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The Heat’s conditioning test is considered among the most daunting in the league. With most teams, “you have to run up the court three times” in one minute, Mitchell said. “Miami does it five times. It’s one of the hardest things I’ve done in my life. You’ve got to run it in one minute and you only have a two-minute break. You have to do it five times. “When I ran last year, I didn’t even pass. I wasn’t even there [training at Kaseya Center in the weeks prior]. I just had a kid. I just had my daughter, and I literally had to get on a red eye and go the gym. It was tough last year.”
Though veteran guard Gabe Vincent would welcome a Heat reunion, the Heat hasn’t made an offer to him. A strong case could be made for extending him a nonguaranteed deal to compete with Dru Smith in training camp, but Miami hasn’t presented that option. (That would not preclude Miami from signing another player to a 15th standard contract.)
The Knicks were a popular road draw during their title run, and it looks like that will continue in 2026-27. Games at Philly, Miami, Boston and Washington are popular on StubHub, which said 25 percent of Knicks road-game purchasers are based in New York, New Jersey or Connecticut. That’s up from 21 percent last season.
Konchar would have interest in the Heat, but more so if Miami offers a guaranteed deal. And it seems doubtful that the Heat would offer a full guarantee because that would make it more difficult for Miami to add an appealing player on the buyout market during the season. Miami potentially could offer the type of nonguaranteed deal that it gave veteran center Nick Richards, whose $3.1 million salary becomes guaranteed if he’s on the opening night roster. A source was skeptical about whether Konchar would take a non-guaranteed deal but wouldn’t totally rule it out.
![“It happens every year in the NBA. The [Oklahoma City] …](https://sportsdata.usatoday.com/gcdn/content-pipeline-sports-images/sports2/nba/players/1232325.png?format=png8&auto=webp&quality=85,75&width=140)
The Sixers weren’t the only Eastern team to make big moves. Giannis Antetokounmpo and Klay Thompson joined Bam Adeabayo and Andrew Wiggins in Miami, and the Toronto Raptors traded for Kawhi Leonard, backed out of the trade in the wake of his salary-cap circumvention scandal, yet are still in play to trade for him again. “It happens every year in the NBA. The [Oklahoma City] Thunder won the year before, and everybody loaded up to try to beat the Thunder,” said Kolek. “We win, it happens every single year. It’s a copycat league. Teams are trying to beat the best and compete with the best, so they do what they can.”
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Marc Stein: League sources tell @JakeLFischer and me that Kawhi Leonard joined Raptors players in Miami for the aforementioned mini-camp but to this point is restricted to individual workouts because his verbally agreed trade from the Clippers back to Toronto has not yet been made official.
Jake Fischer: En route to tape today’s @BleacherReport stream at 5pm ET. Kawhi Leonard, sources say, is in Miami among an organized minicamp of Raptors players. Toronto is waiting for Los Angeles to move forward with the agreed-upon trade that Leonard and the Raptors expect to be completed.
Eric Nehm: Personal update: After getting the opportunity to cover the Milwaukee Bucks for the last decade, I am moving to Miami for a new role covering the Miami Heat at @TheAthletic. Leaving Milwaukee is going to be incredibly difficult, but I am excited for the new opportunity.
Michael Scotto: The Miami Heat and Keshad Johnson have agreed to a two-way deal, league sources told @hoopshype . The former Slam Dunk Contest winner has spent the past two seasons in Miami.
Draymond Green Show: Draymond reacts to fans saying Klay Thompson couldn't be a number 1 option & Klay signing with the Heat "You mean to tell me if Klay Thompson left the Warriors, he couldn't be a number 1 option but Reggie Miller could?... Highly likely that after the 2019 playoffs, Klay Thompson was gonna leave the Warriors and go be a number 1 option somewhere, highly f**king likely and then he got hurt...When they said 'Klay going to Miami' and I was like 'oh that Heat culture thing' I don't know how that's gonna work... let's stop acting like 2017 Klay is going to Miami... I wish sports media would speak to it more like when Ray Allen went to Miami."
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Klay Thompson: "Miami was always on my mind. My agent and I approached Dallas with the buyout because things change a lot when I signed there in 2024. They were great in honoring our request and understanding that those things did happen and that I'm on the back end of things. They understood I wanted a chance to really make a deep postseason run. I'm not saying they won't do that, but I think just Miami was way better position for that. It wasn't too stressful though. I knew I always had a chance to end up here and I'm just happy it all worked out."
Heat Central: Klay Thompson on wearing number 11 again for the Heat: “Miami is a championship organization who created some of the best moments in NBA history and I look forward to being apart of more. What an honor to be here and to wear number 11 again is super special. I’ve had great success with that number so hopefully that will continue with my time in South Florida” (Via ESPN South Florida)
Heat Central: Klay Thompson on his redemption season and says Miami was a match made in heaven: “I just missed out on the postseason. I hate watching from home. You get FOMO watching all your coworkers just getting to chase their dreams and it’s not fun not making the playoffs. That’s all I want to do these next couple years. Have a chance to make a deep postseason run. So excited to be in Miami. They’re a very demanding organization but I love being in that ultra competitive atmosphere and this was a match made in heaven” (Via @Brendan_Tobin) 🔥
Heat Central: Klay Thompson says Miami was always on his mind when getting bought of by the Mavericks: “Miami was always on my mind…. They (Dallas) understood that I really wanted a chance to make a deep postseason run. Not saying they won’t do that but I think Miami was way better positioned for that. I knew I always had a chance of ending up here. I can’t wait to put on Heat gear and get to work. What a great opportunity especially at this point in my career to play with so much greatness around me” (Via @Brendan_Tobin)