Miami Heat's Final Roster Spot: John Konchar as a Key Candidate
The Miami Heat didn’t just tweak around the edges this summer. They tore up the blueprint.
After limping to 10th in the Eastern Conference last season, Miami has reloaded with the kind of star power and depth that instantly changes the conversation. Giannis Antetokounmpo arrived in a blockbuster deal with the Milwaukee Bucks. Klay Thompson followed, bringing four championship rings and one of the most feared jump shots of his generation.
Bam Adebayo, Giannis and Klay in the same locker room. That’s not a retool. That’s a reset.
Now comes the quieter, but no less important, part of the build: the final roster spot.
Heat circle John Konchar as final-piece candidate
With most of the heavy lifting done and the payroll pressed up against the first apron, Miami still has one more decision to make. One more veteran, one more specialist, one more role player who can tilt a playoff series at the margins.
John Konchar has moved back into that frame.
NBA insider Brett Siegel reported that the Heat had “real trade interest” in Konchar when he was still with the Memphis Grizzlies, and that interest may not have faded. Miami sits roughly $2.5 million below its first-apron hard cap and has an open roster slot. Konchar, suddenly in flux after a series of moves, fits both the budget and the profile.
Konchar, 28, signed a three-year, $18.495 million contract with Memphis in 2024, an average of $6.165 million per season through 2026-27. He’s not a headline name, but he’s the type of player winning teams quietly covet: low-usage, versatile, and willing to do the connective work that doesn’t make highlight reels.
Last season, he averaged 4.4 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.1 assists. The shooting dip is the red flag — 28.3% from three — but the broader résumé still matters. Across his career, he’s a 34.9% shooter from deep, and his rebounding and playmaking from the wing give coaches flexibility.
That flexibility is why his name keeps resurfacing.
Konchar’s situation shifted when Shams Charania reported that the Minnesota Timberwolves were sending Josh Green and cash to the Utah Jazz for Cody Williams and Konchar. Minnesota’s plan, according to reports, was to waive and stretch Konchar’s guaranteed salary to open space for Jonathan Kuminga’s two-year, $12.4 million deal. Green’s $14.7 million number had to move; Konchar became collateral.
If Minnesota follows through, Konchar could hit the market as a free agent at the exact moment Miami is weighing how to use its last slot. A veteran, multi-position guard/wing who doesn’t need the ball and can rebound his position is exactly the sort of player Erik Spoelstra has maximized before.
The question is whether the Heat trust the career shooting sample or fear the recent slide.
A new frontcourt, a new identity
While Konchar’s future hangs in the balance, the rest of Miami’s depth chart already looks transformed.
Antetokounmpo gives Spoelstra another dominant interior force next to Adebayo, creating a front line that can overwhelm opponents physically and defensively. Bobby Portis arrives as the battle-tested big who can stretch the floor, bang on the glass and bring an edge that fits Miami’s culture.
Nick Richards adds something different again. Signed on a one-year, $3.1 million deal, the veteran center offers a more traditional look behind Adebayo. Last season, split between the Phoenix Suns and Chicago Bulls, Richards averaged 5.8 points and 5.1 rebounds. Over 305 career games, he’s at 7.1 points, 5.8 rebounds and 0.8 blocks in 17.6 minutes per night — steady backup-center production, the kind that often goes unnoticed until it’s missing.
Spoelstra can now toggle between styles. He can go big and bruising with Richards or Portis alongside one of his stars. He can lean into spacing, surround Giannis with shooters and let him carve up single coverage. He can slide Adebayo up or down the positional spectrum, knowing he has size behind him.
The perimeter has been rearmed to match.
Thompson, even after an uneven year with the Dallas Mavericks, still hit 38.3% from three. Portis, Andrew Wiggins, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Davion Mitchell all bring credible, and in some cases elite, three-point shooting. For a team that struggled to consistently stretch the floor last season, that’s a fundamental shift.
This is no longer a roster begging one or two players to create everything. It’s a group built to punish mistakes from every angle.
What Miami really needs from its last spot
That context shapes the Konchar conversation.
Miami no longer has to chase pure shooting with its final move; Thompson, Portis, Hardaway, Wiggins and Mitchell already cover that ground. What the Heat need is balance — someone who can blend size, toughness, secondary playmaking and defensive reliability without demanding touches.
Konchar checks many of those boxes. He rebounds well for his position. He moves the ball. He can guard multiple spots. He has shown enough shooting over his career to keep defenses honest, even if last season’s numbers give front offices pause.
If the Heat believe last year was an outlier, he becomes an ideal low-usage connector on a star-heavy team. If they worry the drop is a trend, they may turn to another veteran to fill that final seat.
Miami has rebuilt its core with headline names and bold moves. Now the focus narrows to the margins — to one roster spot, one role player, one more decision that could matter in May and June.
Does that last place go to a steady, all-around guard like Konchar, or does Spoelstra ask for something different as he chases another deep playoff run?
