Erik Spoelstra on Thomas Bryant trade: 'It makes sense for both parties'

On Friday, the Miami Heat flipped Thomas Bryant to the Indiana Pacers for a 2031 second-round pick swap. The deal was not made official until Sunday, the day that Bryant plus 84 other players leaguewide, who signed last offseason, were eligible to be traded.

Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra spoke about the trade ahead of Monday’s game against the Detroit Pistons, citing the “flexibility” added in the deal was a “good thing.”

“We’re all big fans of [Thomas Bryant],” Spoelstra said, according to Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. “And what you have in this profession is your reputation, your character, obviously your talent. But when you make an impression on everybody here and everybody feels the same way, that’s a win. He deserves the opportunity to play.

“These are always thought decisions, especially when you make ’em during the season. But I think this is one of the cases where it makes sense for both parties. And because he was such a pro, we worked with TB and his agent to make this happen.

“TB has a lot of good days in this profession. And that’s really what you want to do where we’re living our dream, in this game of basketball. Oftentimes, guys don’t have the exact role they want or the opportunities, they become kind of down about this lifestyle. That was not the case with TB.

“And he worked extremely hard behind the scenes. And that spirit will play well for Indiana.”

Bryant played in 10 of the team’s 23 games with a fluctuating role within the rotation. He didn’t make a great impact, scoring 4.1 points and 3.2 rebounds on 42.9 percent shooting and 35.3 percent from 3-point range. Spoelstra oscillated between Bryant and Kevin Love and the team’s primary backup big, opting to further develop Kel’el Ware before giving him consistent rotation minutes.

By trading Bryant and clearing a roster spot, the Heat now have two weeks to operate with 13 players on standard contracts, one below the league minimum. The overwhelming likelihood is that the Heat could convert Dru Smith–who’s playing the best basketball of his life on a two-way deal–to a standard contract and potentially convert the likes of Isaiah Stevens or Keshad Johnson to a two-way.

Smith, who turns 27-years-old on Dec. 30, is averaging 5.4 points and 3.1 rebounds. Though he’s averaging 8.0 points, 3.6 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.2 steals in 24.2 minutes on 48.3/53.3/66.7 shooting splits over his last five games.

The Thomas Bryant deal does benefit both sides. The Pacers have dealt with multiple injuries to its frontcourt this season while Miami can give opportunities to players who better fit its roster. Sure, they will lose some frontcourt depth, but Bryant logged DNP-CDs in 13 games while getting less than 10 minutes in three more. That doesn’t benefit him nor the Heat, even though he didn’t provide much of a positive impact when he was on the floor regardless.