In the lane

REST OF THE STORY: In retracing Gordon Hayward’s path through free agency, the caught up to Hayward’s father, who said the Heat’s intriguing young core was enough to have his son take his meeting in Miami. “He thought that one was interesting enough that he wanted to go talk to them,” Gordon Scott Hayward said. For his part, Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert said he sensed Hayward was committed to his eventual move to the Boston Celtics. Gobert was among those who went to Hayward’s San Diego home to pitch him to remain with the Jazz. “I think the meeting was good,” Gobert told the “We went there, went to his house, talked to him a little bit. It was a little awkward. I was kind of sensing — it was a little awkward. We have no regrets. We did everything we could have done.” WADE WAIT: If there is to be a Dwyane Wade buyout from the Chicago Bulls it likely will come closer to the start of the season, if even then. In a media session during the Las Vegas summer league, Bulls General Manager Gar Forman said he has not had buyout discussions with Wade, with Wade due $23.8 million this season on the final year of the two-year contract he signed when he left the Heat last summer. Before that, Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg cast Wade as somewhat of a Udonis Haslem for the Bulls. “Dwyane is going to have an important role on this team, with having a mentor,” Hoiberg said. “He’s going to obviously play for us and hopefully play well and take the role of leadership, which is a very important one.” With the NBA moving up this season’s trading deadline to Feb. 8 it will allow more time for teams to then sort out buyouts. Players must be waived by March 1 in order to be playoff eligible for other teams. HERE, THERE: The Heat did not land Rudy Gay in free agency, but the forward’s affinity for South Florida was apparent, with Gay taking his family to this past week’s Home Run Derby at Marlins Park before moving on to his new home with the San Antonio Spurs. Gay, who tore his Achilles on Jan. 18 last season, had expressed interest in the Heat before free agency before agreeing to a two-year, $17 million discount deal with the Spurs. “I’m going to have the best comeback ever,” Gay said upon his Spurs introduction. “That’s the motivation of it.” He turned down his $14 million 2017-18 option from the Sacramento Kings to become a free agent. SECOND CHANCE: If you blinked, you probably missed Devin Robinson’s scoreless nine-minute appearance for the Washington Wizards in Wednesday’s Las Vegas summer-league loss to the Heat. As it turned out, the Wizards signed the undrafted Florida Gator to a two-way contract after the game, somewhat salvaging Robinson’s decision to leave Florida early. What remains to be seen is how much development will be involved in the two-way deal, with the Wizards lacking a G-League affiliate. Because of proximity, expect Robinson to be assigned to the Philadelphia 76ers’ affiliate, the Delaware 87ers.