Heat reshuffle back end of camp roster by waiving Bouyea, adding NBA veterans Hampton, Diallo
MIAMI – In the wake of coming up short in the trade market for Damian Lillard, with the All-Star point guard instead dealt from the Portland Trail Blazers to the Milwaukee Bucks, the Miami Heat on Wednesday shored up the back end of their training-camp roster with NBA experience.
In a series of minor moves, the Heat added point guard R.J. Hampton on a two-way contract and power forward Cheick Diallo on a camp tryout deal.
In order to facilitate those moves, the Heat waived guard Jamaree Bouyea from his two-way contact, parted with summer-league hopeful Caleb Daniels, and signed and released guard Jon Elmore as a means of keeping him in the realm of their G League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce.
The most significant of the transactions was moving off of Bouyea, who had four appearances with the Heat last season, and instead utilizing that two-way contract on Hampton.
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Bouyea, who went undrafted out of the University of San Francisco in 2022, had been with the Heat in summer league the past two years, as well as with the Skyforce last season. His NBA experience, however, was limited to five NBA appearances, four last season with the Heat and one with the Washington Wizards.
Hampton, 22, selected at No. 24 in the 2020 NBA draft, by contrast, has 162 games of NBA experience over the past three seasons, with the Denver Nuggets, Orlando Magic and Detroit Pistons.
The Heat now appear poised to enter camp with Kyle Lowry, Dru Smith and Hampton as their options at point guard, with the latter two on two-way contracts.
While the Heat are at the NBA maximum of 21 players under contract for camp, which opens Tuesday in Boca Raton at Florida Atlantic University, players can be shuffled on and off of rosters through the preseason. Among unsigned options at point guard are former Heat players Goran Dragic and Kendrick Nunn.
In Diallo, the Heat add a veteran of 183 NBA regular-season appearances since being selected in the second round of the 2016 NBA draft, with the New Orleans Pelicans, Phoenix Suns and Pistons. He split last season between Kyoto Hannaryz of the Japanese Basketball League and Cangrejeros de Santurce of the Puerto Rican BSN.
As for Bouyea, Daniels and Elmore, all three are eligible to play for the Heat’s G League affiliate, but also available to be signed by any NBA team.
