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Ira Winderman: Roster moves still to come for Heat? Personnel calendar creates openings.

Ira Winderman, South Florida Sun-Sentinel on

Published in Basketball

MILWAUKEE — Not quite done yet? Perhaps, because even after the NBA trading deadline, there still could be moves ahead for the Miami Heat.

While the Feb. 6 trading deadline will undoubtedly stand as the most significant personnel date of this season for Erik Spoelstra’s team, with Jimmy Butler exiting stage left to the Golden State Warriors and Andrew Wiggins, Davion Mitchell and Kyle Anderson arriving, there still are other dates to potentially circle.

— March 1: This tends to be one of the more confusing dates of the NBA schedule. While technically known as the buyout deadline, for players to be eligible for another team’s postseason roster they merely have to be waived by this date. They then can be signed anytime going forward for playoff eligibility with another team until the final day of the regular season.

The Heat have made significant use of the buyout deadline in recent years, with Kevin Love and Cody Zeller joining ahead of the run to the 2023 NBA Finals, and the Heat last season adding Patty Mills and Delon Wright on the buyout market.

The difference this year is the Heat do not have a vacant roster spot, and would have to make an accompanying personnel move to create such a roster opening.

This also could be an interesting financial study, with any addition adding to the Heat luxury tax. By contrast, there still is the possibility of the Heat escaping a luxury tax without any additional salary being taken on (more on that below).

Should the Heat look to make a move to shore up an area of need, potential casualties could be Alec Burks or Keshad Johnson. It is unlikely, however, the Heat would find a fit better than Burks, or one that has more developmental potential than Johnson.

— March 4: This could stand as a potentially intriguing date for the Heat, the final day of the season a player can be signed to a two-way contract.

The Heat currently are at the maximum of three such players, with Josh Christopher, Isaiah Stevens and Dru Smith under two-way deals.

However, with Smith sidelined for the season with a torn Achilles, the Heat could waive him, still pay out his full salary, and add another player in the developmental pipeline, possibly on a multi-year deal to have available for summer league.

While the approach might appear cold, it is the same approach the Heat took with Smith last season after his season-ending knee injury, when he was waived on March 6, 2024. He still would be allowed to rehabilitate at the Heat facilities, just as he did with last season’s knee injury.

 

Last year, 15 NBA two-way deals were finalized at that March deadline. Already, 10 players have been added around the league on two-way deals since the trading deadline, which also has increased the available pool when it comes to the corresponding releases.

— April 10: This is the final day of the season to waive a player under contract and receive possible luxury-tax relief.

While this would not appear to be a deadline that would impact the Heat, if the Heat are already eliminated from playoff contention, there remains the possibility of waving Mitchell, who, if claimed on waivers by another team, would put the Heat below the luxury-tax threshold for the season, therefore eligible to claim the rebate for teams under such a threshold.

The Heat took such an approach at the end of the 2019 season, when they waived Rodney McGruder the final week of the season, having been eliminated from playoff contention earlier that week. Because McGruder was claimed by the Los Angeles Clippers, the Heat ducked below the luxury-tax threshold.

Such players, if claimed on waivers, are not eligible for playoff rosters. However, with Mitchell, it would allow another team to then gain his right of first refusal as a restricted free agent.

This would appear to be a long-shot move by the Heat, considering it is highly unlikely they would fall so deeply out of the playoff or play-in picture.

— April 13: This is the final day of the regular season, with the Heat hosting the Washington Wizards at 1 p.m., and the final day a player can be signed to be added to the playoff roster, if eligible. It also is the final day a two-way contract can be converted to a standard deal, which is required for such a player to be playoff eligible.

The Heat have utilized this option over the years with moves including players such as Duncan Robinson, Kendrick Nunn and Omer Yurtseven.

Teams generally use this deadline to fill out their standard and two-way rosters, with the Heat already at that 18-player maximum limit.

— April 14: This is the deadline to set playoff rosters, which now is a formality, with all 15 players under standard contract eligible for the playoffs.


©2025 South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Visit sun-sentinel.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

 

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