{"id":203424,"date":"2026-07-02T10:43:44","date_gmt":"2026-07-02T14:43:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=203424"},"modified":"2026-07-02T10:43:44","modified_gmt":"2026-07-02T14:43:44","slug":"miami-heat-free-agency","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2026\/07\/02\/miami-heat-free-agency\/","title":{"rendered":"What\u2019s the Free Agency Status of the Miami Heat So Far?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span>The beginning of July has opened the door to free agency across the NBA and will last for a week until July 6. The Miami Heat have been prompt in leaping into action and have quickly made some noteworthy choices. <\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>What&#8217;s the free agency status of the Miami Heat so far?<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span>The front office chose to retain <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/w\/wiggian01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Andrew Wiggins<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/f\/fontesi01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Simone Fontecchio<\/a> under revised agreements. They also bagged an external free agent, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/h\/hardati02.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Tim Hardaway Jr<\/a>, to help with perimeter shooting. But the most shocking news came with the departure of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/p\/powelno01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Norman Powell<\/a>, who has signed a $45 million deal with the Chicago Bulls.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"max-width: px\"><smartframe-embed class=\"smartframe_wp_element\" customer-id=\"b0c95bc04383cef69c6b47df872135cf\" image-id=\"WmOBAGuqAUKD\" style=\"width: 100%; display: inline-flex; max-width: 3072px; aspect-ratio: 3072\/2048;\" ><\/smartframe-embed><\/p>\n<h3>Acquisition: Tim Hardaway Jr.<\/h3>\n<p><span>This former Denver Nuggets shooting guard will now sport a Heat jersey. Freshly acquired by Miami, Hardaway joined the team on a one-year deal for $6.5 million, as reported by ESPN\u2019s Shams Charania. <\/span><span>In the media, he was already flagged as a <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2026\/06\/25\/miami-heat-giannis\/\" target=\"_self\">big target for the Heat<\/a>, whose tunnel vision at the moment is to create a strong roster around <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/a\/antetgi01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Giannis Antetokounmpo<\/a>. The 34-year-old was quickly taken when free agency started and will now shoulder the shooting responsibility and follow in the footsteps of his father, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/h\/hardati01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Tim Hardaway <\/a>Sr., who played for the Heat from 1996-2001.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Free agent sharpshooter Tim Hardaway Jr. has agreed to a deal with the Miami Heat, sources tell ESPN. <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/XUU03NO7O0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/XUU03NO7O0<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) <a  href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/ShamsCharania\/status\/2072085988290044122?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">June 30, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h3>Retentions and Extensions<\/h3>\n<p><span>On Monday, the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2026\/06\/29\/andrew-wiggins-miami\/\" target=\"_self\">Heat retained Wiggins<\/a> and re-signed him. The forward accepted the $30.1 million player option for the final season. Moreover, his contract has been extended for two more seasons at $34 million, bringing the total to a 3-year deal with a $64 million paycheck.<\/span><span> Wiggins can avail this NBA security<\/span><span>\u00a0in half-portions of $16.5 million in 2027-28 and $17.5 million in the 2028-29 player-option season.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Also, according to Charnia, Fontecchio, an unrestricted free agent, is set to return to the Heat on a one-year veteran minimum deal.\u00a0<\/span><span>With 70 game appearances, he was an important part of the bench rotation and perimeter shooting this season and intends to stay there only. He will make approximately $2.6 million in a one-year deal.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"max-width: px\"><smartframe-embed class=\"smartframe_wp_element\" customer-id=\"a61405551f80e72f675225f083759bb9\" image-id=\"fwuQtAiBzSr2\" style=\"width: 100%; display: inline-flex; max-width: 3900px; aspect-ratio: 3900\/2700;\" ><\/smartframe-embed><\/p>\n<h3>Loss So Far: Norman Powell<\/h3>\n<p><span>Perhaps it was the hefty cost of acquiring<a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/a\/antetgi01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> Giannis Antetokounmpo<\/a> that ultimately cost Miami Powell. The franchise <\/span><span>bumped into the hard cap at the luxury tax apron.<\/span><span> <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Powell was the only player on the team to participate in the All-Star Game this season and displayed some exceptional talent. He was the most impressive player on the team, playing the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2026\/06\/13\/norman-powell-heat\/\" target=\"_self\">best games of his career<\/a> with the Heat. Fortunately for Powell, he had no shortage of takers and was quickly scooped up by the <\/span><span><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.sun-sentinel.com\/2026\/07\/01\/all-star-norman-powell-leaves-heat-for-bulls-in-nba-free-agency\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Chicago Bulls on a two-year<\/a>,<\/span><span> $45 million contract. Before heading into free agency, he earned around $20 million in his one-year run with Miami, but later, they couldn&#8217;t match the Bulls&#8217; offer, which secured Powell two more comfortable years in the league.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>What\u2019s Next for Miami in Agency?<\/h3>\n<p><span>At the moment, Miami has a couple of more free agents &#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/y\/youngja05.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jahmir Young<\/a> and<a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/j\/johnske10.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> Keshad Johnson<\/a>. But it is ready to break its ties with both of them. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Young, who joined the team this past season, had his <\/span><span>$2.41 million team option declined<\/span><span>. The same goes for Johnson, who was not offered a qualifying offer. The Heat&#8217;s chances are next to none now, leaving both 25-year-olds to explore the market. <\/span><span>Meanwhile, the team is linked to other free agents, but no official confirmation has come in yet. <\/span><\/p>\n<p>Recruiting and retaining strong players is the most important next step in the Heat&#8217;s roster building at the moment. After Wiggins, the front office is left with roughly $10 million in free-agent salary cap space, and few spots remain open. Right now, Miami must choose the best of the best to build a strong structure around Antetokounmpo, who possesses elite instincts and top-notch skills.<\/p>\n<p><span data-qa-component=\"highlight-text\" class=\"highlight\">Photo Credit: Eric<span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><span>Hartline, USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The beginning of July has opened the door to free agency across the NBA and will last for a week until July 6. The Miami Heat have been prompt in leaping into action and have quickly made some noteworthy choices. What&#8217;s the free agency status of the Miami Heat so far? The front office chose [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5848,"featured_media":203440,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1608,62,3],"tags":[212,306,297,716,49053,287],"class_list":["post-203424","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","category-nba","category-news","tag-andrew-wiggins","tag-giannis-antetokounmpo","tag-nba-free-agency","tag-norman-powell","tag-simone-fontecchio","tag-tim-hardaway-jr"],"modified_by":"Daniel Benjamin, Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/203424","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5848"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=203424"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/203424\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":203441,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/203424\/revisions\/203441"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/203440"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=203424"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=203424"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=203424"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}