The Heat made a notable investment in the backup center position this offseason, committing two years to 36-year-old Kevin Love and bringing back Thomas Bryant despite already having signed Love and drafting Kel’el Ware 15th overall.
Bryant’s decision in particular came under a microscope, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald writes, as it was assumed that he was asked to opt out of the contract that would have paid him $2.8MM with a promise that he could come back at the same amount if no other offers materialized elsewhere.
Bryant did re-sign for $2.8MM, but it actually saved the Heat $700K, Jackson explains. Salaries on one-year contracts count at the two-year minimum of $2.1MM. If he didn’t, that $700K additional charge would have applied. However, according to Jackson, Bryant denies that there was ever such an understanding between him and the Heat.
“I know it seemed that way but it wasn’t the case at all,” Bryant said. “They basically said: ‘we know you have options and we want you to be able to look at those.’ They said ‘we would love to have you back here and from the top down, everybody loves what you’ve done here and see the work you put in and everyone wants you around.’ But there wasn’t any promise they would re-sign me.”
This is an intriguing commitment, because of the Heat’s resources at center but also because Bryant sparsely played for Miami last season. He appeared in just 38 games with four starts and averaged 5.7 points and 3.7 rebounds. While it’s possible they just didn’t relay that contract information to him, he was aware there was a deadline set in place by Miami to re-sign. In essence, it seems like one of two scenarios is likely.
The first option is that the Heat felt fine with the resources they had at the backup wing position (where they lost major contributor Caleb Martin to free agency) and wanted to bring Bryant back because they valued him. For what it’s worth, president Pat Riley was excited by the prospect of bringing Bryant in last offseason. The second option, that Bryant denies, is that Miami brought him back at that lower cap hit since he had a player option anyways.
That first option is interesting, because at the time of signing the contract, Miami hadn’t re-signed Haywood Highsmith or added Nassir Little. That would have left them with Jaime Jaquez and rookie two-way forward Keshad Johnson as their only real wing defenders. In other words, Miami seems ready to trust all players with large roles this coming year.
We have more on the Heat:
- As for bringing back Love, Jackson writes in the same piece that the Heat didn’t feel like his age has caused a decrease in his skill. They believe his two-year, $8MM valuation is correct. Love said his goal is to reach 20 years in the NBA, which would take him two years beyond what he is already signed to. “I feel really good, fresh, fleet of foot,” Love said. “I don’t feel I’m necessarily in the UD [Udonis Haslem mentorship] role, where he was late in his career.“
- Little, a former first-round pick for the Blazers, had other options than signing a fully non-guaranteed deal with the Heat, Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald writes. Little, who averages 5.5 points for his career, has until Oct. 19 to audition for Miami as that’s the leaguewide cut-down deadline. “With Miami, I just feel like they valued the type of player that I am the most,” Little said. “Yeah, there were other opportunities. But I just felt like the reputation that Miami has with players like myself and just the conversations that I had with the staff around here, it wasn’t to that extent with any of the other organizations. … I definitely feel like they wanted me the most.“
- The Heat see Dru Smith being a capable ball-handler and defender on a two-way contract, Jackson writes in a separate piece. While he’s coming off a major injury, he showed promise last season and the Heat showed their value in him by letting him be a part of offseason meetings. His two-way spot might be the most in jeopardy, since Josh Christopher and Johnson had tremendous summer league stints, but it’s clear Miami cherishes him.
- Chris Quinn earned a promotion from assistant coach to associate head coach this offseason, Chiang writes in another story. Head coach Erik Spoelstra said the promotion is more of a formality than anything, but the Heat wanted to reward someone who has been instrumental to their successful development system and who has earned several head-coaching interviews across the league over the years. “It means a lot,” Quinn said. “Obviously, the title is one thing. But the responsibility that comes along with it. … It’s a huge responsibility for me to keep moving in the right direction.”