A: It’s interesting, because it so often comes back to that in this space, regarding the Heat lacking a true, innate point guard. You could make that case with Terry Rozier, but in recent years he has played as more of a combo guard. Ditto with Tyler Herro. And, from there, you’re either looking at Dru Smith on his two-way deal (if he even keeps that deal), Josh Richardson more on the ball (if he even is in the rotation), or undrafted rookie camp hopefuls such as Isaiah Stevens or Zyon Pullin, neither of whom seem ready. Yes, we can talk ad nauseam about how Bam Adebayo, Jimmy Butler, Nikola Jovic and Jaime Jaquez Jr. all can handle. And I don’t disagree. But an innate point guard better tends to get the ball on time, on target, as Kyle Lowry did during the best of his times with the Heat. I’m not saying that bringing back Patty Mills or Delon Wright would have been an answer. But it still appears as if a void remains.

Q: Patty Mills was a Heat killer on and of the team. – Chark.

A: Well put, which means there will  be a chance he puts up a 30-burger on the Heat this season when they face the Jazz – just because. I will say that Patty Mills was a pleasure to have around and you cannot but help admire all he has done over the years with the Australian national team. His Heat tenure only was a cameo, but he left an impression.

Q: I think the in-season tournament is stupid, in my opinion. – Pipsy.

A: And you are not alone, especially if it would require a team such as the Heat to fly cross-country for four nights in Las Vegas in the middle of the schedule, while also having to make another pair of western swings during the season. So forget the courts, forget the NBA Cup, and just consider the four pool-play games for what they are, regular-season games that impact the standings. But it is incredible how the NBA hype machine can take over at times.

Although the 36-year-old veteran said he relished his brief stint with the Heat and had hoped for a reunion, the Heat’s position against the punitive second apron of the luxury tax effectively precluded a return.

Instead, Mills becomes the latest free agent to move on from the Heat in a summer where the Heat’s only veteran additions have been swingman Alec Burks on a minimum-scale standard contract and guard Josh Christopher on a two-way contract.

Of those who started the offseason as Heat free agents, only guard Alondes Williams remains unsigned.

Otherwise, moving on have been:

— Caleb Martin, on a $35 million, four-year contract with the Philadelphia 76ers.

— Mills, on the $3.3 million, one-year, minimum-scale contract with the Jazz reported Wednesday by ESPN.

— Delon Wright, on a $3 million, one-year, minimum-scale contract with the Milwaukee Bucks.

— Cole Swider, on a $2 million, one-year, non-guaranteed minimum-scale contract with the Indiana Pacers.

— Orlando Robinson, on a $2 million, one-year, minimum-scale contract with the Sacramento Kings that has a $500,000 guarantee.

— Jamal Cain, on a two-way contract with the New Orleans Pelicans.

Remaining with the Heat in free agency have been:

— Kevin Love, on an $8 million, two-year contract.

— Haywood Highsmith, on a $10.8 million, two-year contract.

— Thomas Bryant on a $2.8 million, one-year, minimum scale contract.

Added since the end of last season have been:

— Burks on a $3.3 million, one-year, minimum-scale contract.

— Christopher, on a two-way contact.

— Veteran guard Dru Smith, on a two-way contract.

— Undrafted forward Keshad Johnson, on a two-way contract.

— First-round pick Kel’el Ware, on a rookie-scale guaranteed contract.

— Second-round pick Pelle Larsson, on a rookie-scale guaranteed contract.

— Undrafted guard Isaiah Stevens, on an Exhibit 10 camp tryout contract.

—  Undrafted guard Zyon Pullin, on an Exhibit 10 camp tryout contract.

Continuing with the Heat under contracts that extended beyond this offseason are: Bam Adebayo, Jimmy Butler, Tyler Herro, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Nikola Jovic, Josh Richardson, Duncan Robinson and Terry Rozier.

That leaves the Heat with 19 players under contract for training camp, with teams allowed to carry a maximum of 21 during the preseason, before a mandatory reduction to no more than 15 under standard contract and three under two-way contract.

Because of the Heat’s position hard against the second luxury-tax apron, a position that would become extremely problematic to complete a trade during the upcoming season, the Heat are expected to begin 2024-25 with only 14 players under standard contract, as they did last season.

