ASK IRA: Will Heat hold off on filling out the back end of the roster?
Q: The Heat often leave a vacant roster spot for most of a season due to salary-cap or tax implications. Thus, shouldn’t we expect that they will leave one of the two remaining spots open and only sign one more player to a standard contract? – Moses, North Miami Beach.
A: The new collective-bargaining agreement makes it difficult to continue with such an approach, limiting in such a circumstance the number of days that players on two-way contracts can be on active rosters during the regular season. The workaround is to fill the end of the standard roster with players with non-guaranteed or minimally guaranteed contacts, such as the one currently held by Orlando Robinson. So that well could be the way the Heat approach the start of the season, to provide maximum cost-effective flexibility. The caveat to that is if there is a Damian Lillard deal, in which case all bets are off regarding the roster composition.
Q: Maybe if the Blazers also give up Jusuf Nurkic to the Heat in a Damian Lillard deal they will take Orlando Robinson as the kicker. – Martin.
A: Except they can’t, at least now. Like any free agent who signs in the offseason, as Orlando Robinson did at the start of this month when he shifted to a standard contract, Orlando cannot be dealt until Dec. 15 at the earliest. So like the Heat’s other free agents signed – Josh Richardson, Thomas Bryant, Kevin Love – he cannot be dealt for months.
Q: I continue to be impressed with Jamaree Bouyea. I know I could be jumping the gun when I say this, but I think he will not only make the 15-man roster, but thrive like Gabe Vincent . He has all the intangibles you want as a player. Great defender, attacks the basket on offense. Every time he entered a summer-league game, he made things happen. I went into the summer league excited about watching Jaime Jaquez, Nikola Jovic or Orlando Robinson and came away wanting to see Bouyea. He plays like he has a chip on his shoulder to prove himself. Do the Heat even need a draft? – Anthony, North Carolina.
A: Might be jumping the gun a wee bit, considering Jamaree Bouyea wasn’t even on a two-way contract last season and has yet in his career to be offered guaranteed money of any heft to this stage. But, yes, if a team can afford to carry a third combo guard as a developmental prospect, then there does seem to be something there. But again, as with all things Heat at the moment, first we have to see how the roster shakes out. If it is a veteran, win-now approach with Damian Lillard, then veterans might be prioritized, similar to when the Heat, for better or worse, opted at one time for an aging Eddie House over a rookie Patrick Beverley.