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Heat GM Andy Elisburg on NBA free agency, ‘unrealistic to bring everyone back’

The focus at the start of NBA free agency with the Miami Heat was the one that got away, with starting power forward P.J. Tucker signing with the Philadelphia 76ers.

But Heat general manager Andy Elisburg said that retaining three contributors from the team’s run to within one game of the NBA Finals deserves similar attention.

Appearing on 790 The Ticket’s ongoing radio coverage of the NBA Las Vegas Summer League, Elisburg discussed the team’s offseason standing in the personnel market, which included retaining Caleb Martin, Victor Oladipo and Dewayne Dedmon.

“It was terrific to bring as much of the team back as possible,” Elisburg said on the team’s flagship radio station. “I think we went into it, I think, realizing with where we were with some of the Bird Rights that we had with players that it was probably unrealistic to bring everyone back.”

So Martin, Oladipo and Dedmon were retained, Tucker was lost, with Markieff Morris and Udonis Haslem remaining unsigned free agents.

“We hoped to bring back at least one, but certainly two or three of our guys,” Elisburg said. “And so, being able to do that, is great.”

Oladipo was signed to a two-year, $18.2 million contract that includes a player option in the second season. The agreement means Oladipo, acquired at the 2021 NBA training deadline, will be available for Heat training camp for the first time, after not returning from May 2021 quadriceps surgery until this past March.

“Obviously Victor gets an opportunity to go into a season really healthy,” Elisburg said. “and then gets an opportunity to go prepare for a training camp as he’s had in the past, where he didn’t have that for the last couple of years.”

Martin received a three-year, $20.5 million deal that includes a player option in the third season.

“Caleb Martin did what [coach] Erik Spoelstra has talked many times about,” Elisburg said, “when he tells the players, ‘Make it difficult for me to take you off the floor.’ And Caleb Martin did that.

“He came in and forced his way into the rotation and forced his way into an opportunity and put us in a situation where he was obviously able to command the more significant salary. And so you’re happy for players, because that’s what you want to see guys do, to do the work and then be able to get rewarded with it.”

Elisburg said he was not surprised by the swiftness of those agreements.

“Unselfishly, I think you’ve certainly seen in the last few years, everyone seems to want to get this done faster,” he said of NBA free agency. “I seem to remember when I came in, there was a lot more meetings going on, and week-long periods, and free agency would stretch out two, three weeks, and now it seems like it happens in about two, three hours.

“Everyone’s like, ‘OK, let me get my contracts done and let’s get on vacation.’ It’s where we are right now.”

While the Heat remain linked to trade talks for Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant and Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell, they already have 17 players signed for training camp, three shy of the NBA offseason limit.

“So, obviously, to have most of our business done is great,” Elisburg said. “I think it gives Erik some obviously extra time to sort of think about, ‘OK, this is what our roster is going to look like, how we prepare for next year.’

“And there’s always a challenge of how much you bring your roster back and how much you make changes.”

Elisburg said from the outset he expected change from a roster that advanced to the Eastern Conference finals.

“There’s no such thing as really running it back, because every year’s different,” he said. “Even if you physically run the same players back, it’s a new year. And each year is its own different year. And it’s a little challenging, but in the years we came back off of winning championships, it’s like you’re defending your championships.

“No, this is a new year. This is a new run for us. So we’re excited to kind of get under way and think about the team looks a little bit differently, but at the same time has a lot of the same elements that were a part of what our team last year was.

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from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/QHqplck
Heat GM Andy Elisburg on NBA free agency, ‘unrealistic to bring everyone back’ Heat GM Andy Elisburg on NBA free agency, ‘unrealistic to bring everyone back’ Reviewed by Admin on July 13, 2022 Rating: 5

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