The Miami Heat needed to make some contractual decisions on Tuesday and took care of one when they waived Andre Dawkins.
This coming Saturday all remaining contracts in the NBA will become guaranteed. With the waiver period lasting 48 hours, the Heat needed to make decisions by Wednesday evening. Dawkins has played sparingly for Miami and the team apparently did not think it would be wise to guarantee his contract. This move also will open up a roster spot for a potential 10-day contract.
In addition to Dawkins, the Heat have decisions to make on Justin Hamilton, James Ennis and Hassan Whiteside. If all three remain on the roster and not on waivers after 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, their 2014-15 contracts will become guaranteed on Saturday.
Whiteside has stepped up and has become a integral part of Miami's rotation. He is unlikely to go anywhere. Ennis has not done much in his rookie season but he also has not had much of an opportunity. Miami will likely opt to guarantee his contract in order to retain Ennis' services for the future. Hamilton has missed nine games with a concussion but is expected back for Miami's next game.
Dawkins only played in four games for Miami this year and also spent time in the D-League with the Sioux Falls Skyforce. While in the D-League, Dawkins did a great job averaging 23.5 points per game in eight contests. He also played a lot more at that level averaging 36 minutes per game.
With the Heat, it was a different story in both time on the court and production. Dawkins only played 5.5 minutes per game on average in the NBA this year. In that short time, the 23-year old scored a total of three points. Dawkins attempted six shots from three-point range and made just one of them.
The Heat will continue the season on Thursday in Portland against the Trail Blazers.
