NBA Notes: Heat, Nick Richards, Warriors, Dalen Terry, Hawks

Heat

The Heat didn’t sign Nick Richards to be a star. They signed him because sometimes you need a 6-foot-11 guy to rebound the basketball and stand near the rim.

As Amir Motameni of NBA on SI wrote, Richards fills one of Miami’s more obvious remaining needs after agreeing to a one-year contract.

The Heat already have an imposing frontcourt led by Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo, with Bobby Portis and Nikola Jovic also in the mix. But Richards gives coach Erik Spoelstra something different: an actual center who can handle some of the dirty work.

Richards averaged 5.8 points and 5.1 rebounds between the Suns and Bulls last season, though those numbers jumped to 9.4 points and 7.6 boards in 22.4 minutes after arriving in Chicago.

He won’t necessarily play every night. That’s sort of the point. Miami now has another option when it needs size, rebounding and rim protection, while allowing Adebayo and Jovic to spend less time wrestling with opposing centers.

After adding Klay Thompson for shooting, the Heat went the other direction with Richards. Sometimes roster building really can be that simple.

Warriors

The Warriors are adding another former first-round pick to the training-camp mix.

Golden State has signed wing Dalen Terry to an Exhibit 10 contract, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype and Luca Evans of the San Francisco Chronicle.

Terry, 24, was selected by the Bulls with the No. 18 overall pick in 2022 and spent last season with Chicago and Philadelphia, averaging 3.7 points.

As NBA on SI’s Joey Akeley noted, there’s not exactly an obvious path to the regular-season roster. Terry isn’t eligible for a two-way contract, and Golden State is operating against the second-apron hard cap.

So the most likely outcome is training camp followed by a stint with the Santa Cruz Warriors.

Then again, Exhibit 10 contracts exist for a reason. If Terry gives Golden State something to think about in camp, things can always change.

Hawks

Jonathan Kuminga is gone. Now the Hawks can turn their attention to figuring out who else is going.

Atlanta still has 17 players on standard contracts and needs to get to 15 before opening night, as Jackson Caudell of NBA on SI detailed.

Corey Kispert, Buddy Hield, Devin Carter, Mouhamed Gueye and Ryan Nembhard appear to be among the names worth watching.

There are complications with several of them. Carter can’t be traded until Aug. 30, while Nembhard becomes trade-eligible Sept. 19. Kispert has multiple years remaining on his contract, and Hield is due $9.6 million.

In other words, this isn’t necessarily as easy as picking two names and showing them the door.

The Hawks have time. Training camp is still weeks away, and roster moves tend to create other roster moves.

But with the Kuminga situation finally resolved, this is pretty much the last piece of Atlanta’s offseason business.