Q: Ira, I was surprised when the Heat did not make an offer to Isaiah Stevens and surprised again when he was not on the Heat summer roster. Players who can pass like that are hard to find. – Egg.
A: Agree, and Isaiah Stevens proved to be a walking assist both in summer league last July and also with the Heat’s G League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce. I thought there was more to explore there, but also appreciated the challenges for a 6-footer (if even that) in today’s NBA. While defense was always going to be a challenge, the thought was if the shot came around there still could be a chance. To a degree, it’s almost as if Isaiah’s pass-first mentality worked against him, which almost is unfair. That, or there simply is not enough confidence in that element of his game. I’m still not sold that it’s over for him at this stage. Summers tend to be fluid.
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Q: Do you see Josh Christopher being back? – Hal.
A: Based on the summer roster released by the Heat, it does not look that way. By aging out of a two-way contract, Josh Christopher finds himself in somewhat of a limbo, ineligible due to his experience for a two-way deal, but not at the point of necessarily meriting a guaranteed standard deal. Still, the scoring is there and worth a look by some team. But this tends to be the Heat’s pattern, of offering an opportunity and then making an assessment, just as they did in moving on a year ago from RJ Hampton.
Q: When will we know about Davion Mitchell? – Steve.
A: I would assume sooner rather than later, with a Heat qualifying offer already in place and outside free-agency negotiations allowed to begin at 6 p.m. Monday. The thought here is the Heat have a price point limit in mind and it will be up to Davion Mitchell to decide if such a figure works for him, similar to how the Heat handled such situations previously with Gabe Vincent and Max Strus.
