Important NBA dates approaching that could impact the Heat’s roster
The Miami Heat already made its big roster move this season in early February, trading Jimmy Butler to the Golden State Warriors and acquiring Andrew Wiggins, Davion Mitchell and Kyle Anderson. But there’s still the potential for a few smaller moves before the end of the season.
In fact, there are a few important dates approaching on the NBA calendar that affect rosters around the league.
For one, players must be waived by 11:59 p.m. on Saturday to be eligible for another team’s postseason roster. Those players can then sign elsewhere up until the final day of the regular season and remain eligible for the playoffs.
The Heat’s roster is currently full, carrying the NBA maximum of 15 players on standard contracts. So the Heat would need to waive a player on a standard deal to make room for such an addition of a player who’s waived by Saturday.
While the Butler trade left the Heat under the first apron threshold, adding a player this season would add to Miami’s luxury tax bill. The Heat currently faces a luxury tax of about $4 million this season, with the final amount of the bill calculated based on the team’s roster at the end of the regular season.
In recent seasons, the Heat has added players bought out/waived prior to March 1 for the latter part of the schedule and postseason. Among those on that list are Kevin Love, Cody Zeller, Patty Mills and Delon Wright.
The other important approaching NBA roster deadline to know is on Tuesday, which is the final day for teams to sign a player to a two-way contract for this season.
The Heat is currently at the NBA maximum of three players signed to two-way contracts — guard Josh Christopher, guard Dru Smith and guard Isaiah Stevens. Two-way contracts do not count toward the salary cap, luxury tax or aprons and do not come with playoff eligibility.
With Smith out for the rest of the season after tearing his Achilles during a Dec. 23 win over the Brooklyn Nets, the Heat could waive him to sign another developmental prospect to a two-way deal ahead of Tuesday’s deadline. Whether Smith is waived or not, his full two-way contract salary for this season is already guaranteed.
While the Heat’s thinking could change in the coming days, the front office is leaning against releasing Smith from his two-way contract in part because he would then become available for another team to claim him on waivers for a 48-hour period, according to a league source. Any team that claims Smith would then get his restricted free agent rights this upcoming offseason.
Smith, 27, made himself an important part of the Heat’s rotation this season before suffering his noncontact Achilles injury two months ago.
Smith logged double-digit minutes in eight straight games before the injury, establishing himself as a reliable and solid offensive option while also turning into a standout point-of-attack perimeter defender. In addition, he played the entire fourth quarter in five of the seven games leading up to his injury.
Smith is eligible to sign another two-way contract with the Heat or any NBA team for next season this upcoming summer, when he’s set to become a restricted free agent. He could also sign a standard contract in free agency this upcoming offseason.
AN EVOLVING ROTATION
As the Heat’s rotation continues to evolve, players throughout the roster are forced to adjust to different roles and fluctuating minutes.
Duncan Robinson is among those who has seen his role change at different points this season. He has made 30 starts this season, but has played off the bench since the Heat added Wiggins, Mitchell and Anderson via the Butler trade.
“It’s a challenge,” Robinson said of adjusting to different roles. “But there are a lot of challenges in this league. This is a competitive league. It’s the nature of the business. The reality is there’s maybe only a handful of guys in the NBA that have the role they want or they know exactly what it’s going to look like on a given night. The rest of us are all sort of wrestling and grappling to find our most consistent selves. So it’s a challenge, but you can’t get caught up in that. It’s just got to be about giving into the team and what can I do to help us win.”
This story was originally published February 28, 2025 at 12:49 PM.
