Miami Heat Rumors: Possible Waiver Wire Targets
By Wes Goldberg
The Miami Heat have trimmed the roster to 15, but did so well before the deadline and will have plenty of time to scan the waiver wire for any veteran additions before the regular season.
You can read a breakdown on the final 15-man roster here.
Pat Riley will have his eye on who other teams are cutting, and some interesting names have already popped up as the other NBA teams trim their rosters. If the Heat pick up one of these free agents, they would have to cut one of the players currently on the roster. The obvious choices would be either rookie guard Andre Dawkins, center Justin Hamilton or guard Shannon Brown.
Important to note: These players first hit the waiver wire and will not clear waivers until 48 hours after officially being waived. If the Heat were to pick up a player while on the waiver wire, they would pick up his existing contract. Because of Miami’s cap situation, they can only pick up those on a minimum deal. If the player clears waivers, the Heat can sign them to a negotiated contract (so if the player wasn’t on a minimum deal before, the Heat could sign him to a minimum deal while that player also makes the value of his former contract).
Here is a look at some possible additions:
Jason Kapono – A former Heat and top-notch three-point shooting guard. Kapono, 33, is limited at this stage of his career, but could play a James Jones-role for the Heat. If Miami picks up Kapono, the obvious cut is rookie Andre Dawkins. He would have to clear waivers so Miami could sign him to the minimum.
Ivan Johnson – The 30-year-old big man has a nasty reputation. After spending a lot of time in the D-League, Johnson played two seasons in Atlanta before signing in Dallas. He did not make the Dallas Mavericks 15-man roster. Johnson is a decently efficient low post scorer and rebounder. He averaged 15.7 points and 9.3 rebounds per 36 minutes last season. But he may be took redundant of Chris Andersen and Udonis Haslem. Unless the Heat view him as a possible upgrade over Shawne Williams as a backup power forward (which isn’t likely since Williams can stretch a defense and Johnson can’t) or Andersen (he’s not) then this probably won’t happen.
Joe Ingles – The Australian forward impressed in the 2014 FIBA World Cup and playing for Maccabi Tel Aviv in 2013. But he didn’t play much for the Clippers in the preseason. He would be an interesting addition for a team in need of a swingman.
Jordan Hamilton – Hamilton, 24, didn’t make the Raptors final roster but should land somewhere. The small forward is a career 35.8 percent three-point shooter and effective rebounder.
Travis Outlaw – Outlaw is expected to be released by the Knicks and seems like the mold of player the Heat typically sign. He’s a veteran likely desperate to play for a team with a winning culture after spending time with the Sacramento and a bad Portland team. The 30-year-old isn’t particularly great at anything, but does everything decently well.
The only name on this list that stands out to me is Joe Ingles. He’s only 26, played really well at the World Cup and was coached by new Cavs coach David Blatt with Maccabi Tel Aviv. Under Blatt, Ingles averaged 6.4 points in 23 minutes per game and shot 41.1 percent from three-point range. He also averaged nearly three rebounds and three assists per game. As a 6-foot-8 swingman, he plays a position of need for the Heat.
This list will continue to grow. Keep it with AllUCanHeat.com for the latest through opening day.