The Heat will hold their training-camp media day Sept. 30 at Kaseya Center before moving on to the Baha Mar resort in the Bahamas for training camp. The Heat will then hold their annual intrasquad preseason scrimmage Oct. 7 at Kaseya Center before opening their preseason schedule Oct. 8 on the road against the Charlotte Hornets.

The move of Mills to the Jazz leaves the Heat without either of the two late additions made last season on the buyout market during their playoff run, with Wright also added in the same time frame.

While Mills never was able to find his offensive game with the Heat, he had earned respect in the Heat locker room for his leadership.

Before leaving for the Olympics, Mills made a stop at the Heat’s youth camp at Cooper City High School, where he stressed a desire to return.

“I definitely hope so,” he said in June. “Look, I’ve really appreciated my time here at the Heat, and have really come to understand what this organization is really about. And I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it, as well as learning a lot of things at the same time. Who knows what’s going to happen? But I definitely tried to absorb as much as I could.”

Mills then reverted to his international best self for Australia in the Olympics, including a 26-point performance in a quarterfinal loss at the Paris Games to eventual bronze-medalist Serbia that included a basket over Nikola Jokic that forced overtime.

A: As alluded to, what will matter most to the Heat is best positioning themselves for playoff contention, not a banner to put hidden alongside those of division titles (or even over in Marino/Jordan corner of the rafters at Kaseya Center). But this team also needs to get off to a solid start to shake off concerns about regular-season indifference. So, in that regard, there is something to be said about competing in four conference games in November. And the NBA has made clear that it expects teams to at least talk a good game about the NBA Cup. So, in that regard, I’m sure Erik Spoelstra will do just that. But your point about creating the type of momentum that the Pacers created last season is reasonable. It clearly provided a spark for the Pacers. Then again, the Lakers won the event . . . and then crashed and burned. So there’s that, too.

Q: Hi, Ira. So you don’t think Tyler Herro, Terry Rozier, and Nikola Jovic can offer ample floor spacing in the starting unit? Seems to me that those three will not only provide the spacing needed in the starting unit, but also offer ballhandling and some penetration as well.  – Carlos, West Park.

A: But you otherwise could have the handling of two of those three and also the spacing of Duncan Robinson. While Terry Rozier and Nikola Jovic can make 3-point shots, I don’t think they present the type of gravity that shape shifts opposing defenses. Duncan Robinson, when on his game, can do just that.

Q: Why does politics play such an important role in deciding the starting lineup for Miami? What, do Pat Riley and Eric Spoelstra ask for a show of hands to see who is in the starting lineup? A head coach should be able to put the team he feels on the court to start the game and the second unit to come off the bench. Two years ago Tyler Herro won Sixth Man of the Year for coming off the bench and we made it to the NBA Finals. Duncan Robinson should start next to Tyler Herro, and Terry Rozier coming off the bench with the second unit. Are we just starting players based on how much money they make? –Barry, Deerfield Beach.

A: I don’t disagree. In fact, I favor Duncan Robinson in the first five. But the Heat paid a steep price for Terry Rozier by trading away what could be an unprotected first-round pick to the Hornets. If valued to that degree, then I would think he also would or should be valued as a starter. I’m still not sure that Tyler Herro as sixth man might not be the way to go. But then again, he’s earning a hefty check for a reserve. So there’s that, too.

As part of the NBA’s hype for its in-season tournament — this season in its second year fully sponsored as the Emirates NBA Cup — the league on Tuesday released the tournament pool-play schedules for each of the 30 teams.

For the Heat, the four games that will determine whether the team advances to the knockout rounds are Nov. 12 at the Detroit Pistons, Nov. 15 at the Indiana Pacers, Nov. 26 at home against the Milwaukee Bucks and Nov. 29 at home against the Toronto Raptors. Of those four, the game against the Bucks will be nationally televised on TNT.

All four of those games also will count as part of the 82-game regular-season schedule.

The full regular-season schedule will be announced Thursday at 3 p.m.

Based on results of the four pool-play games, the Heat either will advance to the knockout quarterfinal round of the tournament or instead return to regular-season scheduling.

