Heat add Nassir Little in unanticipated move to 15th standard contract

MIAMI — Instead of remaining at 14 players under standard contract for training camp, a total that had been expected due to the team’s position hard against the highly punitive second apron of the NBA luxury tax, the Miami Heat have reached agreement with forward Nassir Little on such a deal, the South Florida Sun Sentinel has confirmed.

Ineligible for a two-way contract due to his five seasons of NBA tenure, the agreement with the No. 25 pick in the 2019 NBA draft out of North Carolina is believed to be a non-guaranteed one-year contract for the veteran minimum.

While a seasonlong agreement with Little would put the Heat above the second apron of the luxury tax, the prorated daily rate of such a contract initially would keep the Heat below that apron even if they open the season with the league-maximum of 15 players on standard deals.

The 14 other players under standard contract to the Heat all are fully guaranteed for the season: Bam Adebayo, Thomas Bryant, Alec Burks, Jimmy Butler, Tyler Herro, Haywood Highsmith, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Nikola Jovic, Pelle Larsson, Kevin Love, Josh Richardson, Duncan Robinson, Terry Rozier, and Kel’el Ware.

When factoring in Little, two-way contract holders Josh Christopher, Keshad Johnson and Dru Smith, as well as camp tryout prospects Isaiah Stevens and Jacob Pullin, it puts the Heat at 20 players under contract for training camp, one below the NBA offseason maximum.

The Heat open training camp next Tuesday at the Baha Mar resort in the Bahamas, after Monday’s media day at Kaseya Center.

After playing his first four NBA seasons with the Portland Trail Blazers, Little spent last season with the Phoenix Suns, after he was acquired Sept. 27, 2023 in the three-team blockbuster trade that sent Damian Lillard from the Trail Blazers to the Milwaukee Bucks. Little then was waived last month by the Suns in a cap-saving move, while still completing the four-year, $28 million extension he signed with Portland in October 2022.

A native of Pensacola, Little, 24, played his scholastic ball in Orlando.

Little is an athletic wing with solid two-point ability, but who has struggled with his shooting from distance.