Heat Notes: Tucker, Oladipo, Haslem, Vincent, Okpala
August 7th 2021 at 7:31pm CST by Arthur Hill
P.J. Tucker was looking for the right situation in free agency and he believes he has found it with the Heat, according to Barry Jackson and Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Tucker won a ring after being traded to Milwaukee in March, but the Bucks had limited resources to offer him. He wound up signing with Miami for $15MM over two years.
"When you're a free agent, you're looking for a fit, coaching styles, team styles, and this (team) is exactly what I do," Tucker said after the signing was formally announced earlier today. "Last year, I trained in Miami. So this has been a long time coming. I'm super excited."
Tucker averaged just 3.7 PPG last season with the Rockets and Bucks, but he has a reputation as one of the league's best defenders. He's expected to split time at power forward with fellow new addition Markieff Morris. Tucker thinks the Heat are positioned to become contenders again in the East after being swept in the first round last season.
"We have a tough team with guys that get after it. It's going to be fun," he said. "You look at our roster, we're going to be a tough, gritty team, guys that play two ways, can switch multiple positions. More than anything, I can see us being united. Guys who are like minded and play the same way. If you have a bunch of guys like that on the same team, you have special things happening."
There's more from Miami:
The Heat are hoping Victor Oladipo may be cleared for full contact by November and could be ready to play in March, Jackson and Chiang state in the same story. A right knee injury limited Oladipo to four games after being acquired in a mid-season trade with Houston, and he underwent surgery on his quadriceps tendon in May. Oladipo re-signed on a one-year, minimum-salary contract that will pay him about $2.4MM.
Miami announced all its major offseason moves on Friday and Saturday, and one roster spot still remains open for veteran big man Udonis Haslem, the authors add. The 41-year-old hasn't decided whether he will return for another season.
The Heat expect to have Gabe Vincent and KZ Okpala available when the Las Vegas Summer League starts on Sunday, tweets Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. Both players represented Nigeria in the Summer Olympics and didn't take part in this week's Summer League in Sacramento.
Gabe Vincent
29 thoughts on "Heat Notes: Tucker, Oladipo, Haslem, Vincent, Okpala"
Sebch • 6 months ago
Hope Giannis crash PJ like he should
Sillivan • 6 months ago
Oladipo could be huge come playoffs time
illowa • 6 months ago
at disrupting team chemistry that they developed all season long without him.
formerlyz • 6 months ago
Or at giving them another point of attack defender that fits perfectly with Lowry Duncan Robinson, and Tyler Herro
come on man. who has ever come back into the playoffs after being injured all season long and contributed to winning a playoffs series?
Sankara • 6 months ago
DeAndre Hunter just a couple months ago
Simmons>Russ • 6 months ago
Hunter was only out a couple months he was having a really good year.
If he is back in February or March, that isnt all season
Also love what the Heat have done, Tucker and Morris were both very important additions at PF which had been a problem area. Kyle Lowry is an upgrade from Dragic. Plus Oladipo staying, hopefully he isn't rushed back at all and can come back for the last bit of the season and playoffs.
Only negative is giving Robinson that huge deal. Shooters just get crazy money these days.
I bet you were on board with GS trying to trade Klay Thompson for Kevin Love in 2015. In 2021 you're willing to pay Kevin Love 10s of millions more than a Klay Thompson comparison, so I'd be surprised if that's not the case
Didn't really care for Klay back then and was obvious he was going to Cleveland who had the number 1 pick.
As for a Klay Thompson comparison your dreaming, he's more like JJ Reddick who is currently without a team.
Well if you look at their numbers on both ends of the floor, and rate stats from the same time period of their careers, Klay Thompson is the comparison..also, as I previously said, retaining Duncan Robinson was the number 1 priority of the offseason, barring a drastic roster change, and he is even more important when looking at everything else they did
x%sure • 6 months ago
Now formerlyz equates Duncan with Klay. Ever heard of defense? Couple days ago, Solomon Hill was a legend in Miami says he. There was something similar posted just before that… Also today, PJ Tucker complements everything other Heat players do, and of course Haslem gets a roster spot.
Foermerlyz nobody cares about your lengthy reports or whether you have gotten to them or not. Why must we be notified of your progress. Go have some wing pieces.
