Guy, Silva are back; Morris in protocols
Kyle Guy and Chris Silva, gone after Saturday night’s victory over the Phoenix Suns, both soon will be back with Miami Heat, with Heat forward Markieff Morris now joining teammate Marcus Garrett in NBA health and safety protocols.
Allowed to sign players to such emergency contracts while players remain sidelined by coronavirus, the Heat appeared poised to clear that status with their entire roster, with confirmation last week that guard Gabe Vincent and forward Udonis Haslem had cleared protocols.
However, with Morris, who has been sidelined since Nov. 8 due to the whiplash that resulted from his run-in with Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, now entering protocols, and with Garrett remaining in protocols, the Heat wound up with the opportunity to retain two of the six players they had signed to emergency 10-day contracts over the past two weeks.
The signings were formalized Monday, starting the second 10-day clock for each. The Heat next play on Wednesday night at the Atlanta Hawks.
For Morris, it is yet another setback, after rejoining the team in Phoenix and beginning to resume team workouts. He had posted on social media last week that he was nearing a return from his neck injury. He has appeared in only 10 games this season.
Teams also are allowed to carry such emergency 10-day players also while players are working their way back from protocols.
Guy, a second-round pick out of Virginia in 2019, was signed on Dec. 30, at a time the Heat had P.J. Tucker, Max Strus, Vincent and others in protocols. Guy was particularly needed when the Heat lacked 3-point specialists such as Strus, Vincent and Duncan Robinson.
Guy, 24, appeared in five games, for 101 minutes, during his initial Heat emergency 10-day contract, shooting 9 of 20 on 3-pointers and averaging 9.8 points. His scoring average in that small sample puts him ahead of Heat roster players such as Caleb Martin, Tucker and Vincent.
Silva, back in his second stint with the Heat, appeared in five games during his initial 10-day emergency contract, averaging 5.2 rebounds and 4.8 points.
His presence has been particularly needed with Bam Adebayo recovering from December thumb surgery and Dewayne Dedmon recovering from a knee sprain. Both of those Heat big man are expected back this month.
Guy and Silva are the only two remaining players of the six such additions the Heat made in recent weeks, with the 10-day deals of Mario Chalmers, Nick Stauskas, Haywood Highsmith and Aric Holman allowed to expire over the weekend. Of those four, Chalmers and Holman did not see action.
Such emergency 10-day contracts count neither against the luxury tax nor the salary cap.
None of the players signed to emergency 10-day contracts have yet to appear in a home game at FTX Arena, with the Heat’s next home game on Friday against the Hawks.