Heat Rumor Mill Runs Cold; Only The Cuts Were Real

By the Heat Nightly Desk · Monday, October 19

The only Heat news that held up this week was four waivers, and the team confirmed them. Everything still marked open is low-confidence or off-topic, and the cap sheet is tight.

The Cuts Stand

Hoops Rumors posted "Heat Waive Four Players" on October 17, and it is marked confirmed. Heat.com named the four: Ausar, Kelley, Madsen and Mbeng. All four left the roster on October 18. This is the only roster item from the week that holds up.

Open Injury Item

Hoops Rumors' October 18 injury roundup, which also covers the Magic and other teams, carries a confidence score of 44 and is still open. It is not a Heat scoop. The real injury facts sit in the team's own listings. Adebayo is day-to-day with a right groin issue and an estimated return of October 21, the opener against the Timberwolves on ESPN. Larsson (illness) and Dru Smith (calf) carry the same date. Three questionable starters on opening night is a conditioning problem, not a rumor.

Noise Pile

Hoops Rumors' October 15 item on GMs and the Sixers scores 41, is open, and has nothing to do with Miami. The September reports on Dennis Smith Jr. and Ian Schieffelin sit at 20 and are open, and both men have since left. The Bez Mbeng waiver claim scored 25 and ended in a cut. Low scores aged as they should have.

Cap Says No

Payroll is $209.1M, above the first apron and above the $200.4M tax line. The second apron sits at $221.7M. Antetokounmpo at $58.5M and Adebayo at $49.8M take up a huge share of the sheet, and Wiggins holds a $30.2M player option. Any report of a big addition has to explain how it fits under that ceiling. None does.

Bottom Line

All U Can Heat ran a piece on one last meaningful free agency move. That is their opinion piece, not a report that Miami is pursuing anyone. Nothing in the reporting says a move is coming. Spoelstra opens with the roster he has, and the standard is that the injured players are ready on Wednesday.

Did the Heat waive four players?

Yes. Heat.com announced the waivers of Ausar, Kelley, Madsen and Mbeng, and Hoops Rumors' report on it is confirmed.

Can the Heat afford a big trade right now?

Not easily. Payroll is $209.1M, above the first apron, with the second apron at $221.7M, and no credible report says a major move is coming.

By the Heat Nightly Desk, written from the club's data and the reports on file, with every name and number checked against them. How the desks work.