A look at where Heat roster stands as NBA moves closer to return. Also, player bonuses?
As the NBA continues to formulate its comeback plan to resume the 2019-20 season amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Miami Heat is preparing for whatever comes next.
Since the Heat began allowing players to participate in voluntary individual workouts at the team’s AmericanAirlines Arena practice facility on May 13, attendance from in-town players has been very strong, according to a league source. The fact that many of those who remained in South Florida for the league shutdown are early in their careers and live in condos with no space for a portable basket has probably helped get players to the arena.
Fourteen of the Heat’s 17 players under contract (including the two two-way contract players) have remained in South Florida and have been available to participate in arena workouts over the past two weeks. The only three Heat players who have quarantined in another part of the country are Jimmy Butler, Andre Iguodala and Solomon Hill, who have each spent most of the league’s shutdown in California.
But with the NBA expected to make a formal announcement on resuming the season in the coming days, Heat players who left South Florida after play was suspended on March 11 have either already returned or have begun to plan their returns.
Iguodala, who has averaged 4.4 points, 3.8 rebounds and two assists in 14 games since he was traded to the Heat in February, returned to Miami recently. The 36-year-old spent most of the league shutdown in his San Francisco Bay Area home.
That leaves Butler and Hill as the only two Heat players currently not in South Florida. Butler has been quarantining and working out at his home in San Diego and Hill has spent most of the hiatus in Los Angeles.
Butler and Hill have remained in close contact with the Heat and are expected to return to Miami soon, according to league sources. Both players are hoping to learn concrete details on the NBA’s plan for the remainder of the season before taking flights back to South Florida, with those details possibly determining who accompanies them back to Miami if family members are allowed in the league’s bubble environment.
The NBA reportedly wants to have players back in their team’s market in June, when group workouts could potentially begin to be allowed again. The Heat would then hold training camp before games begin at Disney’s ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex near Orlando in late July or early August if the season does resume.
Two sources close to Heat players raved about how the team has handled the shutdown, noting that Pat Riley and Erik Spoelstra have stayed in close contact with players and seem to genuinely care about their well-being. The players who left South Florida during the pandemic have not felt rushed by the organization to return to Miami.
While the NBA is hoping to complete the season in Central Florida this summer, the league is still uncertain about the regular season and playoff structure it will use. Plans that include a play-in tournament, pool play bracket and regular-season games before moving into the playoffs have been raised as possibilities, with reseeding teams regardless of conference an option that has also been discussed.
It’s unclear if all 30 teams would be included in the season’s resumption, but the Heat figures prominently in every scenario being considered with the fourth-best record in the Eastern Conference.
Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban told ESPN on Tuesday that he suggested a plan to the NBA league office that would include all 30 teams playing five to seven regular-season games before a play-in tournament to determine the final two playoff seeds. Cuban considers it a must for all 30 teams to be part of the resumption of the season because of the financial impact of fulfilling local television contracts.
But according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the idea of 30 teams participating in the resumption of the season has lost momentum for various reasons, including the fact that fewer teams in the NBA bubble means fewer people to spread the coronavirus and eliminating the teams at the bottom of the standings would mean less bad basketball upon the league’s return.
ESPN also reported Wednesday that the NBA and National Basketball Players Association are working on a plan that would allow for a limited number of family members to join the players for the season’s resumption inside an “Orlando bubble environment.” Family arrivals would likely start once the first wave of teams have been eliminated and there’s less people within the bubble.
Following Thursday’s call with general managers, the NBA has a board of governors call on Friday that is expected to provide further clarity on the plan to resume the season. Milwaukee Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry said during a Thursday appearance on CNBC that he expects NBA Commissioner Adam Silver to present different return-to-play options during Friday’s meeting, and then a vote on which proposal to use in resuming the season could come early next week.
BONUS WATCH
The NBA shutdown and an abbreviated regular season complicates many things around the league. Player bonuses are included on that list.
According to ESPN analyst and former Nets executive Bobby Marks, the most likely outcome will be similar to how the NBA handled bonuses during the lockout-shortened season in 2011-12. Contract incentives intended for 82 games were prorated to account for the 66-game season.
Two Heat players who have looming bonuses in their contracts are Hill and Kelly Olynyk.
Hill was eight minutes short of a $531,614 bonus for playing 1,000 minutes when the season was suspended. It’s likely Hill will be awarded this bonus because if the Heat doesn’t play another regular season game, the minutes criteria decreases to 793 and Hill has already surpassed that mark.
For Olynyk, he’s owed an extra $400,000 if the Heat clinches a playoff spot and an extra $1 million if he plays at least 1,700 minutes this season. Miami will make the playoffs unless the season is canceled, so Olynyk should get his playoff bonus. But Olynyk has played 1,089 minutes this season, making it far less likely he’ll earn the incentive tied to his minutes. If the NBA moves directly to the playoffs, the minutes criteria goes down to 1,348 and Olynyk is still far behind that benchmark.
This story was originally published May 28, 2020 at 12:31 PM.
