Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Miami signs White
Move brings Heat roster back to NBA 15-player limit
MINNEAPOLIS — The Miami Heat opted for youth over unfulfilled potential Monday, signing rookie forward Okaro White and waiving veteran forward Derrick Williams.
White, who has thrived with the Heat since joining the team Jan. 17, completed the second of two 10-day contracts Sunday. After that, the Heat had to then sign him for the balance of the season or release him.
Both White and Williams were with the Heat at Sunday’s team Super Bowl viewing party in downtown Minneapolis in advance of Monday night’s game against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Target Center, with Williams then released Monday.
The parting with Williams apparently was mutual, with the No. 2 pick in the 2011 NBA Draft seeking a greater opportunity.
Williams posted on his Twitter account: “Pat Riley is a man of his word. Ultimate respect.”
Williams ran the gamut during his Heat experience. He started 11 games, but also went extended periods without action. Prior to his 7:47 of mop-up duty in Saturday’s 125-102 rout of the Philadelphia 76ers, he had appeared in only one of the Heat’s previous nine games, for a total of 48 seconds.
“First of all, with Derrick, we want him to now find a place where he can be maximized,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “We think both parties benefited, even in this three- or four-month stint. It didn’t work out exactly how we wanted to. But now it’s an opportunity for him to move on and find a place where he can be maximized.”
Williams flew with the team in advance of Monday night’s game, spending Sunday with teammates at a Super Bowl viewing party at a downtown Minneapolis sports bar.
“What we didn’t know,” teammate James Johnson said, “is that would be our last time together.
“It’s crazy, but that is the NBA. A lot of guys on this team also have been through it. We just know at the end of the day that we just want the best for Derrick and I know he wants the best for us. And we’re just going to miss a good guy and a good teammate.”
Spoelstra, in fact, said it was the emergence of Johnson that allowed the Heat to move away from Williams.
Williams was added on a one-year, $4.6 million contract in the offseason, with the Heat having explored trade options before being making Monday’s decision.
Williams had been considered a potential trade chip for the Heat in advance of the Feb. 23 NBA trading deadline, with his salary potentially to have been included in a larger deal.
Because of the timing of the moves, White was in attendance but unable to participate in Monday morning’s shootaround, not yet under contract, which he signed later in the day.
White agreed to a twoyear contract, the Sun Sentinel has confirmed, which is the Heat’s typical approach for locking in a player while affording flexibility going forward with staggered guarantee dates. The Heat were ineligible to sign him to a longer contract because they remain over the NBA salary cap.
White’s emergence forced the Heat’s hand, with the roster exemption granted for the injury absence of Josh Richardson only allowing for a temporary replacement on a 10-day contract.
That exemption granted by the NBA in order for the Heat to initially sign White has now been extinguished.
Spoelstra said White was the right player for the right time.
“You can see in just the short period of time that he’s been with us that he does a lot of things that we like,” Spoelstra said, “a lot of intangible plays, a lot that don’t show up in a box score, but it’s the effort, the energy, the multiple pursuits, those things that we like.”
Should another team claim Williams, the remaining salary on his contract would be offset for the Heat.
Williams appeared in 25 games with the Heat, averaging 5.9 points, 2.9 rebounds in 15.1 minutes per game, while shooting .394 from the field.