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.
Free agent F/C Kevin Love is finalizing a two-year, $8 million-plus deal to return to the Miami Heat, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. pic.twitter.com/uUFBaErvb8
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 30, 2024
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.
There’s no player or team option in Kevin Love’s contract. It’s a two-year deal worth about $8 million.
— Anthony Chiang (@Anthony_Chiang) June 30, 2024
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.
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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.
Patty Mills is a great guy but he’s over the hill.
Yes on both
Think positive. The glass is half full.
Go Heat!
https://allucanheat.com/posts/zyon-pullin-miami-heat-next-undrafted-gem?utm_campaign=FanSided+Daily&utm_source=FanSided+Daily&utm_medium=email&sc=e0273490fd355e2c28bdb25751d41af65a4dd80936ff00a80be9866c97887955
2qbn was high on Pullin before they got him. Very interesting player along with Johnson, who looks like his floor is DJJ 2.
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
I had no idea Bey tore his ACL. Well I guess they better sign Locksmith lol
i hart to okc.moves the needle for them
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.
This is a GREAT comment!!
Thangya vera mush.😉
Found Pat Riley’s burner account lol
Yeah we never really got to see Terry fully implemented. He was just turning it on, too.
agree 100%.nyk got worse today.joel and porz always hurt.greek has little help.minor tweak or 2 were close
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.
Damn Jalen Smith signed with the Bulls.
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.
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? 😉
Nice approach. We have no choice but to hope for the best and see the growth of the young players.
Oh jalen smith i am so upset .he has played so well dam
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.
have u ever seen jalen smith play .he never plays
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.
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
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.
PG goes to sixers
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.
drummond e gordon would sure help us out
Would you play Drummond ahead of Ware and Gordon ahead of JRich? I wouldn’t.
Drummond is a backup center at best. Unplayable in PO.
Big man try moving him.Better than any back up center weve had in long time.Still gets tons of off and def rebounds
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
diff type of player.compare him to thomas bryant.
Jalen Smith is 10 times the C that Drummond is for the Heat’s system. Hilarious
Ask jimmy .Drummonds a monster.Gordon more o jrich more d
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
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
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.
Heat quiet till now.
No signs of improvement, and not many good players still available.
I know it’s early, but I have this Deja vu feeling. I really hope they don’t drag their feet too long.
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.
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.
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.
Just a thought, or two.
Monte Morris is good if you can get him. Jalen Smith signed with Chicago. How about a blast from the past…Victor Oladipo.
“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?”
Dipos done o.Its ashame only guy happy is jalen brown
Here’s my problem(s) with thoughts like this:
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.
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.
I agree with both you and RC, the Heat need to add a veteran defender and Bey could fill that need.
I thought Bey was consider a liability on defense?
Indirectly saying were fkd
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.
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.
dunc 19 herro 29 gtfoh wow id rather have rc as gm
Don mitchell has not signed his extension,jjj ty dunc get u donovan coolio?
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?
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?
Awesome! His stats for minutes played are very good and he is a great team player. Much better choice than Bryant.
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
80 years old has done everything there is to do.an icon but time to get a hungry young gm in there.
derozan would be my guy a scorer .hes an la guy.might be pg replacement.
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.
If keeping jimmy hed be a perfect running mate.Guys played lot bball seems fairly healthy.Borderline hofer derozan
Correct that. I understand DeRozan has 2 year/$90 million offer from Philly.
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)
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
drummond e gordon also going to phily
The Los Angeles Clippers have announced that Paul George has decided to sign with another team. The Philadelphia 76ers are expected as leading suitors.
shams charania btw
Good regular season starting lineup. That’s all I’ll say about that
hmmm…dont know what to feel bout this. il just get back to this after next season is over. remind me
how btw .injured often .old .good not great player.always fks up in real season.sort of like beard
kcp to magic interesting.they must have cap space.doesnt move needle to much.denvers losing lots of depth last few years.good
They had $50M+ and aren’t done yet.
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.
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
Right? WTF happened? I do like him on the team to be around Ware and impart some knowledge but damn.