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Christmas in mid-December for Heat? Not quite, but personnel possibilities about to be unlocked

ira winderman, south florida sun-sentinel
·3 min read

MIAMI — The Miami Heat can go to market on Friday with more available assets than at any point this season.

That doesn’t mean Pat Riley, Andy Elisburg and the rest of the front office will spring into action. Nor is there necessarily a need, as the Heat first look to get whole from the recent spate of injuries.

But starting Friday, there will be chips to put into play heretofore unavailable.

By rule, players other than draft picks cannot be dealt for three months or until at least Dec. 15 after signing, whichever comes later.

Friday is Dec. 15.

For the Heat, that means players such as Thomas Bryant, Josh Richardson, Orlando Robinson, Jamal Cain, Cole Swider and RJ Hampton become trade eligible for the first time this season.

That is in addition to players previously eligible to be dealt, a group that includes Bam Adebayo, Jimmy Butler, Tyler Herro, Haywood Highsmith, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Nikola Jovic, Kyle Lowry, Caleb Martin and Duncan Robinson. Jaquez, drafted at No. 18 in June, signed on July 1 and was eligible to be traded starting in August.

The only two Heat players who will not stand as trade eligible as of Friday, between the two games against the Chicago Bulls during this home-game set at Kaseya Center, are guard Dru Smith and center Kevin Love.

With Smith, it is a matter of having been signed to his standard deal on Oct. 21, and therefore not being eligible to be dealt until Jan. 21. And, yes, a player can be dealt even if out for the season, as is the case with Smith and his knee injury.

The Love situation is a bit more complex.

Because Love has Early Bird Rights now that he is under contract to the Heat for a second consecutive season, he has the right to veto a trade. The only way he can be dealt without his approval basically still would require his approval, since he then would have to agree to pick up the 2024-25 option on the two-year $7.8 million deal he signed in July.

Still, don’t expect Christmas in mid-December for the Heat. Over the franchise’s previous 35 seasons, the Heat have never made a December trade. Ever.

Three other upcoming dates also could have an impact on the timing of the NBA trade market.

On Jan. 5, teams can begin signing players to 10-day contracts. Operating one player short of the NBA maximum of 15 on the standard roster, that could open the door for a low-cost option for the Heat to kick the tires on prospects.

On Jan. 10, all non-guaranteed contracts become guaranteed for the season, a factor for the Heat with Orlando Robinson.

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On Jan. 15, players re-signed last summer on sizable raises become trade eligible a month after the Dec. 15 players. The Heat would have had that restriction had they re-signed either Max Strus or Gabe Vincent.

Then, on Feb. 8 comes the NBA trading deadline at 3 p.m. Eastern.

For the Heat, the option has been available since the start of the season to add a 15th player to their standard roster, but that has been mitigated by their position hard against the onerous luxury tax. Still, should the Heat choose, they hold trade exceptions of $9.5 million and $7.2 million available to add a player.

The Heat’s lone personnel move last December was releasing Smith and signing Orlando Robinson to a two-way contract.

In fact, the only time the Heat has been aggressively active in December outside of lockout years was in 2021, because of the COVID pandemic. That year, the Heat in December signed Zylan Cheatham, Kyle Guy, Highsmith, Aric Holman, Mario Chalmers, Nik Stauskas and Chris Silva to 10-day contracts using the COVID-Related Hardship Allowance.

In all, according to ESPN, 81 free agents who signed in the offseason on Friday become trade eligible for the first time this season.