Because of the uncertainty regarding the results of pool play, when the Heat’s regular-season schedule is announced, it will list only 80 games, with Dec. 10 through Dec. 17 left vacant.

During that span the Heat either will be involved in the tournament playoffs or revert to regular-season scheduling. For now, that will mean only 40 home games and 40 road games on the Heat regular-season schedule announced Thursday.

All games in the tournament will count in the regular-season standings except the championship game. The semifinal and championship games of the tournament will be in Las Vegas, on Dec. 14 and Dec. 17, respectively.

Because quarterfinal games of the tournament will be played on the home courts of higher-seeded teams, it is possible that some teams only play 40 home dates during the 82-game regular-season schedule.

The Heat did not qualify for the knockout rounds in the inaugural tournament last year won by the Los Angeles Lakers. That had the league then adding a home game against the Cleveland Cavaliers and road game against the Toronto Raptors to round out the Heat’s 2023-24 schedule, with those games not announced until December. Such games similarly would be added this December, based on the Heat’s results in pool play.

In order to maximize player participation in the tournament, none of the games in the event have been scheduled as part of back-to-back sets, with teams off both the day before and the day after the four pool-play games.

How the Emirates NBA Cup works:

Group Play: All 30 teams have been randomly drawn into groups of five within their conference. On Tuesdays and Fridays from Nov. 12 to Dec. 3 — known as “Cup Nights” — each team will play the other four teams in its group one time.

Who Advances: Eight teams will advance to the knockout rounds: the team with the best group-play record in each of the six groups and two “wild cards” — the team from each conference with the best group-play record that finished second in its group.

Tiebreakers: 1. Head-to-head record in group play. 2. Point differential in group play. 3.Total points in group play. 4. Record from the 2023-24 regular season. 5. Random draw (in unlikely scenario that two or more teams are still tied following the previous tiebreakers).

Knockout rounds: The eight teams will play single-elimination games, beginning with the quarterfinals (played in team markets on Dec. 10 and 11) and continuing in the semifinals and finals (played in Las Vegas on Dec. 14 and 17, respectively).

Prize pool: Last year, players on the winning team received $500,000 each, runners-up $200,000, losing semifinalists $100,000 and losing quarterfinalists $50,000. That pool will rise according to the percentage rise in this season’s salary cap.

Remaining scheduling: The 22 teams that do not qualify for the knockout rounds will play two regular-season games on off nights during the knockout rounds (Dec. 12 or 13 and Dec. 15 or 16). The four teams that lose in the quarterfinals will play a regular-season game on either Dec. 12, 13, 15 or 16.

Preseason schedule

Having previously released their three home preseason dates, the Heat this week announced their full exhibition schedule, with tickets already on sale:

Oct. 8 at Hornets, 7 p.m.;

Oct. 10 vs. Hawks, 7:30 p.m.;

Oct. 13 vs. Pelicans, 3:30 p.m.;

Oct. 15  vs. Spurs, 7:30 p.m.;

Oct. 18 at Grizzlies, 8 p.m.

A: I’m not sure I’m ready to compare at the moment, with all due respect, Duncan Robinson to Stephen Curry. But your point is appreciated, how a single 3-point shooter can dramatically impact a game, as Steph Curry did in the Olympic title game. The issue for the Heat is that other than starting Jimmy Butler at power forward – which I’m sure he would resist – starting Duncan would mean playing either Tyler Herro or Terry Rozier off the bench. So then you either would be playing one of your highest-paid players (Tyler) or a player you acquired at the cost of a valuable first-round pick (Terry) as sixth man. While that remains possible, the politics do matter in such an equation. All of that said, without Duncan Robinson’s presence, spacing again figures to be a considerable issue for the Heat, with all due respect to the efforts by Jimmy and Bam Adebayo to extend their ranges.

Q: Agreed, D-Wade was great. Easy transition to the analyst seat just as it was for his TV game show and TNT on Tuesday nights.  Will be interesting to see if Wade wants a full-time analyst gig.  Seems he likes his freedom to roam for his next adventure. – Douglas.

A: But Dwyane Wade was too good during the Olympics not to land in a prime analyst seat somewhere. I could perhaps see him on one of the once-a-week specially packaged games, be that on NBC or Prime in two seasons, when the new television packages kick in, sort of like the deal that Troy Aikman has on Monday Night Football or where Tom Brady is heading in his new NFL deal.

