I know exactly what you’re thinking: No, the Miami Heat did not trade star guard Jimmy Butler after that’s been rampant for the last 72 hours.
But they did make a trade this week! Two days before the unofficial start of trade season, the Miami Heat traded backup center Thomas Bryant to the Indiana Pacers for a 2031 second-round pick swap.
That clears a roster spot for the Heat, who will now have 13 players on standard contracts. Once the trade is official–the earliest it can be is Sunday–the Heat will have two weeks before it has to add a 14th player to a standard contract.
The likeliest route is converting either Dru Smith–the most favorable option–or rookie forward Keshad Johnson to a standard, thus keeping the Heat below the second apron. Should the Heat go that route, it opens the door for a two-way spot for arguably the best point guard the organization has.
Heat converting Dru Smith (or Johnson) potentially creates a ripple effect for Isaiah Stevens:
The Heat currently have all three-way contracts occupied by Smith, Johnson and Josh Christopher, a former first-round pick who’s bounced around between the Houston Rockets, Utah Jazz and Heat organizations.
By trading Bryant and potentially converting Smith to a standard contract, the Heat remain below the second apron while opening up a window for them to use a two-way on Stevens, who’s arguably the best point guard in the organization. Two-ways don’t count against the cap, so the cost would be inconsequential.
I’ve been screaming to the clouds for nearly five months–heck, even longer than then–about Stevens’ prowess. He excelled during Summer League and has done even more since to earn an opportunity on a two-way contract–at the very minimum–at the NBA level.
You could turn on 30 seconds of tape and immediately notice how effective and commanding he is of an offense. He makes the life of everyone around him easier and always keeps the flow of the offense humming–even when he’s not looking to score.
Stevens, an undrafted rookie out of Colorado State, has been one of the most dominant players for the Sioux Falls Skyforce, the Heat’s G-League affiliate, throughout the Tip-Off Tournament. He entered Friday leading the G-League in assists, averaging 10.8 per game, with the 8th-highest assist percentage (36.0).
He hasn’t shot the ball particularly well from 3-point range, but he’s still averaging 13.8 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.5 steals with a 56.4 effective field goal percentage and 62.4 true-shooting percentage.
A longstanding fear is if he was swiped up by another organization before the Heat swoop in to nab him on a two-way, given his skill set.
At the end of the day, no two-way contract is guaranteed for anyone — figuratively and literally. Rewarding Isaiah Stevens also doesn’t guarantee consistent NBA reps. Instead, at minimum, he’s a security blanket that presents them with a unique option. He has a floor general mindset that nobody else on the team possesses–one that is a dying art in modern basketball, especially in today’s NBA.
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This was a necessary move, and it helps with some contracts and the second apron. But, it actually weakened the weakest part of this team. As mediocre as Bryant was, a C player at best, the other player manning that position is worse, more like a C- player. Kevin used to be great, but he is barely an nba player these days. I know that he does make some threes, but at a low percentage, and he hurts us on the defense side even if he is having one of his rare good offensive games. He is simply unacceptable as a starter. Maybe Nico will get some of his moments but Nico, despite his good last game, is also inconsistent. We need Ware to the rescue, but he is just not ready. Something has to be done, an upgrade at center is an absolute necessity.
Glad to see some positive movement.
If Alec Burks and/or Josh Richardson are traded, it could also open up regular minimum contracts for Isaiah Stevens and Keshad Johnson.
Note: The other two-way player is Josh Christopher. His biggest weakness is his 3 PT shooting.
Hopefully, Ware, Johnson and Stevens get playing time with the Heat in the near future.
GO HEAT!!!
*Miami may be able offer regular contracts to both Dru Smith and Keshod Johnson.
According to ESPN’s Bobby Marks, the Heat will save $4.7M toward their project luxury tax payment by moving off Bryant’s $2,087,519 salary. They’ll also create a traded player exception worth the exact amount of Bryant’s outgoing contract. Miami will be approximately $3.7M below the second tax apron once the deal is finalized, Marks adds.
Assuming the trade is completed on Sunday, the Heat will have until Dec. 29 to add a 14th player to their standard roster. The club will also have the ability to add a 15th man while staying below the second apron if it so chooses.
It seems we reached the same conclusions independent of each other as i wrote almost exactly the same thing on the earlier thread. Getting interesting.
I hope that all happens. Sure would like to see Johnson get a contract. In time, he could be the next Jimmy Butler, or better.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohUJyM74VCQ
Ware will play more, for sure. For backup center Spo have quite interesting strategy. First, he put Love in, and if he hit some 3p ad he is not a liability in defence, thats basically the rotation for that game. If not, Love is taken out in 5 minutes, and replaced by Bam, which plays more in this case, or Bryant. We also saw in the last game minutes with Jovic playing center in small lineup.
So, I expect to see ware playing in Bryants role, not every game, not big minutes, unless he will be able to make something out of his minutes, exactly what Dru and Jovic did in the last game. If not, he will sit.
Dru and Jovic will play in next games more, but JJJ could slide back down in the rotation, as Rosier did.
What a dogs fight this is inside the team for playing time. Two or three games not playing well is enough to fell out of rotation.
I believe Highsmith could lost his starting job in a week or two playing like that. Not because his offence, which is not terrible, because of his defense. He wasnt at his best past two games.