Tired of Tucker and all his wrestling. He's in the wrong sport. He has his ring now, time to retire. Refs were already on to him in the playoffs. He is only useful in wrapping up actual basketball players. Whines every time he goes too far and gets whistled.
Again the Solomon Hill Heat legend line is a meme…its amazing that none of this has to do anything with him, but you're still talking trash about him. I responded to you, but I havent said anything personally about you, even though you continue to do that about me for no reason other than having a problem with how I think about a sport, and saying good things about certain players
And even though he was out of position a lot earlier in the season, +2 with him on the floor for the season, and also he was positive defensive box plus/minus, which is necessary for them b/c of the rest of their team…also missing DeAndre Hunter meant they needed help defensively at the 4…but they were also short on Reddish, Huerter, Gallinari at times, and during that time, Tony Snell and Solomin Hill at the 3 and 4 was a significant reason they started making their run
Again. You all look at the game too individually. It's not about that…
The only reason I say something like "I havent seen enough yet…" it's because that means I dont know for sure, but this is what may be or how it seems, or we dont have enough info yet, or my opinion…the same way you post your opinions, or anyone else does. I'm sorry you have such a problem with me talking about wing players and the modern day NBA game, where all the teams that win have players like that. I'm sorry I like players like Draymond Green, Marcus Smart, Jimmy Butler, Patrick Beverly, Udonis Haslem, etc that play with passion on both ends of the floor, and make winning plays. I'm sorry that there is 1 basketball in a 5 on 5 game, where if multiple people on my team are going to have the ball in their hands, that means other people arent, and therefore contribute in different ways. I'm sorry that hurts your feelings somehow
None of this should even have to be said, b/c none of it has anything to do with this post, but whatever. This is supposed to be about what the Heat need with their 2 open roster spots, besides hopefully retaining Udonis Haslem in that final spot
And by the way, Duncan Robinson is better defensively than people think, but even so, he plays next to multiple other great defenders, like previously with Butler, Bam, Iguodala, Crowder, etc, and then now with Lowry, Butler, Bam, Pj Tucker, hopefully Oladipo, etc…and his spacing allows them to be successful offensively. He doesnt need the ball in his hands, and is elite using off ball screens, coming off dribble handoffs. He has also significantly improved putting the ball on the floor. If he adds a mid range jumpshot off closeouts, or learns to post up smaller guys in half court situations, he'll essentially be as close to Klay Thompson as it gets, which by the way, as much of a fan of Klay that I am, he hasnt been as good his last 3 healthy seasons, and also went away from posting up, mostly b/c of Durant, but it's still something to mention. Regardless, to act like he shouldnt have been retained, as has been said by certain people recently, makes no sense. He is extremely important to this Heat team, no matter how much that bothers you for whatever reason
buttholesurfer69 • 6 months ago
You're right in that statistically it's not a crazy comparison. Defensive metrics don't love Klay as much as the commentariat and TS% like Duncan more than Klay.
It's actually an interesting comparison. Because instinctively I would say Klay is a level higher. But the stat sheet doesn't quite agree.
Klay Thompson at 27 was in the all nba third team, was an all star and was a NBA champion. He averaged 22-3-3, whereas Robinson in his best scoring season averaged 13.5 points…. Only accomplishment Robinson has is all G league third team
The comparison is crazy, it's like saying look at Mo Bambas 32 minutes per game stats, he basically shaq.
Not really. Robinson has been one of the top three point shooters in the entire League for the past two seasons. Elite three point shooting is incredibly valuable.
Bamba is a scrub.
I would still obviously say Klay is the better player (when healthy). He clearly has the more well rounded offensive game.
He's better defensively in terms of reputation but the plus minus would argue differently. Which makes the *statistical* comparison hold a little water, IMO.
So the comparison is like Klay cause he's a little better defensively according to a couple stats and is a good three point shooter.
Klay in his rookie year put up Robinsons typical stat lines and every season after that he's averaged almost 10 points more per game.
So offensively Robinson might be a great shooter by percentage but if he only averages about 13 points it means he's only making about 4 shots per game… whereas Klay takes a lot more shots and has a lot more responsibility on offence.