Q: Our Michael Beasley? Wow. – Pipsy.

A: Yes, headed to next weekend’s Big3 championship game in Boston, after hitting the game-winning 3-pointer on Sunday. And he’s going there with Mario Chalmers alongside as a teammate. Perhaps Olympic 3X3 in 2028? That would be super cool.

A: You are correct that there also is no gold for Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, who assisted Steve Kerr during Team USA’s run to men’s basketball gold at the Paris Olympics. But then you also have to consider the amount of coaches across the gamut, with every track star, for example, having their own coach and the same in many disciplines. Still, one would think that for team sports there would be an exception. But even then, it becomes a case of how one would classify assistant coaches or even the training staff. There will be, assuredly, ample commemoration from USA Basketball, as well as some form of recognition for Spoelstra from the Heat. What will endure is the emotion of that championship moment for Spoelstra, Bam Adebayo and the rest of Team USA on Saturday night in Paris. For now, Erik will have to settle for a trio of NBA championship rings as celebratory baubles, not even the type to flaunt those.

Q: Bronze-medal banner for Nikola Jovic? – Kevin, Lauderhill.

A: Nope. The Heat only honor Heat players who return from the Olympics with gold medals when it comes to banners at Kaseya Center. For example, there is no banner commemorating Dwyane Wade’s bronze from the 2004 Athens Games. But I would think the Heat in some way will commemorate Nikola Jovic’s bronze in Paris during some type of ceremony, perhaps the night that Bam Adebayo’s banner goes to the rafters this coming season for his gold in Paris.

Q: Dwyane Wade was great in Paris. – Paul.

A: Agree. His analysis at the Olympics was on par with his brilliance as a player. I cannot fathom a network, particularly with the impending new NBA television mix, not adding Dwyane Wade as a lead commentator. He was fantastic in Paris with his analysis, humility and humor.

A: For the same reason the Dolphins went through their motions against the Falcons – to get the type of read on the back end of the roster that otherwise might not be available when the focus in practices is on the leading men. As last season’s Heat injury-plagued run showed, there will be times when depth will be essential. The difference in the NBA is that only 21 can be on the preseason roster, with up to 18 eligible for the regular-season roster (when counting the allowable three two-way contracts). So unlike NFL exhibitions, when dozens of preseason players never will be heard from again, the NBA actually affords exhibition minutes for those who also will be on the final roster.

Q: Ira, my Instagram buddies tell me Jimmy Butler is having a really good time this summer.  In prior years during the offseason, he was in the gym with his trainer.  Should Heat fans be worried or maybe this is a welcome mental break giving Jimmy (all-or-nothing approach) more physical and mental capacity for the season? – Stuart, Miami.

A: When it comes to offseason tea leaves, social media is best avoided. Whether it’s Jimmy Butler draining threes, Tyler Herro bulking up or Nikola Jovic working through an ankle sprain, what is put out for public consumption is curated to the point of being meaningless. The beauty of the NBA is there is a full training camp and preseason to get a read on what is real and what is ruse. Seeing – in person – is believing. The difference now, with social media, is that offseason windows are being opened that lead to the type of conjecture that, frankly, is not worth the time.

Q: Ira, these Anthony Edwards rumors . . . – Steve.

A: No, let’s not go there. Now that the Donovan Mitchell speculation has ended the way so much other Heat conjecture has ended, how about a bit of a break until the balls start bouncing again?

Sparking Team USA in reserve, as he consistently had done over these past two weeks, Adebayo shared in the glory Saturday of a 98-87 victory over host France in the men’s basketball championship game, the Americans’ fifth straight Olympic gold medal.

With the Heat honoring those from the team who win Olympic gold with banners at Kaseya Center, Adebayo becomes the first player in the franchise’s 37 seasons with dual such honors, having also won gold at the pandemic-delayed 2021 Tokyo Games.

Sharing in Saturday’s gold was Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, who served as an assistant to Team USA coach Steve Kerr, whose other assistants were Los Angeles Clippers coach Tyronn Lue and Gonzaga coach Mark Few.

