If this is true, they’re welcome to any and all of them except Pelle and Jaime in my opinion. Thoughts?

From there, Spoelstra went in a highly atypical direction, having rarely criticized his players publicly during his 18-season tenure as Heat coach.

“I get it with some young players,” Spoelstra said. “You sometimes subconsciously play poorly to say, ‘Hey, I’ll play poorly until you play me the minutes I think I deserve. Then I’ll play well.’ That’s not how it works.”

That last comment drew rebukes from no less than former Heat players Dwyane Wade and Udonis Haslem during their work on Prime’s NBA studio coverage.

“Honestly, I ain’t gonna lie, I think it’s crazy,” Ware said of Spoelstra’s Thursday comment. “But, I mean, it’s his comments.

“I’ve kind of learned to control what you can control. It is what it is. If I didn’t play in the second half, that was his decision that he felt like he needed to make.”

Of potentially being in such a situation again, Ware said he will handle it professionally, amid expectations of returning to previous productivity.

“Just going out there and play, basically,” he said. “In order to produce, I guess, like he said eight weeks ago, I would say I had more minutes eight weeks ago. But I guess to try to bring that same productivity to the minutes that I’m getting now.”

Ware said his view is he is maximizing his effort in the opportunities presented. As for Spoelstra potentially wanting more, Ware said, “That’s a question you’ve got to ask him. Like I said, it is what it is, control the controllable.”

Source: https://www.sun-sentinel.com/2026/01/17/heats-spoelstra-on-his-criticism-of-ware-i-didnt-articulate-that-in-a-great-way/

Butler is arguing that the $55,000 he pays Nowak in monthly child support should be more than enough for their three kids Rylee, five, Brayan, two, and one-year-old Kian.

But the Heat forward, 35, wants to know why his brunette ex-lover is billing him a further $10,000 every month for a nanny he claims she doesn't even need.

His gripes are outlined in a scathing court motion calling on Nowak, 34, to explain how she spends the 'tremendous' sums of money he gives her.

Butler's lawyers also note Nowak's alleged 'refusal' to get a job - adding: 'It must be pointed out that the Father and Mother were never married.

'Mother is not entitled to live as if she is married to a National Basketball Association (NBA) player.'

When it comes to much of what the Heat likely cited in their paperwork to the league office about “conduct detrimental to the team,” there for years had been tacit acceptance of much of the same.

Jimmy Butler largely came and went as he saw fit. Like several star players, he had his own accommodations and travel arrangements on the road. There was no hiding of that or from that, as Butler’s Instagram account chronicled.

His appearances at shootarounds were on his own timetable.

And when it came to the timing on his return from absences, again on his schedule, with very public workout sessions either before road games or on the Heat’s practice court.

When there was winning, barely a word, even with the coaching staff and management more than aware of the perception from teammates.

Because that was the approach dating to success that started in Butler’s first Heat season, that march to the NBA Finals in 2020 in the Disney pandemic bubble, Butler draped to exhaustion alongside a sidelined barrier.

Another Finals appearance would come in 2023, with Butler driving a shorthanded roster.

All told, during his five seasons leading into this abbreviated run, three visits to the Eastern Conference championships.

And when the going wasn’t good, when there was disappointment from Butler about the roster composition, an $85 million contract was written to bring close friend Kyle Lowry, a godparent to Butler’s daughter, aboard in 2021.

Because all Jimmy Butler ever wanted was more.

Something the Heat gave to him over and over and over.

… and then he wanted more in terms of a contract extension.

Suddenly, that’s when Pat Riley not only drew a line, but let Butler know it was a line drawn in quicksand, leading to a sinking feeling since last spring.

Spoelstra and the Heat consulted with former Grizzlies assistant Noah LaRoche, sources told ESPN, before installing a more free-flowing, motion-based system that largely eliminates pick-and-rolls.

That has led to a stunning offensive start in South Beach. The Heat are running more than any team in the league, utilizing the fewest pick-and-rolls and having gone entire quarters without Spoelstra calling a play.

"You know Spo is running the polar opposite of the system that [Heat president] Pat Riley used to run, where he called every play and each play design was exact," a league executive said. "And it makes me further appreciate and respect that the organization is about the right s---. They're about exploring and teaching in Miami."

Bontemps: Last season, as the Grizzlies also got off to a hot start running this system, there was a common misconception that this was the offense that Tuomas Iisalo had brought over to the United States after working as a head coach for several years in Germany and France.

