Miami Heat decide against pitching a qualifying offer to reserve guard Terrel Harris – NBA News
The Miami Heat have bypassed a qualifying offer to reserve point guard Terrel Harris which makes him an unrestricted free agent, meaning the Miami Heat do not have the right to match any offer he receives from other teams.
Had the Heat given him the qualifying offer, Harris would have become a restricted free agent. The news comes as a surprise as on the eve of free agency a week ago, Miami team President Pat Riley had positive words for Harris.
"We like him. We like him a lot,” said Riley.
However nothing happened after that as Miami did not make a qualifying offer to the point guard. The new collective bargaining agreement also worked against the interests of Harris. Firstly, qualifying offers under the new collective
bargaining agreement are fully guaranteed. Secondly, Harris would have received a qualifying offer of $960,000 under the new CBA.
The Heat can now offer him a non guaranteed second year minimum’s contract of $760,000. The $200,000 difference becomes $400,000 for the Heat when one accounts the dollar for dollar luxury tax.
Harris played 22 games in the regular season and only 3 in the playoffs during a season in which Miami Heat won the NBA championship. He was seldom used by the Heat who instead relied on starting point guard Mario Chalmers and
Mike Miller. However, Riley was all praise for the rookie and had some positive words for him.
"It's been so long since we saw him play. But back in training camp, he was an absolute phenom. He came in with tremendous energy and quickness and athleticism and a defensive mentality and he basically took a roster spot,” said
Riley.
Harris showed some highlights of his skills and talent in a triple overtime victory for the Miami Heat in a regular season game against the Atlanta Hawks on January 5th. He played 44 minutes during that game and finished
with 9 points and 14 rebounds, almost a double-double.
But, that was one of the few games in which he played extended minutes, as he remained on the bench for majority of the season. Still, Harris is scheduled to undergo training camp with the Heat which begins on Saturday at the American
Airlines Arena, and will take part in the Las Vegas summer league as well which commences on July 15th.
"I expect him to have a great summer league. We'd like to see him improve his shooting, his long-range shooting, his playmaking ability. We like him. We like him as a prospect,” added Riley.
Harris talked about learning to play point guard this offseason, but Riley is not yet convinced that he is ready to take on such a huge responsibility. In the summer league, Harris has an opportunity to improve his game and prove
his metal to the Heat management and coaching staff.
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