It hardly was the rout expected of the All-Star-laden Team USA roster, with France within 82-79 with 3 minutes to play, before Stephen Curry countered with a 3-pointer for an 85-79 Team USA lead. Another Curry 3-pointer gave Team USA a 90-81 lead, with a third making it 93-84, and a fourth making it 98-87.

“This is storybook stuff. But that’s what Steph does,” said Kerr, who coaches Curry with the Golden State Warriors.  “That’s storybook stuff.”

Curry closed with 24 points, shooting 8 of 12 on 3-pointers.

“This was a test,” Curry said. “Obviously France in their home building, they weren’t going to quit.

“Then the avalanche came. That was an unbelievable moment.”

Earlier in the day, Heat forward Nikola Jovic exited the Games with a bronze medal, with Serbia defeating Germany 93-83 for third place.

As for the championship game, even with France utilizing the dual size of 7-foot-4 Victor Wembanyama and 7-1 Rudy Gobert, Kerr opted to go without Adebayo in the first quarter, instead relying on the size of Joel Embiid and Anthony Davis.

Kerr stressed throughout the Games that the 40-minute international game clock, instead of the NBA’s 48 minutes, has limited his ability to fully employ his 12-player roster.

pic.twitter.com/6Z7UoZ1rvF

— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) August 10, 2024

Adebayo entered for the first time with 7:10 left in the second quarter and Team USA down 25-24.

Among Adebayo’s initial defensive assignments was defending Wembanyama, while yielding 7 inches in size.

Team USA outscored France by 11 with Adebayo on the court in his 6:05 stint in the second period, taking a 49-41 lead into halftime. Adebayo was forced to sit late in the second period with his second foul, with the international limit at five.

Adebayo then did not play in the third period, which ended with Team USA up 72-66.

With Anthony Davis thriving off the bench, Adebayo did not return in the second half until 6:29 remained in the fourth quarter and Team USA up 80-70, otherwise sitting alongside Embiid at the end of the Team USA bench.  Adebayo closed with two points and two rebounds in 9:02.

Not only did Adebayo have to wait his turn as 10th man, but Tyrese Haliburton and Derrick White were out of Saturday’s rotation, with Jayson Tatum back in the mix after being held out of the two Olympic victories over Serbia.

As Adebayo played off the bench for the sixth time in as many appearances in the Games, Team USA on Saturday opened with  Embiid, Curry, LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Devin Booker.

Bronze for Jovic

In the bronze-medal game played earlier in the day, Jovic played only 2:22, as his limited Olympics role continued in the wake of missing one game during the Games due to an illness and arriving recovering from an ankle sprain sustained during a Heat workout in June at Kaseya Center.

Jovic’s lone stat Saturday was a second-period defensive rebound, playing without attempting a shot.

Nonetheless, the bronze was the second consecutive medal for the Heat’s No. 27 pick in 2022, after the 6-foot-10 big man shared in Serbia’s silver medal at last summer’s World Cup in The Philippines.

Serbia on Saturday was paced by the triple-double of Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, who closed with 19 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists.

But for the Heat, an argument could be made that this is the rare counter to the adage of falling behind if you’re not moving forward.

In this case, opposites not only can be true, but seemingly are.

With the offseason free-agency loss of Caleb Martin, the Heat roster arguably is not as strong as what Erik Spoelstra coached up at season’s end.

But the Heat also seemingly can be no worse off in the Eastern Conference standings than where they finished last season.

It’s actually simple math.

In the wake of last season’s eighth-place finish, the only way for the Heat to go south would be for one of the seven teams at the bottom of the conference consciously making an effort to ascend.

Of those bottom seven, no team appears poised — or seemingly even desirous — of making the type of climb the Orlando Magic made this past season, when they went from No. 13 in the East in 2022-23 to No. 5 in 2023-24.

Brooklyn and Washington, based on their offseason machinations, are in a clear race to the bottom in hopes of planting their Cooper Flagg at the top of the 2025 lottery, so the Nets sent Mikal Bridges to the Knicks for draft capital, the Wizards sent Deni Avdija to the Blazers.

Charlotte and Detroit face massive climbs after both finished last season 40 or more games below .500.

Toronto has torn it down to the studs with Pascal Siakam, OG Anunoby and Gary Trent Jr, among those departing.

