charania btw

2qbn

Good regular season starting lineup. That’s all I’ll say about that

ManilaHeat

hmmm…dont know what to feel bout this. il just get back to this after next season is over. remind me

heat for life

how btw .injured often .old .good not great player.always fks up in real season.sort of like beard

heat for life

kcp to magic interesting.they must have cap space.doesnt move needle to much.denvers losing lots of depth last few years.good

SunManFromDogBone

They had $50M+ and aren’t done yet.

Reality Czech

Okay, 2 things. This doesn’t help the Heat, cap-wise, at all. I thought he was taking a lower salary.
The other thing is, I guess someone was wrong about him going to the west coast.

heat for life

It made sense rc.Hes a beach boys nephew.ucla.grad lebron,declined offer.,wants another ring.most likely,not getting one here.doesnt move needle one iota

2qbn

Right? WTF happened? I do like him on the team to be around Ware and impart some knowledge but damn.

78
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x
Scroll to Top