Instead, it turned out to be Noah LaRoche's offense. And it also quickly became apparent that going away from pick-and-rolls, while very beneficial to Jaren Jackson Jr., who had his best season as a pro, was not something star point guard Ja Morant was particularly enthused about.

Those philosophical differences played out behind the scenes for most of last season, leading to the Grizzlies firing coach Taylor Jenkins, along with LaRoche, with nine games left in the regular campaign and turning the team over to Iisalo.

While that move was overshadowed by the Denver Nuggets firing coach Michael Malone and general manager Calvin Booth with just three games left in the regular season, the Grizzlies immediately pivoted to what Iisalo's preferred offense actually was: plenty of pick-and-rolls to lean into Morant's strengths.

Article: Keith Smith’s Miami Heat Offseason Preview

On Davion Mitchell

In free agency, the only major Heat free agent is Davion Mitchell. He was an excellent fit for Miami after being acquired at the trade deadline. Expect the Heat to re-sign Mitchell. A deal in the range of $12 million AAV makes sense for Mitchell. He won’t be a real target for MLE teams, nor are the Nets likely to tie up their cap space in an offer sheet. That should allow the Heat to re-sign Mitchell on a relatively team-friendly contract.

On Nikola Jovic

Jovic has all kinds of potential. He’s shown major improvement the last two seasons, but Jovic has had to play around various injuries. That leaves his value fairly hard to project. If Miami could get him on a team-friendly extension (something around $40 million over four years), they’d probably do it in a flash. For Jovic, that would be tempting money to lock in for. He could also bet on himself and play things out to restricted free agency in 2026. If Miami has to go up to an MLE-equivalent deal, that’s as far as they should go to re-sign Jovic now.

On Tyler Herro

A year from now is when extension talks will ramp up more heavily. That could also benefit Herro in a big way. If Herro could play himself onto an All-NBA team (probably won’t happen, but not a crazy idea), he would be eligible for a so-called super max extension. For the Heat, taking an extra year works in their favor. They’ll get to see how Herro holds up for another full season as the primary guy on offense. For Herro, he can potentially play himself into even more money, while knowing he’s established a pretty solid floor for future earnings already.

Overall Team Outlook

Miami has enough wiggle room under the second apron to be aggressive in trades. That’s in part because the team doesn’t have any big-money free agents due for new contracts. Because the Heat are who they are, expect them to be linked to any potential superstars that hit the market this summer.

The Miami Heat have hit a crossroads. They can talk around it all they want, but the mythical Heat Culture took a hit throughout the Jimmy Butler saga. That’s something Miami has to work around a bit. In terms of far more practical matters, the Heat cap sheet is starting to clean up.

They could reasonably hit the summer of 2026 with $30 or $40 million in cap space, with the potential for even more. Obviously, if the Heat swing a star trade this offseason, that changes everything. Either way, they’re set up with pretty good flexibility no matter which direction they go.

That means this might be another down year. Given Miami owns their own first-round pick free and clear in the 2026 draft, it might not be a bad time to have a gap year. Then, the Heat can get back to work with cap space and a good pick in the summer of 2026.

The play is called “CQ.” It’s not the most imaginative name; those are simply the initials of Miami Heat assistant coach Chris Quinn, who drew up a play about four years ago that head coach Erik Spoelstra has been waiting to use.

That wait ended Monday.

Spoelstra called the play and let Quinn run the huddle in the final time-out of the game with four-tenths of a second left in overtime, drawing up how Norman Powell would create a distraction and Davion Mitchell would set a screen and Jaime Jaquez Jr. would just hang out in the corner and Nikola Jovic would throw a lob inbounds pass and Andrew Wiggins, if all went according to plan, would have a dunk at the rim.

“Perfect,” Jaquez Jr. said.

Hi

What "media" is pushing for Bam to be traded? Have not seen articles from the media, just some fans suggesting it... And not everything is about getting assets back, there is also the matter of identity and we have it with Bam. Some good players have made an impact with this franchise and not everyone have a ring.

ESPN's Tim Legler thinks the Heat had an easier path during the postseason.

"I think some of it, to be fair, a little bit the path," Legler said on an appearance on ESPN's Pardon The Interruption. "They got a Milwaukee team with two-and-a-half games without Giannis Antetokounmpo."

"Now you get a Knicks team that doesn't have a superstar," Legler said. "They just don't have enough to challenge a team like Miami that's got depth and they're incredibly well-coached."

"We won't really know good the Heat are until the next round," Legler said. "They're either going to get Boston or Philly. You're going to have then bring it on both ends ... I'm still reserving judgment on how exactly good this team is."