3. Thomas Bryant
- Contract: 2 years / $5.4 million
- 2023-24 Salary: $2.53 million
Last season, the Lakers traded Thomas Bryant to the Nuggets before the deadline. However, Bryant did not receive much playing time as the franchise made its way to its first-ever Finals. After winning the NBA title with Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets, Bryant signed a two-year, $5.4 million deal with the Heat in July.
Departures of Omer Yurtseven and Cody Zeller over the summer created an opportunity for Bryant to compete with Orlando Robinson for the backup center role behind Adebayo.
Due to his lack of defensive skills, Bryant had been excluded from the Heat's rotation for a significant portion of the season. However, he was recently reintroduced into the rotation following Bam Adebayo's hip injury. In the Heat's victory over the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday, Bryant contributed 11 points and grabbed nine rebounds, six of which were offensive.
Throughout the season, Bryant has maintained an average of 5.2 points and 3.9 rebounds in 16 games, shooting at an impressive 54.0% from the field and 58.5% in true shooting percentage. Notably, his offensive rebounding rate of 10.8% is the highest on the team.
While Bryant has made some decent contributions during his minutes with the Heat, he is now trade-eligible as of Dec. 15. If the Heat are happy with Adebayo, Love and Robinson at center, they could look to trade Bryant before the deadline in a money-saving move.