Heat waive 4 players, set opening night roster at 14 players

The Miami Heat have waived Micah Potter, Dru Smith, DJ Stewart, and Javonte Smart.

The move came immediately after the Heat’s final preseason game against the Boston Celtics. All four players are likely headed to the Heat’s G-League affiliate team the Sioux Falls Skyforce since they were all Exhibit-10 contracts.

The move sends the Heat’s roster to 14 players under standard contract and two two-way players. This is the Heat roster:

Jimmy Butler
Kyle Lowry
Bam Adebayo
Duncan Robinson
P.J. Tucker
Tyler Herro
Markieff Morris
Dewayne Dedmon
Max Strus
Gabe Vincent
KZ Okpala
Omer Yurtseven
Victor Oladipo
Udonis Haslem
*Two ways: Caleb Martin & Marcus Garrett.

Having those players available for the Skyforce is a huge help for the Heat program. They’ve tasted the atmosphere and can bring a lot to the G-League. The Heat have used the Skyforce as a way to develop roster players, just look at Vincent and Strus as the most recent examples.

The Heat keeping the roster at 14 for the moment is solely a salary cap situation, keeping them under the luxury tax which is a very huge incentive for team owners. It does not prohibit the Heat from adding a player or even making deals at the deadline to change the roster, but for now, it seemed like the wisest move.

At some point, the Heat may be able to move Caleb Martin’s contract to a standard deal for the remainder of the season and then sign one of these players to their other two-way spot. Micah Potter seemed to be the most intriguing.

The Miami Heat will open the regular season on Thursday against the defending NBA champion, Milwaukee Bucks.