Heat roster virtually intact from last season
The Miami Heat got what they wanted.
The 2016-17 team that had the second-best record in the NBA the second half of the season will return virtually intact. Now the pressure is on the 2017-18 Heat to pick up where they left off last season.
“We’re going to aim high,” coach Erik Spoelstra said on a conference call from Africa. Spoelstra is participating in the NBA’s Basketball without Borders program.
“Ultimately, we’ll find out when we start playing games. We love our group. We love the fact we were able to bring the majority of the team back together and add some guys we think can help.”
The Heat re-signed their top two free agents, forward James Johnson and guard Dion Waiters and added freeagent forward/center Kelly Olynyk and first-round draft pick Bam Adebayo.
In addition, starting forward Justise Winslow returns healthy after playing just 18 games last season.
“I think it’s been pretty well-documented that everybody wanted an opportunity to bring the group back together,” Spoelstra said. “Nothing is guaranteed in this league. But the way the group and the team came together, connected and competed for each other, the group wanted an opportunity to explore this further.
“We were given that opportunity and I think everybody is pretty excited about it. You can feel it, you can see it. So we’re getting closer to training camp. We’re not there yet, but the guys are really excited about getting back to work officially.”
Training camp opens Sept. 26.
The 7-foot Olynyk adds versatility and size and helps make up for the loss of backup center Willie Reed, who signed with the Clippers. Olynyk will battle Johnson for the starting power forward position but more than likely will be a key piece to the second unit.
Spoelstra was asked what intrigued him about Olynyk.
“One, we respected his competitive spirit when we played against him and we felt that competitiveness fit our personality,” he said. “You never know until you end up coaching somebody, but our experiences against him were something that we really respected. And then secondly, his skill set is something that we think fits really well with the guys that we have.
“He’s a very skilled big that can do a lot of different things. He fits well into our positionless style of basketball because he can play with basically any combination of players. I think what he does highlights a lot of the strengths of guys that we currently have.”
Babbitt to Hawks: The last Miami Heat free agent has found a home.
Luke Babbitt, who started 55 games in his lone season with the Heat, agreed to a one-year deal with the Atlanta Hawks, according to ESPN. The contract is for the $1.9 million veteran’s minimum for a player with Babbitt’s experience, which is seven years.
The Heat acquired Babbitt from New Orleans last summer for a second-round pick. The deal came after the Heat reworked their team following the loss of Dwyane Wade, Joe Johnson and Luol Deng.
After re-signing forward James Johnson and adding Olynyk, Heat President Pat Riley hinted last month that Babbitt, 28, would not be returning.
Miami is out of cap space and aside from veteran minimums it only has a $4.3 million exception remaining.
Babbitt, 6-foot-9, was tabbed as the starting power forward at the start of the season by Spoelstra because of his ability to stretch the floor.
He played in 55 games and of his 281 shots, 210 were 3-pointers, or 74.7 percent. Babbitt’s 3-point shot frequency was second in the league to Cleveland’s J.R. Smith (76.1 percent) among players who played at least 20 games.
Babbitt shot 41.4 percent on 3-pointers (87 of 210), 40.2 percent overall. His average, however, slipped to 4.8 points from 7.0 points the previous season.
He has made 43.8 percent of his 3-point shots in the past three seasons.
The Heat have 16 players under contract for the 2017-18 season: center Hassan Whiteside ($23.8 million), guard Goran Dragic ($17 million), forward James Johnson ($14 million), guard Waiters ($11 million), center/ forward Olynyk ($10.6 million), guard Wayne Ellington ($6.3 million), guard Tyler Johnson ($5.9 million), forward Winslow ($2.7 million), center/forward Adebayo ($2.5 million), forward Udonis Haslem ($2.3 million), guard Josh Richardson ($1.5 million), guard Rodney McGruder ($1.3 million), center A.J. Hammons ($1.3 million), forward Okaro White ($1.3 million), Derrick Walton Jr. (two-way contract) and Matt Williams Jr.
Babbitt, center Reed and forward Josh McRoberts are the only players on the final roster from 2016-17 who will not be in training camp.
The Hawks will be Babbitt’s fourth team.