with John Kanchar from the board, Art Heat Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald will likely keep No. 15 on his standard list tweets.
Kanchar signed Exhibit 9 contract this week with the Knicks rather than wait for a firm offer from the Heat, which Jackson said intrigued some of the Heat’s front office. Keeping the cap open makes sense for the Heat, giving them more opportunities for a buyout during the season or whatever.
To that end, the Heat did not make an offer to the free agent Gabe Vincenteven if the point guard would welcome the Heat, Jackson reports. Jackson points out that they could give Vincent a non-guaranteed deal and force him to compete with him Drew Smith in training camp for a premiership, but Miami didn’t present that opportunity.
Here’s more on Heat:
- Tre White continues to pursue a return to college basketball as a fifth-year player through the legal system and has not told the Heat whether he will accept the team’s two-way contract offer, Jackson reports. White agreed to sign training camp agreement with Miami in late June after going undrafted. White bounced around during his four-year college career, playing for USC as a freshman, Louisville as a sophomore and Illinois as a junior before transferring to Kansas for his senior year. The Heat currently have all three two-way spots filled, so they need to make room to sign White to a two-way deal.
- Guard Davion Mitchell enters the year of his walk in the best physical and mental shape, Jackson relay. Mitchell opened up about his struggles last season on the Two and Mo podcast. “At the beginning of last year, I was going through a lot in my mind” he said. “I have a child. To be honest, I didn’t feel in the best shape at the beginning of last year. (Coach Erik Spoelstra) understood this and respected everything I do. He knows how hard I work. “It was a time when I was so confused in the summer, there were moments in camp where I didn’t feel like myself. I was very quiet, not even myself. I respected (Spoelstra) because he put me out there and made me grow as a player. He really believed in me. I was going through so much mentally, it was hard to be confident in everything I did. It wasn’t basketball; it was life. People don’t understand that we’re still human.”
- Vladislav GoldinA positive attitude and willingness to continue to improve his game in the G League works in his favor to keep his place in the two-way, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel writes in a mail bag. Still, the big man is by no means safe, Winderman adds, as two-way contracts can easily be traded and Goldin’s spot is weaker than their other two-way players. Tre Donaldson and Keshad Johnson.
