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Q: Strides have been made this offseason, big strides and excitement from fans like myself. I have no clue what the next answer should be for management but one thing is for sure, they are working and that is appreciated. – Douglas.
A: It’s almost as if because the Giannis Antetokounmpo trade got done before both the draft and the start of free agency that it turned into old news. Similarly, because of the ease in adding in Tim Hardaway Jr., it’s as if that gets lost in the shuffle. The same even could be said of securing Simone Fontecchio back on a minimum deal and working out a favorable extension with Andrew Wiggins. There is depth in place. Now it’s up to that depth to play as quality depth. Behind Giannis and Bam Adebayo there are Andrew Wiggins, Bobby Portis, Tim Hardaway Jr., Davion Mitchell, Pelle Larsson, Simone Fontecchio and Dru Smith, as well as the rookie potential of Ryan Conwell and the comeback potential of Nikola Jovic. This is depth, quality depth when considering the percentage of the cap taken up by Giannis and Bam.
Q: Ira, what do you think of Myron Gardner? – Sammie.
A: I think he is a wildcard in a variety of ways. Could he still pop? Sure. But based on what we’ve seen to this stage, he is more of a game-changer. No, not in the overall big picture, but rather someone whose energy you can inject to deliver energy during the dog days of the season, or even during a slow period during a game. It might be a transition basket, a defensive stop, a flagrant foul or a technical foul. But with Myron, something likely is to happen when he is on the court. The shame is not getting to see more of his because of his ankle injury in the Heat’s summer-league opener.
Q: Ira, take me through these two-way contracts. Why not add more veterans to help the roster? – Anson.
A: First, only players with three years of NBA experience are eligible (even a portion of a season in the NBA counts as a year for two-way purposes). So it’s not as if veterans would be options, except for those who have been languishing in the G League or perhaps overseas. But even in that latter case, a two-way contract pays only half of the NBA minimum salary, with older players often able to find something more lucrative overseas. Also, players under two-way contracts only can be on active rosters for a maximum of 50 of the 82 regular-season games and are not eligible for the playoffs. Beyond that, there is the fluidity of the process, with two-way contracts allowed to be switched out at any time, since such salaries do not count against the cap, tax or aprons. For example, even though Tre Donaldson is under a Heat two-way contract during summer league, it does not mean he is guaranteed a spot with the Heat during the regular season. The goal with two-way deals is for development, which means a player on a two-way deal has to be open to spending some of his time during the season in outposts such as South Dakota and Iowa.
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A: It’s almost as if because the Giannis Antetokounmpo trade got done before both the draft and the start of free agency that it turned into old news. Similarly, because of the ease in adding in Tim Hardaway Jr., it’s as if that gets lost in the shuffle. The same even could be said of securing Simone Fontecchio back on a minimum deal and working out a favorable extension with Andrew Wiggins. There is depth in place. Now it’s up to that depth to play as quality depth. Behind Giannis and Bam Adebayo there are Andrew Wiggins, Bobby Portis, Tim Hardaway Jr., Davion Mitchell, Pelle Larsson, Simone Fontecchio and Dru Smith, as well as the rookie potential of Ryan Conwell and the comeback potential of Nikola Jovic. This is depth, quality depth when considering the percentage of the cap taken up by Giannis and Bam.
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Q: Ira, what do you think of Myron Gardner? – Sammie.
A: I think he is a wildcard in a variety of ways. Could he still pop? Sure. But based on what we’ve seen to this stage, he is more of a game-changer. No, not in the overall big picture, but rather someone whose energy you can inject to deliver energy during the dog days of the season, or even during a slow period during a game. It might be a transition basket, a defensive stop, a flagrant foul or a technical foul. But with Myron, something likely is to happen when he is on the court. The shame is not getting to see more of his because of his ankle injury in the Heat’s summer-league opener.
Q: Ira, take me through these two-way contracts. Why not add more veterans to help the roster? – Anson.
A: First, only players with three years of NBA experience are eligible (even a portion of a season in the NBA counts as a year for two-way purposes). So it’s not as if veterans would be options, except for those who have been languishing in the G League or perhaps overseas. But even in that latter case, a two-way contract pays only half of the NBA minimum salary, with older players often able to find something more lucrative overseas. Also, players under two-way contracts only can be on active rosters for a maximum of 50 of the 82 regular-season games and are not eligible for the playoffs. Beyond that, there is the fluidity of the process, with two-way contracts allowed to be switched out at any time, since such salaries do not count against the cap, tax or aprons. For example, even though Tre Donaldson is under a Heat two-way contract during summer league, it does not mean he is guaranteed a spot with the Heat during the regular season. The goal with two-way deals is for development, which means a player on a two-way deal has to be open to spending some of his time during the season in outposts such as South Dakota and Iowa.
Continue reading...
