With Hassan Whiteside in the paint, Miami has needed a change-of-pace big man who can spread the floor on offense, hit threes, and play more of the pace-and-space modern offense that coach Eric Spoelstra wants to see.
Enter Kelly Olynyk.
A free agent thanks to Boston’s need to clear out cap space to sign Gordon Hayward, the Heat have landed the 7-foot three-point shooter, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
Free agent Kelly Olynyk has agreed to a four-year, $50M-plus deal with the Miami Heat, agent Greg Lawrence tells ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 6, 2017
The Olynyk deal includes a player option on the fourth-year, Lawrence said. https://t.co/wAyyX8w2CM
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 6, 2017
To make room to sign Olynyk, the Heat are working out a trade to send Josh McRoberts to Dallas for a second round pick. Shams Charania of The Vertical at Yahoo Sports has the details.
Heat plan to send McRoberts and a future second round pick to Dallas for A.J. Hammons, league sources tell The Vertical. https://t.co/OJY3sDiB4q
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 7, 2017
I like the Olynyk signing for Miami, it fits a need offensively (whether or not they bring back restricted free agent James Johnson). Olynyk is a 7-footer who shot 35.7 percent from three last season, and a decent defender when dragged out on the perimeter. He struggles physically with strong players down on the block, but that’s where Whiteside comes in. However, neither of those bigs are particularly fast, something that other teams may try to exploit.
Olynyk is a big who fits the direction the NBA game is evolving and Eric Spoelstra will know how to put that to use.