And defensively on GSW, Klay was often responsible for guarding either the number 1 or number 2 option of the opposition and often sharing the court with Curry who isn't good on D. Whereas Robinson has Butler take the best wing, Bam takes the best big and also had Dragic, Crowder, Ariza, Iggy etc etc that are/were good defenders around him.
As for a comparison, realistically he's like Kyle Korver. But I understand in today's game shooters get paid look at Fouriner, Hardaway etc etc however I just think it's a huge risk.
100% true on the counting stats. But advanced is a little murkier. If you take the BPM for Klay's last 2 seasons vs Duncan's last two it's:
Klay: -0.4 and -0.5
Duncan: +0.5 and -1.1
So basically a wash on BPM. Duncan wins TS%. Klay wins PER. Win Shares with a slight edge to Klay. Klay's usage is higher.
Again, I would take Klay any day of the week. But to your point about $$$ Klay is making almost twice what the Heat just agreed to pay Duncan.
So I think it you looked at how close some of the advanced stats are between the two, then Duncan's contract is good value, assuming you believe Klay to be a max guy (I do).
He is also ignoring that he was on the floor a lot with Kendrick Nunn and Meyers Leonard his first season. Dragic and Herro as well, so not always surrounded by great defenders, and was still capable, so the idea that he was only with great defenders, while Klay had to deal with Steph isnt entirely true. Obviously, Klay guarded opposing PGs, and helped hide Curry defensively, but Robinson holds his own on the wing, although he sometimes gets called for a lot of phantom fouls…They're also exactly the same size…obviously you take Klay. Nobody said anything different, but it's still a legit comparison, and as I said, it was Robinson's first 2 full seasons, which is the timeline I was talking about
There is no good defensive stat public. DBPM does not measure the quality of opponent assigned for instance.
They do have certain tracking data that has been available to the public for a handful of years now, although I havent used it much myself in at least a couple of years. That being said, I usually look at a combination of different things, as opposed to just 1, and then also the eye test, and the occasional tracking stat that maybe someone else might mention.
That being said, a lot of how I think a player fits into a team is based on who else is on that team, and how their skillsets mesh. I'm almost never thinking about that player's name, unless its LeBron, Kevin Durant, and maybe a couple of others, but even with them, I still do the same things in terms of thinking about what's around them, but they just have an extra boost individually that might make certain issues not as prevalent as others
First 2 full years in the NBA for Duncan Robinson…
Heat now need to address the wing position with their remaining 2 roster spots. Frank Ntilikina, Shaq Harrison, Wesley Matthews, Rodney McGruder are all possibilities, as well as a couple of guys probably playing summer league elsewhere that we've seen before, like maybe a Davon Reed, or Bj Johnson, or Wayne Selden, or someone else that either hasnt been released or maybe emerges in summer league…
And then obviously the 2 way slots, with 1 being for Marcus Garrett, and the other between either Dajon Jarreau or DJ Stewart, or Javonte Smart, or someone on someone else's summer league team like Austin Reaves from the Lakers, Jordan Schakel from GS, maybe Matt Coleman from Sacramento, etc, among others we havent seen yet. Obviously it's kind of early to determine that, and we havent even seen all of the Heat's summer league guys yet, but those are some early things I'm seeing through the first couple of games, as Vegas summer league starts up tomorrow
…damn I just realized I forgot Oladipo lol. Theres only 1 spot left…definitely need to maximize it with 1 of those pieces I mentioned
rct • 6 months ago
I mentioned it in a different topic but Haslem has the best job on earth. I'm sure he helps with coaching and mentoring but he literally got into one game last year and was ejected in under three minutes for fighting with Dwight Howard. Almost $3 million salary. Dude cleared a million bucks a minute last year. I hope they keep signing him til he's 50.
He left 10s of millions of dollars on the table multiple times to stay with the Heat. He also exemplifies Miami Heat culture more than anyone else, and when he does play, he still looks like 2008 UD b/c he maniacally trains every day, and is in insane shape. He is still their best post defender. Whenever there are moments where guys arent doing what they're supposed to be doing, he can be thrown in to that situation and demonstrate first hand. I'm cool with him on the roster as long as he wants. If anything, I wish they used him a lot more in certain matchups
KnickHeat • 6 months ago
Tucker and Morris Harmless and Bradley. Big money to guys who could not get it done in the playoffs and…Haslem.