And after the mire in mediocrity of the past two play-in seasons, Atlanta sold off Dejounte Murray for pennies on the dollar and Chicago allowed DeMar DeRozan to depart for essentially nothing in return.

To fall behind any of the Nets, Wizards, Pistons, Hornets, Raptors, Hawks or Bulls would mean the type of crash and burn unseen from the Heat in nearly two decades.

Even a midseason trade of Jimmy Butler if the contract situation gets sideways might not be enough to create a fall below No. 8.

Yes, there appears to be a hard ceiling for the Heat in the East, Boston intact from a championship season of dominance, with Philadelphia bolstered by Paul George and New York with Bridges. And it’s not as if the Bucks, with Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard, are going anywhere.

But there also appears to be a definitive Heat floor, one no worse than last season’s No. 8 in the standings or 2023’s No. 8 seed in the playoffs.

No, the Heat are not playing for the play-in, with — based on the way Heat culture works — that phrase likely to be banned from utterance at Kaseya Center.

But when you review the offseason work, and the relative lack thereof, one has to wonder if the way the East appears to set up that the Heat urgency was muted, knowing there couldn’t, or at least shouldn’t, be a freefall.

It is difficult envisioning  a team coached by Erik Spoelstra and fueled by Bam Adebayo, dipping to depths below No. 8, even if Jimmy Butler plans an early-season walkabout.

Last season, the Heat, who practically use Southeast Division banners as hand towels, saw the Magic make the leap to the top of the division. So, yes, teams can rise from the unexpected.

So perhaps Trae Young seizes control in Atlanta.

Perhaps Zach LaVine recognizes his only way out of Chicago is to step into a role of leadership.

Perhaps the kids  in Toronto, such as Scottie Barnes, Immanuel Quickly and RJ Barrett, will be alright.

Perhaps new coaches in Charlotte and Detroit will inject vitality.

(But Brooklyn and Washington have made clear it’s bottom or bust.)

So if the Heat merely take advantage solely of their opportunities against that not-so-magnificent seven, No. 8 seemingly is their floor, as they seek at least No. 6 to avoid the play-in round again.

No, the Heat did not necessarily get better this offseason.

But the reality also is they seemingly will emerge no worse for the wear when it comes to the standings. They practically can’t.

IN THE LANE

BACK AT IT: All things being equal, Gabe Vincent made clear a year ago that his preference in free agency would have been remaining with the Heat. But all things weren’t equal, with Vincent signing with the Los Angeles Lakers for $33 million over three years, after the Heat offered $34 million over four. A knee issue then limited Vincent to 11 games. Now, Vincent said in an interview with a Sacramento television station, there is a sense of renewal. “It was a frustrating year trying to battle through that and obviously having to give in eventually and have surgery and then return at the tail end of the year,” said Vincent, who helped lead the Heat to the 2023 NBA Finals. “But definitely had some time this offseason to get healthy and looking forward to the year.” Vincent’s restart will come under new Lakers coach JJ Redick. “We have a new staff now and I’m feeling healthy, so we’re looking forward to the year,” said Vincent, who missed both Lakers’ matchups against the Heat last season due to the knee issue.

MOVING ON: A key emergency pickup by the Heat during the pandemic in 2021, Kyle Guy, at 26, is moving from his playing career to serve as athlete development mentor/special assistant at his alma mater, the University of Virginia. Guy, with his outside shooting, was a key component in keeping the Heat afloat in 2021-22 as Covid ravaged the roster, eventually earning a two-way contract. His season with the Heat was followed by time with the Cleveland Cavaliers’ G League team and then stints in Spain and Greece. “This was not an easy decision for me,” Guy said in a statement upon his appointment, “But knowing how much love I have for this culture and community made it very clear where I should be with my family.” Guy was signed by the Heat on Dec. 30, 2021, at a point the Heat lacked enough players to field the minimum eight required.  Also added in that flurry were Haywood Highsmith, Nik Stauskas, Mario Chalmers, Chris Silva and Aric Holman. Guy eventually received the two-way contract previously held by Marcus Garrett, later waived in favor of Mychal Mulder. Silva, meanwhile, has signed to play next season in Israel.

