Day 2 free agency tracker: Lillard requests trade. Heat adds Bryant, promotes Robinson, loses Strus

Free agent negotiations around the NBA were allowed to begin Friday at 6 p.m. and the Heat’s roster already looks a little different. What will happen on Saturday? Updates will be posted here throughout Day 2:

9 p.m.: The Heat announced the signings of Dru Smith and Jamaree Bouyea to their new two-way deals.

Also, the Heat will promote developmental center Orlando Robinson to a standard NBA contract at a minimum salary to make him part of its 15-man roster for next season. The 22-year-old Robinson, who went undrafted last year out of Fresno State, closed this past season on a two-way deal with the Heat.

With Robinson signing a standard contract, the Heat’s 15-man roster for next season is up to 13 players. Two of the Heat’s three two-way contract slots are now occupied.

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6 p.m.: The Heat will sign guards Dru Smith and Jamaree Bouyea to two-way contracts, according to a league source. This means two of Miami’s three two-way contract slots are now occupied.

Players on two-way contracts can be replaced at any time, so this does not assure that they’ll be on two-way contracts when the regular season begins.

Center Orlando Robinson and forward Jamal Cain, who closed this past season as the Heat’s two two-way contract players, are restricted free agents after Miami extended qualifying offers to them a few days ago. The Heat could bring Cain and/or Robinson back on either a standard or two-way contract.

In addition, the Heat announced the signing of first-round pick Jaime Jaquez Jr. This news makes it less likely that Jaquez will be included in a potential Damian Lillard trade since Jaquez can’t be traded for 30 days after signing his rookie contract.

Jaquez’ four-year rookie scale contract is projected to be worth about $17 million (120 percent of the rookie scale amount, which is standard). He’s scheduled to make $3.5 million this upcoming season, $3.7 million in 2024-25, $3.9 million in 2025-26 and $5.9 million in 2026-27, and the third and fourth seasons are teams options in rookie deals.

1:30 p.m.: The Heat upgraded at backup center on Saturday, agreeing to terms with veteran Thomas Bryant on a two-year, $5.6 million deal.

Bryant averaged 9.8 points and 5.7 rebounds in 59 games and 26 starts for Denver and the Lakers last season. He shot 62.3 percent from the field (230 for 369) and 44.1 percent on threes (26 for 59).

The 6-10 Bryant has averaged 10.1 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.0 blocks in six seasons, averaging 19.7 minutes per game. Bryant has played for the Lakers twice (beginning his career there), Washington and Denver and 134 of his 229 NBA appearances have been as a starter.

He has shooting range, having converted 36.6 percent of his threes in his career (118 for 322).

Bryant, 25, was selected 42nd overall by Utah, out of Indiana, in 2017 but immediately traded to the Lakers. Washington claimed him off waivers in 2018 and gave him a three-year, $25 million contract a year later.

He signed with the Lakers last July and was traded to Denver in February. He made only one appearance in Denver’s playoff run, logging 29 seconds in the Nuggets’ Game 3 NBA Finals win at Miami.

With the addition of Bryant, the Heat now has 12 players. Some will be headed to Portland if the Heat completes a deal for Damian Lillard, who has asked the Blazers to trade him to Miami.

Noon: Star guard Damian Lillard has formally requested a trade from the Portland Trail Blazers, according to multiple reports.

While the Miami Heat and Brooklyn Nets have been mentioned as leading contenders to land Lillard, the Heat is his preferred trade destination, a league source told the Miami Herald.

The Heat is expected to aggressively pursue the seven-time All-Star.

According to ESPN, the Trail Blazers are expected to accommodate Lillard following his trade request.

Lillard, 32, averaged a career-high 32.2 points per game while shooting 46.3 percent from the field and 37.1 percent from three-point range in 58 games last season. The Trail Blazers still finished with the NBA’s fifth-worst regular-season record at 33-49.

Lillard is under contract for the next four seasons. He’s due $45.6 million this upcoming season.

Here’s what to know about what the Heat can offer the Trail Blazers for Lillard ...

9:30 a.m.: What’s the draft compensation the Miami Heat sent to the Oklahoma City Thunder to trade Victor Oladipo’s $9.5 million salary into the Thunder’s cap space on Thursday night? Two second-round picks.

The lottery protections remain on the 2025 first-round pick that the Heat owes to the Thunder, which means Miami is still currently only eligible to trade unprotected first-round selections in 2028 and 2030.

9:20 a.m.: Max Strus is leaving the Heat for a nice payday, as he’ll sign a four-year contract worth $63 million to join the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Strus landed with the Cavaliers through a three-team sign-and-trade transaction that also involved the San Antonio Spurs. The Heat acquired a future second-round pick and a trade exception that’s estimated to be worth about $7.3 million as part of the sign-and-trade, according to a league source.

In the opening hours of free agency, the Heat has now lost two players who started during this past season’s playoff run to the NBA Finals in Gabe Vincent and Strus.

8:30 a.m.: The opening day of free agency was an eventful one.

▪ Guard Gabe Vincent will not return to the Heat, agreeing to join the Los Angeles Lakers on a three-year contract worth $33 million, a league source confirmed to the Miami Herald.

▪ The Heat is still waiting for a resolution on free-agent forward Max Strus. Entering free agency, Strus was not expected to return to the Heat. The Cleveland Cavaliers are considered a potential landing spot.

▪ The Heat agreed to bring back guard Josh Richardson for a second stint with the organization and also retained forward Kevin Love in free agency.

▪ The Heat traded injured guard Victor Oladipo’s expiring $9.5 million salary into the Oklahoma City Thunder’s cap space. The Heat took nothing back in the deal, which allowed Miami to open a roster spot, shed $9.5 million in salary and create a trade exception worth about $9.5 million. The Heat also sent undisclosed draft compensation to the Thunder as part of the trade.

The Heat’s current salary-cap breakdown for next season now includes Jimmy Butler ($45.2 million), Bam Adebayo ($32.6 million), Kyle Lowry ($29.7 million), Tyler Herro ($27 million), Duncan Robinson ($18.2 million), Caleb Martin ($6.8 million), Love ($3.7 million), Jaime Jaquez Jr. ($3.5 million), Nikola Jovic ($2.4 million), Richardson ($2 million cap hit despite higher actual salary), and Haywood Highsmith ($1.9 million nonguaranteed salary).

Not including cap holds, the Heat has about $175.5 million committed to salaries for 11 players, including “unlikely to be earned incentives” that raise Herro’s cap number for this upcoming season to $29.5 million.

With the 2023-24 salary cap set at $136 million, the luxury tax at $165.2 million, the first tax apron at $172.3 million and the second tax apron at $182.7 million, the Heat is well above the luxury-tax threshold and is close to crossing the newly instituted and punitive second apron with roster spots still to fill for next season.

This means the Heat doesn’t have cap space and likely won’t have the $5 million taxpayer mid-level exception to fill out its roster. The new CBA penalizes teams above the second apron, which Miami is on track to approach and possible exceed when it fills out its roster, by not allowing them to use a mid-level exception.

The Heat also isn’t in position to acquire an outside free agent through a sign-and-trade because such a move hard caps a team at $172 million — a line Miami is already beyond.

That means the only realistic way for the Heat to add outside talent this offseason is through a trade and/or with minimum contracts unless a move is made to change the salary-cap math.