Heat’s Robinson positioned for big payout, ready to adjust. And Spoelstra on Butler hiring
A six-pack of Miami Heat notes on a Thursday:
▪ Nobody not named Steph Curry has ever shot as many three-pointers at such a high percentage in a single season as Duncan Robinson.
So after draining 270 threes last season at an astounding 44.6 percent clip, Robinson potentially stands one year from an enormous payday.
Over the past two weeks, two of the top shooters in 2020 free agency drew contracts at eyebrow-raising numbers.
Atlanta gave Danilo Gallinari three years and $61 million. Washington re-signed Davis Bertans at five years and $80 million.
Another season like last year’s could earn Robinson something in the $18 million to $20 million range annually as a restricted free agent next summer, though if he stays with the Heat, his 2021-22 cap hit would be only $4.7 million regardless of what Miami pays him. After the 2021-22 season, Robinson’s Heat cap hit in a multiyear deal with Miami then would be equal to his salary in those future seasons.
So did the last couple of weeks leave him convinced that a big payday is on the way?
“I try not to get too caught up in that,” he said. “Obviously, you see it [big free agent deals for shooters] because everyone sends it to you. I’m super happy for those guys [Gallinari, Bertans]. It’s well deserved. It’s great to see that skill set being valued. A lot of that stuff for now is outside my control.”
He said he’s not thinking about how to match their salaries but “more so to take advantage of opportunities when stacked up against them in a game.”
▪ Teams guarded Robinson more closely as the season progressed, and Robinson anticipates that will continue.
“Teams are going to try to take away what I want to do,” he said. “As the defense works to take those spots away, what am I doing to still be [effective] on the floor? “Now that the game has slowed down, [the key] is being harder to guard offensively, not necessarily adding all sorts of moves but two or three things to be a little more effective where I’m not just shooting threes all the time but maybe mixing up in the midrange.”
He said he has discussed that with the Heat staff about “how I’m going to move forward. What I want to do is public knowledge offensively and how I want to score and the spots I want to get to. It will require me to be more persistent, more diligent and more creative. I’m excited about embracing that opportunity and challenge.”
Robinson said he also wants “to make sure I’m in really great shape. That will help both offensively and defensively.”
▪ Robinson’s playoff numbers (11.7 points, 39.7 percent on threes) were down from his regular-season numbers (13.5 points, 44.6 percent on threes) as the competition stiffened and teams made a greater effort to defend him.
“I was really disappointed how I played the first two games of the Finals [against the Lakers],” Robinson said. “I felt I had gotten away from who I was and wasn’t as aggressive. Would love to have those back. Just having a better understanding of what it takes to win in the playoffs, it would be silly not to apply it from the jump this year.”
Robinson confirmed that Heat players have a “chip” because of the perception apparently held by some NBA people — and cited on an ESPN podcast — that the Heat’s run to the Finals was “kind of a fluke” and that playing in a bubble “set up perfectly for us to be successful.”
Said Robinson: “We’re super excited to be back altogether.”
▪ Erik Spoelstra, on why he hired former Heat player Caron Butler as an assistant coach after Dan Craig left for a job on Ty Lue’s Los Angeles Clippers staff.
“I did think he’s crazy, to get into this business. But, you know, he and I, we’ve always kept in touch over the years, even when he played in different uniforms and then when he retired, we kept in touch. This is something that we casually discussed a few years ago. But he wasn’t ready for this jump then, in his life. And then when we had the opening, when DC went to the Clippers, I reached out again, just to see where he was in his life and in his career. It just seemed that the stars aligned and some of the discussions that we had over the years were a little bit more real this time. I’m really excited about adding him to our staff.
“I just think he has so much to give to this game, to our players, to our staff, to our organization. Such a quality human being. He already has, first of all, the experience in this league, a lot of different experiences. He has the Heat DNA experience, which is important. We’re obviously a little bit different here, in how we operate and you have to understand that. But he has also played in a lot of other organizations, which I think that perspective can help us. He’s a leader. He’s a connector, already an incredible mentor. He’s just somebody I want around our players. I think they can really glean a lot from him and he will grow very quickly as a coach.”
▪ Quick stuff: As expected, the Heat picked up Tyler Herro’s $4 million option for 2021-22. The Heat also has a fourth year option on the standard rookie deal. “Tyler is poised to have a really big year,” Robinson said….
The Heat, to this point, has not added a maximum 20th player...
Count former Milwaukee Bucks guard Michael Redd among those who believes Giannis Antetokounmpo would be a perfect fit on the Heat.
“They got the shooters,” Redd said in comments to heavy.com. “They got the closer in Jimmy Butler…. The culture of Miami is different than Milwaukee, but he could fit in Miami for sure.”
Antetokounmpo has not said if he will accept a super max extension from the Bucks by a Dec. 21 NBA deadline.
▪ Turns out, not only did Phoenix (three years, $29 million) offer far more to Jae Crowder than the Heat did, but Dallas offered even more than the Suns, Crowder said. Miami offered Crowder one guaranteed season at $14 million with a second-year team option.
Crowder said he was able to envision himself only as a long-term fit with the Suns and also liked the idea of playing with Suns guard Devin Booker.
Herro said Crowder will be missed: “He’s a winner, just like Jimmy is. Jae, it’s tough to see Jae leave. Obviously he came mid-year. But I feel like he helped us tremendously on both sides of the floor. Phoenix got a good one and a good vet to be able to help their young guys over there in Phoenix. I hated to see him leave. I really wanted him to come back. So I’ll be rooting for him and he said he’ll be rooting for me.”
This story was originally published December 3, 2020 at 1:05 PM.
