Miami Heat sign forward Okaro White to a second 10-day contract

The Miami Heat announced they would be signing forward Okaro White to a second 10-day contract today.

The Miami Heat have signed Okaro White to a second 10-day contract, the team announced Friday. The team signed White to his first 10-day contract on January 17th.

White, who was called up from Miami’s D-League affiliate over fan-favorite Briante Weber, has performed well. On Wednesday night, he scored 10 points and blocked four shots in the Heat’s three-point win over the Brooklyn Nets. He was an absurd plus-34 in 24 minutes of action.

Miami got the opportunity to call up White thanks to a special exception from the NBA providing the Heat with a 16th roster spot, granted because of all the injuries the team has suffered.

Meaning that as soon as Josh Richardson or Josh McRoberts are healthy enough to play, the Heat will have a difficult decision on their hands.

Would they let White walk with hopes he doesn’t sign elsewhere, giving them the chance to sign him back to their D-League team?

Or could they release another player, such as sparsely played Derrick Williams (who has played just seven minutes in Miami’s last seven games) to make room for him? Or, better yet, seek to give him away in a trade to clear a permanent roster spot and avoid paying him the remained of his contract?

My guess would be that Riley decides on the latter. White has flashed potential, while Williams hasn’t been a good fit. He doesn’t defend well enough, and his scoring is too inconsistent to warrant more playing time.

The other option is that  the team could rule out both Richardson and McRoberts for the remainder of the season, depending on the severity of the injuries, in order to get a better look at White.

Also, and this is worth noting, if the team released Chris Bosh as they are expected to, that could open up another roster spot. However, that likely won’t happen until several weeks after White’s second 10-day contract expires.

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Maybe it’s premature, but White is starting to resemble another Tyler Johnson/Rodney McGruder type of find. Another diamond in the rough that is D-League basketball. If the Heat feel the same way, they won’t want to let White get away.