GIVING BACK: Heat forward Haywood Highsmith said representing the team at Thursday’s back-to-school shopping spree at a Miami Target store was particularly meaningful, based on his own upbringing. “I know around this time it gets tough sometimes for different families as far as trying to get the supplies they need for their children to have a successful school year, academically, athletically, so stuff like this can go a long way helping,” he said of the event that presented 10 students with $500 gift cards in conjunction with Girls, Inc. and Project UP-START. “I was excited to get the school year started. It’s a new school year, new teachers, new friends, and being excited just to get back to school.” Girls, Inc. of Greater Miami provides free after-school programs with mentoring, research-based activities, and an environment to help girls graduate high school and pursue careers in STEM. Project UP-START, under Miami-Dade’s Title I Administration, helps identify, enroll, and support students in unstable housing to ensure their academic success. Highsmith joked that he also appreciated the back-to-school fashion element. “First-day-of-school fit,” he said, “has got to be fire.”

TWO-MAN GAME: Able to find only a non-guaranteed minimum-scale deal with the Indiana Pacers after a solid summer league with the Heat. Cole Swider‘s prime competition for a final roster spot in Indiana appears to be forward Kendall Brown who also is on a non-guaranteed deal. Brown, a 2022 second-round pick out of Baylor, started last season on a Pacers two-way contract but had it converted to a standard deal in March. The Pacers have 14 players under guaranteed contract, with the regular-season roster limit at 15.

END GAME: Turning 37 this coming week, Patty Mills acknowledged that Australia’s overtime loss to Serbia in the Olympic quarterfinals likely was his last international go-round. “Through the happy tears and sad tears, it’s been an incredible journey,” said the Heat free-agent guard. Said Australia teammate Josh Giddey, the Chicago Bulls guard, “He deserved better.” Mills said last month during a visit to the Heat’s youth camp in Cooper City that he hopes to play in the NBA next season. The Heat currently lack the financial wherewithal under the luxury-tax apron for such a reunion.

NUMBER

$500,000. Guarantee in minimum-scale contract extended by the Sacramento Kings to former Heat center Orlando Robinson. The Heat bypassed guaranteeing Robinson’s contract at their July 15 deadline, making him a free agent. Robinson earned $1.8 million last season with the Heat, with his Kings salary for 2024-25 at $2.1 million in total.

A: I hardly would consider it a sign of disrespect that a team that finished in eighth place and won a single playoff game isn’t playing on Christmas. The Heat got their shot last year against the 76ers when coming off their 2023 NBA Finals appearance. The reality is that this is not a particularly sexy roster, and there seemingly is no guarantee when their leading man is going to play. As it is, Jimmy Butler missed last season’s Christmas victory over Philadelphia. I would not expect very much Heat on national television when the schedule comes out. While Bam Adebayo is an Olympian and an All-Star, it’s not as if the NBA is pushing the sales of Adebayo jerseys. Respect is earned. The Heat will need to earn it again when it comes to the national stage.

Q: Ira, I keep hearing on TV about how international basketball is more physical than NBA basketball. Can you explain that and give examples of how it is more physical? Also, is it that difficult for the NBA players to adjust their game?  –Rich, Plantation

A: Basically, off the ball, anything goes internationally, the type of wrestling for position that the NBA has legislated out of its league. The nuance is to recognize the difference going uncalled away from the ball and appreciating that it will be called on the ball. There also is a shorter 3-point line, which requires an element of adjustment, as Stephen Curry seems to have worked through.

Q: Are NBA scouts fixated more on what players “can’t do vs what they can do?” Pre-draft, the line on Jimmy Butler was not enough length, athleticism or shot making. Draymond Green, a ‘tweener without a position. Devin Booker had short arms, marginal athleticism and wasn’t enough of a shot creator. Bam Adebayo another ‘tweener who lacked the face-up skills to play the four. Jalen Brunson had limited upside because he lacked size and athleticism. These have all turned out to be stars and superstars in the NBA. – Rodney.

A: Which is where I think the Heat have thrived in the process, pushing past the concerns such as Bam Adebayo’s perceived lack of offense, Tyler Herro’s short arms or even the current questions about Kel’el Ware’s motor. When you are not a team drafting at the top of the lottery, it becomes a case of molding the prospect into something more than perceived, as the Heat largely have done.