South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Sunday)
Extras about to exit stage left as contracts expire
The call went out to central casting a week ago, when extras were needed to keep the production going. Now, as players continue to make their way back to the Miami Heat from NBA health-and-safety protocols, the Shadow Heat is about to be sunsetted.
The emergency 10-day contracts of Kyle Guy, Haywood Highsmith and Aric Holman hit expiration with the conclusion of Saturday night’s road game against the Phoenix Suns. The similar contracts of Mario Chalmers, Nik Stauskas and Chris Silva expire Sunday, when the Heat are idle, before heading back out for a Wednesday night game against the Atlanta Hawks.
“They held the line, absolutely,” guard Duncan Robinson told the South Florida Sun Sentinel of the contributions of the emergency additions. “And that’s really what this whole stretch has been about. It’s just a matter of can you hold the line until we get back healthy? And they held the line. Happy to see that, for sure.”
With nine players from the Heat’s roster placed in protocols at one time or another, the additions were necessary for the Heat to maintain the NBA minimum required roster of at least eight players in uniform. And even then, the league had to postpone the Heat’s Dec. 29 road game against the San Antonio Spurs, which is now rescheduled for Feb. 1.
“Nobody has a textbook for this, so we’re just doing the best job that we can, and these guys have been great,” coach Erik Spoelstra said.
But, now, Caleb Martin, Kyle Lowry, P.J. Tucker, Max Strus and Robinson have returned from protocols, with Udonis Haslem and Gabe Vincent having been cleared but yet to rejoin the team. Only Marcus Garrett remained in protocols going into Saturday night’s game. (Emergency replacement Zylan Cheatham also wound up in protocols, but his 10-day contract has since expired.)
By rule, an emergency addition is allowed for each player either in protocols or recovering from protocols and yet to see action, as is the case with Haslem. The pilot program is scheduled to run through Jan. 19, but could be extended if deemed necessary.
Because off the one-back, one-ineligible rule, Chalmers, Holman and Stauskas all were listed as ineligible for Saturday night’s game against the Suns.
Since Wednesday, teams have been able to also add players on standard 10-day contracts, but those deals, unlike the emergency additions, count against both the salary cap and luxury tax. The Heat have remained below the NBA 15-player roster limit on standard contracts due to their precarious position close to the luxury tax.
Another impending key date for the Heat is Jan. 20, when all two-way contracts become guaranteed for the season. Martin and Garrett currently are under such deals with the team.
The Heat’s personnel shortage also figures to be alleviated with Bam Adebayo (thumb), Dewayne Dedmon (knee), Markieff Morris (neck) and KZ Okpala (wrist) working their way back from injuries. All four ended the trip with the Heat, with all four expected back this month. Less certain is the status of guard Victor Oladipo, who is working his way back from May quadriceps surgery.
Still, the threat of coronavirus remains amid Omicron. The Heat players so far to escape protocols during this latest wave have been Jimmy Butler, Tyler Herro, Omer Yurtseven, Adebayo, Dedmon, Morris, Okpala and Oladipo.
Should one of those players move to the protocol list, or should Garrett be unexpectedly delayed in his return, then one of the Heat’s emergency 10-day players could be signed to a second 10-day contract. Otherwise, such players would be allowed to sign with any team. Unlike with standard contracts, there is no 48-hour waiver period for 10-day deals, allowing a player to be with one team one day and sign with another team the next.