Miami made a couple of expected moves this week, with the team’s training camp set to open next Tuesday at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton. Let’s break them down.
Terry Rozier to be in Heat camp
Miami spent the offseason looking to trade away Terry Rozier, primarily because he is owed $26.6 million — $24.9 million of that is guaranteed. However, that contract and his lack of efficiency last season scared off other teams as well, and buyout talks went nowhere.
Now expect Rozier to be in the team’s training camp, reports Anthony Chiang at the Miami Herald. This is not a surprise, especially after the news that All-Star guard Tyler Herro would miss the start of the season following foot surgery. With that, new addition Norman Powell slides into the starting backcourt spot next to Davion Mitchell, and Rozier will have a key role in the rotation. Last season, Rozier averaged 10.6 points a game but was not efficient with his shot, hitting 29.5% from 3 and with a true shooting percentage of just 49.7. As Chiang notes at the Herald, Rozier was one of “only four players in the NBA who shot worse than 40% from the field and worse than 30% on threes while playing in at least 60 games last regular season.”
The Heat will still be open to trading Rozier during the season, but he will have to show that he can contribute somewhere to have serious suitors.
Precious Achiuwa signs One-Year Deal
Miami was looking thin at the center position. There is Olympian and team icon Bam Adebayo, but he requested to play more four over the course of the regular season to lessen the physical wear and tear. Then there is promising sophomore Kel’el Ware and… that’s about it, unless you want to count two-way player Vlad Goldin.
Enter veteran big man Precious Achiuwa, who has signed a one-year deal with the Heat, a story broken by Shams Charania of ESPN. This signing was expected.
Achiuwa was a solid rotation big for the Knicks last season — averaging 6.6 points and 5.6 rebounds a game while shooting 50.2% — until Mitchell Robinson got healthy and returned, then Achiuwa saw his minutes drop off fast. For the role the Heat need filled, and for the veteran minimum, this is a solid signing.
With the Achiuwa signing, look for the Heat to do something to save a little money before the trade deadline. Miami was only $1.8 million below the luxury tax line and doesn’t want to cross that line, so they will shed some salary somewhere.
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