Heat to sign PJ Tucker to fill power forward void

Pat Riley pulled another rabbit out of his hat.

Shams Charania reported Monday night that free agent power forward P.J. Tucker has agreed to a two-year, $15 million deal with the Miami Heat. The move fortifies the hole at power forward after Jae Crowder’s departure in free agency a year ago. The Heat tried to plug the hole with Trevor Ariza, but he didn’t offer quite as much as Crowder did. (Ariza, for his part, agreed to a deal to return to the Los Angeles Lakers.)

Tucker’s contract includes a player option in the second year.

The move was a bit surprising, considering Tucker had just won a championship with the Milwaukee Bucks. But it has the benefit of improving Miami while weakening the defending champions.

Back in January and February, I advocated for the Heat to trade for Victor Oladipo and Tucker, who at the time were members of the Houston Rockets. While the Oladipo experiment may end after a grand total of four games, Tucker provides the grit and strength to defend opposing power forwards and accuracy from beyond the arc.

The 2021 NBA champion signed a deal that appears to cover most — though not all — of the mid-level exception. Miami seems to move forward with a starting lineup of Kyle Lowry, Duncan Robinson, Jimmy Butler, Tucker and Bam Adebayo.