Heat makes cuts, sets roster for opening night. Also, summer group continues to impress

The Miami Heat’s roster for opening night appears to be set.

With Friday night’s 114-109 win over the Memphis Grizzlies at FedExForum marking the end of Miami’s five-game preseason schedule, the Heat made moves on Saturday just before the league-wide deadline to set its roster for the start of the regular season.

With nine veterans held out, Heat beats Memphis in preseason finale: Five takeaways

There were no surprises.

The 14 Heat players who entered the preseason on guaranteed standard contracts and the three Heat players who entered the preseason on two-way contracts made the cut.

The three Heat players who entered the preseason on Exhibit 10 deals and the one Heat player who entered the preseason on a fully non-guaranteed standard deal did not make the cut.

The Heat waived guard Isaiah Stevens, center Warren Washington and guard Zyon Pullin from their Exhibit 10 contracts on Saturday. The Heat also released forward Nassir Little from his fully non-guaranteed contract.

Stevens, Pullin and Washington, who all also played for Miami’s summer league team this past offseason after going undrafted in June, are still expected to end up with the Heat’s G League affiliate (the Sioux Falls Skyforce) this season unless they are signed by another NBA team to a standard or two-way contract.

There’s also a chance that Little could end up with the Heat’s G League affiliate this season — if that’s what he chooses for the next step in his basketball career.

Those cuts leave the Heat with 14 players on standard contracts for the start of the regular season: Bam Adebayo, Thomas Bryant, Alec Burks, Jimmy Butler, Tyler Herro, Haywood Highsmith, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Nikola Jovic, Pelle Larsson, Kevin Love, Josh Richardson, Duncan Robinson, Terry Rozier and Kel’el Ware.

The Heat’s three two-way contract slots remain occupied by Josh Christopher, Keshad Johnson, and Dru Smith. Two-way contracts, which pay half the NBA rookie minimum and do not count toward the salary cap or luxury tax, allow for players to be on their NBA team’s active list for as many as 50 regular-season games but do not come with playoff eligibility and can be swapped out at any time.

NBA teams have a 5 p.m. deadline on Monday to cut rosters to the regular-season maximum of 15 players (not including the three two-way contract slots). But most of those moves actually need to be made by 5 p.m. Saturday because of the 48-hour waiver period.

The Heat’s roster remains one short of the regular-season limit of 15 players under standard contracts. But Miami is expected to open the regular season with 14 players on standard deals because of its position against the ultra-punitive second apron.

The Heat stands just $1.6 million from crossing the second apron, which is one of the reasons that Little was waived on Saturday. Little’s per day cap hit once the regular season begins would have been $13,939, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks, eating into Heat’s cushion from the second apron to potentially add to its roster later in the season without crossing that threshold.

Little, 24, is not eligible for a two-way contract because only players with three or fewer years of NBA service are able to sign two-way deals. He has already played five NBA seasons.

By staying under the second apron for now, the Heat is still allowed to aggregate salaries in a trade or send out cash in a trade. But because Miami is already above the first apron, it can’t take back more salary in a trade than it sends out.

The Heat opens the regular season on Wednesday night against the Orlando Magic at Kaseya Center.

PRESEASON REVIEW

One of the highlights for the Heat during its 4-1 preseason run has been the continued development of its next wave of young developmental players.

The core of the Heat’s summer league roster that won this past offseason’s Las Vegas Summer League championship was on the court for the Heat late in Friday’s preseason win over the Grizzlies.

The Heat closed the game in Memphis with a lineup of Pelle Larsson, Kel’el Ware, Christopher, Little and Pullin, outscoring the Grizzlies 29-18 in the fourth quarter. Larsson, Ware, Christopher and Pullin were all members of the Heat’s summer league championship roster from this past offseason.

Among those who also played for the Heat in summer league this year and logged extended minutes for the Heat in Friday’s preseason finale were Johnson and Stevens.

“What they have shown as a collective group of young guys, they’ve brought us some talent level that we’ve been able to restock with our roster, they’ve given us an exuberance,” Spoelstra said following the Heat’s preseason game in Memphis. “But they’ve also found a way as a group to win, to impact winning, to find a way to gut out wins. I don’t know what it is, I just know it’s something. I don’t want to over exaggerate it right now.

“I told them the head coach enjoys watching them compete. They compete and play the right way. Even when it doesn’t always end up going exactly how you want it to, the intention is right. Good things happen if you’re in a great head space like that. It’s just hard to find a group like that that can rally around that. It’s been fun.”