MIAMI \u2014 As the Miami Heat continue their roster waiting game \u2014 even with the impending agreement with Klay Thompson \u2014 two names merit consideration when it comes to the current consternation over not fully filling out the roster.<\/p>\n
Landry Shamet.<\/p>\n
Zach LaVine.<\/p>\n
And, no, they have nothing in common.<\/p>\n
But both could become part of a common thread for the balance of this Heat offseason.<\/p>\n
Shamet last fall went to New York Knicks training camp without a guarantee. Zero. Zilch. Zippo.<\/p>\n
From there, he beat out the likes of Malcolm Brogdon, Garrison Matthews and Alex Len in an open competition for a final roster spot.<\/p>\n
Eight months later he was an NBA champion.<\/p>\n
The point being, that instead of committing all available funds in July or August or even September, there remains something to be said about open camp competition, as the Heat remain in position to do, especially with DeMar DeRozan taking a deal with the Denver Nuggets.<\/p>\n
For the Knicks, such an approach allowed them to be mindful of the luxury tax and tax aprons, while also maximizing a final roster spot for a player who would prove to be a playoff contributor.<\/p>\n
With the Heat, there would be benefits from doing the same.<\/p>\n
With the NBA\u2019s guarantee deadline not until Jan. 10, which also is after the 10-day contract period begins, such a non-guaranteed deal for their 14th roster spot (the final one that likely will be filled in camp) would afford not only salary flexibility but also roster flexibility. If it doesn\u2019t work out, then on to the next one, perhaps even one of the players waived during camp,<\/p>\n
For so long, and for so many teams, the rush to fill out rosters often creates nothing short of traffic jams, entering camp beyond the limit of 15 guaranteed roster spots. That is among the reasons that Thompson got his buyout<\/a>, with the Dallas Mavericks having 16 under guaranteed contract before that move.<\/p>\n In that regard, the Mavericks are not alone.<\/p>\n Which takes the conversation to LaVine.<\/p>\n No, the Sacramento Kings have made it clear<\/a>, LaVine is not headed to the buyout market at the moment.<\/p>\n At. The. Moment.<\/p>\n As one NBA general manager noted, that might sound well and good at the moment. But what happens when there is more losing in Sacramento, when LaVine starts taking minutes from Sacramento\u2019s developmental wing, when LaVine decides enough losing is enough?<\/p>\n The point being, that there will remain the possibility of a LaVine buyout.<\/p>\n As well could be the case with several win-now, produce-now veterans stuck in going-nowhere situations. Max Strus, about to enter the final year of his contract with the great unknown that is the Los Angeles Clippers, could fall into that category, as well (unless, of course, he comes upon one of those lucrative wink-wink Clippers endorsement deals).<\/p>\n That is another reason why a team operating under a hard cap such as the Heat would be wise to keep something in reserve \u2014 in regard to both salary space and roster space \u2014 in case the unexpected becomes reality on the buyout market, with the deadline to \u201cstretch\u201d waived contracts on Aug. 29.<\/p>\n Typically, the buyout market waits until between February\u2019s NBA trade deadline and before the March 1 buyout deadline for playoff eligibility.<\/p>\n But this year, with so many players moved this offseason more for cap than rotation reasons, that version of NBA Christmas could come early.<\/p>\n When it comes to the waiting game, the Heat have had success by slow-playing the latter stages of offseasons, be it with Gary Payton before the run to the 2006 title or in more recent years with the likes of Dion Waiters, P.J. Tucker or Victor Oladipo. Even last year\u2019s camp tryout with Precious Achiuwa <\/a>was at least worth the shot.<\/p>\n Yes, the LeBron James move to the Philadelphia 76ers stung. But let\u2019s not overstate Bradley Beal re-upping with the Clippers or DeRozan turning to the Nuggets. So be it.<\/p>\n In South Florida, where the school year confusingly continues to start earlier and earlier in August, with school zones now in full effect, there is a sense it is growing late in the NBA offseason.<\/p>\n But it isn\u2019t.<\/p>\n And a measured approach by the Heat in the wake of the Thompson turn of events could both create camp competition and also leave the door open for something bigger down the road.<\/p>\n IN THE LANE<\/p>\n THE END GAME: When Max Strus left the Heat in 2023 free agency, few batted an eye, considering the $62 million over four seasons offered by the Cleveland Cavaliers. That price point, even with production by Strus that helped the Heat get to the 2023 NBA Finals, appeared a bit steep for a role player. In the end, the Cavaliers had to go through considerable efforts to get that final year of Strus\u2019 contract off their books, with this past week\u2019s trade of the former Heat forward to the Los Angeles Clippers at the cost of an unprotected 2031 first-round pick. The upshot is that while supporting players matter plenty in the NBA, they just don\u2019t matter most. Now the question for the Heat becomes whether a similar deal tendered to Nikola Jovic will require contract gymnastics of their own down the line, with that extension kicking in this season. Strus is due $16.7 million this season on the final year of his deal. Jovic is due $16.2 million this season at the start of his extension.<\/p>\n HERE\u2019S WHY: A week ago we chronicled the path of former Heat forward Haywood Highsmith since last August, including being traded by the Heat to the Brooklyn Nets in a salary dump, being waived by the Nets and signed by the Phoenix Suns, and then being cut just over a week ago by the Suns, before re-signing this past week with Phoenix. As the Arizona Republic reported<\/a>, the latest whirlwind had to do with one of the very reasons Highsmith was dealt last summer by the Heat, namely his Aug. 8, 2025 knee surgery required from an injury while training in his Baltimore hometown. Since then, Highsmith\u2019s contracts have not been protected against that knee ailment. That is among the reasons the Suns cut and then re-signed Highsmith to his new, non-guaranteed minimum-scale deal. What appeared to be an innocuous 2025 offseason knee issue continues to loom.<\/p>\n LESSON LEARNED: During his enshrinement speech last weekend at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, Doc Rivers, a Heat rival from his Boston Celtics coaching tenure, took time to praise Heat President Pat Riley in relation to Riley\u2019s coaching him with the New York Knicks. \u201cCoach Pat Riley, when I was playing for the Knicks, Coach Riley and I had the biggest argument in my entire playing career,\u201d Rivers said. \u201cI know all you players thought, you know, I used to go at coaches, too. And during the shouting match, Coach looked at me and said, \u2018One day, when you\u2019re a head coach, and you will be one, you\u2019re going to understand exactly where I\u2019m coming from.\u2019 And I literally yelled back at him, \u2018Are you crazy? I am never going to coach. Every coach that I know, they\u2019re nuts.\u2019\u201d\u00a0 Rivers continued, \u201cWell, I want to tell Coach Riley thank you for being right on all accounts. And one of the lessons he told me was to never coach a person for who they are today, but to push them to who they should be someday. That was very important for me.\u201d<\/p>\n