On this week’s Heat Check: Is it time to worry after the Miami Heat’s rough preseason? By Pierre Taylor
Precious Achiuwa’s first tenure with the Miami Heat was short, but the forward/center’s second tenure with the Heat was even shorter.
Instead of keeping Achiuwa on the roster for the start of the regular season, a league source told the Miami Herald that the Heat informed the 26-year-old Achiuwa following Friday’s preseason finale that it is waiving him before his contract starts to become guaranteed on opening night.
Achiuwa, who was selected by the Heat with the 20th overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft before being traded to the Toronto Raptors during the 2021 offseason, signed a nonguaranteed one-year deal to return to Miami on Sept. 24 in the wake of going unsigned for much of this past offseason. His contract, which comes with a $2.3 million cap hit, would have become fully guaranteed on Jan. 10.
But by waiving Achiuwa before the start of the regular season, the Heat falls back under the luxury tax threshold. The Heat is now $1.6 million below the luxury tax line.
This is important because the Heat does not intend to cross the luxury-tax threshold this season unless it’s to add an All-Star talent. After finishing as a luxury tax team in each of the past two seasons, the Heat wants to stay out of the luxury tax this season in order to avoid the onerous repeater tax that’s triggered when a team crosses the luxury-tax threshold in four straight seasons or four times during a five-season period.
Miami Heat forward Precious Achiuwa (8) dribbles up court as Head Coach Erik Spoelstra looks on during an NBA preseason game against the Milwaukee Bucks at Kaseya Center on October 6, 2025, in Miami. D.A. Varela dvarela@miamiherald.com
The Heat’s release of Achiuwa is one of a few roster moves it made following Friday night’s 141-125 preseason finale loss to the Memphis Grizzlies at Kaseya Center.
The Heat also waived guard Ethan Thompson, center Dain Dainja and guard Bez Mbeng from their Exhibit 10 contracts late Friday, according to a league source, with the intention of transitioning them to its G League affiliate (the Sioux Falls Skyforce) this season to continue developing them.
These roster moves haven’t been announced by the team yet as of Friday night, but are expected to be made official on Saturday.
NBA teams must cut their roster to a maximum total of 18 players (15 on standard contracts and three on two-way contracts) by the start of the regular season.
NBA teams have a 5 p.m. deadline on Monday to cut rosters to the regular-season maximum. But most of those moves actually need to be made by 5 p.m. Saturday because of the 48-hour waiver period.
Following these moves, the Heat’s roster is down to 14 players on standard contracts — one below the NBA regular-season limit of 15 players on standard deals.
The Heat also still has one player signed to an Exhibit 10 contract in guard Jahmir Young and one empty two-way contract slot. Young is expected to fill that open two-way contract roster spot ahead of Saturday’s deadline, according to a league source.
Young, a 6-foot and 185-pound guard, averaged nine points, 1.5 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.3 steals per game while shooting 44.8 percent from the field and 4 of 8 (50 percent) from three-point range in four appearances this preseason.
Young’s best skill is his scoring ability, as he set a Chicago Bulls summer league record with 37 points in a Las Vegas Summer League game this past offseason.
The 25-year-old Young, who went undrafted out of Maryland in 2024, closed last season on a two-way contract with the Bulls before being waived by Chicago in mid-July.
The two players who the Heat already has signed to two-way deals are forward Myron Gardner and center Vlad Goldin. The promotion of Young to a two-way contract would put the Heat at the league maximum of three two-way contract players at any one time.
Two-way contracts, which pay half the NBA rookie minimum and do not count toward the salary cap or luxury tax, allow for players to be on their NBA team’s active list for as many as 50 regular-season games with other game action having to come in the G League. Two-way deals can be swapped out at any time and do not come with playoff eligibility.
The 14 players on track to enter this regular season signed by the Heat to standard contracts are Bam Adebayo, Simone Fontecchio, Tyler Herro, Kasparas Jakucionis, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Keshad Johnson, Nikola Jovic, Pelle Larsson, Davion Mitchell, Norman Powell, Terry Rozier, Dru Smith, Kel’el Ware and Andrew Wiggins.
NBA teams are allowed to carry 14 players on standard contracts — one below the NBA regular-season limit of 15 players on standard deals — during the regular season.
But by waiving Achiuwa ahead of opening night, the Heat is now in position to sign a player to fill that empty 15th spot on its standard roster for the rest of the regular season in early December without crossing the luxury tax line.
The release of Achiuwa comes after his quiet preseason, as he averaged 4.8 points and 5.3 rebounds in 11.7 minutes per game while shooting 41.2 percent from the field over his four exhibition appearances with the Heat this year. He did not play in the Heat’s preseason finale on Friday.
The Heat closed this preseason at 0-6 for just the second winless preseason in franchise history. The only other time the Heat went winless in the preseason was in 2007, when it followed that up with a dismal 15-67 regular season.
Next up for the Heat is a few days of practice before beginning the regular season on Wednesday against the Magic in Orlando.