Thanks for the memories, P.J.
After days of on-going speculation, P.J. Tucker, one of the Miami Heat’s most important players from a year ago, has officially signed with the Philadelphia 76ers on a three-year, $33.2 million fully guaranteed deal, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania.
Free agent PJ Tucker is finalizing a three-year, $33.2 million fully guaranteed deal with the Philadelphia 76ers, his agent Andre Buck (@andrebuck14) told @TheAthletic @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 30, 2022
Tucker fit into Philadelphia’s full mid-level exception to sign with the Sixers due to Harden opting out of his $47.4 million player option Wednesday. Thus, Philly’s hard-capped for the upcoming league year — preventing them from exceeding the $47.4 million threshold.
The Heat were eligible to offer Tucker a three-year deal worth $27 million, and multiple reports indicated that they were willing to fully guarantee that three-year contract. They were, however, unwilling to trigger the hard-cap — and understandably so — so they didn’t use their full mid-level exception. Ultimately, this was out of Miami’s hands.
Tucker, 37, was one of Miami’s most important because of his two-way versatility, toughness, and selfless mentality. He averaged 7.6 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.1 assists on 48.4 percent shooting, including 41.5 percent from 3-point range and 73.8 percent from the charity stripe in 71 games (70 starts) as the ultimate Miami Heat player.
Here’s what I wrote about him earlier this week before I discussed possible replacements:
A few notable players who have absolutely fit that [Heat Culture] bill, some better than others. A few recent examples were Jae Crowder, who was acquired at the 2020 trade deadline, James Johnson, Josh Richardson, Gabe Vincent, Max Strus and, most importantly, Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo.
Perhaps nobody fit it better than P.J. Tucker, who signed with the Heat on a two-year deal last summer.
AD
Tucker was the quintessential embodiment of Heat basketball: The relentless effort, hard-nosed personality, blue-collar approach with championship identity and do-whatever-it-takes mentality defined Tucker, the perfect representation of #HEATCulture™.
Miami will, once again, be tasked with finding a power forward to fit next to Bam Adebayo, which has been a revolving door. Here were a few of the replacements I mentioned:
- Chris Boucher, Toronto Raptors (update, he re-signed with Toronto)
- Otto Porter Jr., Golden State Warriors
- Jalen Smith, Indiana Pacers
- John Collins, Atlanta Hawks (trade)
- Harrison Barnes, Sacramento Kings (trade)
- JaMychal Green, Oklahoma City Thunder (trade)
This is a breaking news story. Stay tuned for updates.