Miami Heat sharpshooter Duncan Robinson addressed his NBA future earlier this week as he gears up for free agency. The 27-year-old could garner as much as $24 million per year on the open market, but he’s a restricted free agent so Miami can match any offer.
The Heat own his Bird rights so it’s just a matter of how much the franchise values arguably the best three-point shooter in the league. Robinson became the fastest player in NBA history to hit 500 career triples back in May while shooting 42.3% from beyond the arc in three seasons. He’s also made great strides to improve his all-around game, specifically at the defensive end of the floor.
Is that enough to earn him a lifetime beach pass in South Beach? That’s for Heat president Pat Riley to decide. But Robinson made no bones about his desire to stay put during a recent chat on the Long Shot Podcast. He has “loved his time in Miami.”
“I don’t give much information,” Robinson said, via the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. “But, I mean, it’s no secret that I’ve loved my time in Miami. And I’d love to try to make something work with Miami. The reality is, like, I tell this to my family, I don’t know how the next 10-plus days, two weeks, how it’s going to play out. At this point, and I’ve said this already on this podcast, but I think the biggest challenge has been detaching myself from a particular outcome.”
Robinson went on to say that tracking all the rumors has been “funny” to watch. He has no idea what the future holds, so to think someone else has a “crazy scoop” is insane.
“From where I’m sitting, I just find it funny when there’s so much speculation out there,” Robinson said, “but it’s speculation of something that is not real yet.”
The Athletic’s John Hollinger projects Duncan Robinson making $23,924,678 annually in free agency
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Riley Thinks Highly of Robinson, Tyler Herro
The reports at the trade deadline kept painting Duncan Robinson and Tyler Herro as virtually untouchable. Both players were considered a part of Miami’s “young core” and Riley kept their names out of trade conversations as much as possible. The savvy front-office executive doubled down on that thinking after the deadline passed, too. He gave away lesser assets like Kelly Olynyk and Avery Bradley to acquire Victor Oladipo. Robinson and Herro weren’t going anywhere.
Pat Riley knows that Duncan Robinson and Tyler Herro are going to be generational Heat players 🙌
“You can’t let go of those two assets, you can’t, because they could become truly great,” Riley told reporters on March 25, via Heat Nation. “They’re very, very good players right now, and I think they’re probably a year or two away from making what their early max could be from a production standpoint.
“So I’d hate to have that come back at us if we were to do something and try to move them. But we’re not going to. So from that standpoint, what happened today is you’re going to see Duncan, you’re going to see Tyler.”
Let’s see if that remains true once free agency begins on Aug. 2. Robinson is a restricted free agent and Herro’s name continues to pop up in offseason trade talks. Stay tuned.
Precious Achiuwa Proud to Represent Nigeria
Precious Achiuwa was the Heat’s top pick in the 2020 draft after the team took him 20th overall. Head coach Erik Spoelstra used him sparingly in his rookie year — 12.1 minutes per game — but the 6-foot-8 big man has been balling out for Team Nigeria in exhibition play for the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
The experience has opened eyes back in Miami as the Port Harcourt (Nigeria) native continues to make his home country proud.
“It’s big for me to have ‘Nigeria’ on my jersey,” Achiuwa told The Undefeated. “I’m the only NBA player on this team that was actually not only born in Nigeria, but grew up in Nigeria.”
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‘It’s No Secret’: Duncan Robinson Talks Miami Heat Future