Erik Spoelstra’s ‘tough’ admission on Heat cutting Precious Achiuwa

As the Miami Heat surprisingly waived Precious Achiuwa before the opener on Wednesday against the Orlando Magic, it was one of the cuts made to get to the maximum number of players ahead of the start of the regular season. While the Heat went winless in the preseason, looking to change the tide in the regular season, head coach Erik Spoelstra spoke about the recent cuts.

Besides Achiuwa, Miami released Ethan Thompson, Dain Dainja, Bez Mbeng, and moved Jahmir Young to receive the final two-way contract. Achiuwa’s cut is no doubt a shocking move to some since he was a former first-round pick for Miami back in 2020 and after spending just the one season, Spoelstra and the forward expressed the challenge of reuiting and improving.

With the non-guaranteed contract for Achiuwa, Miami made the financial decision to cut their losses now as they are below the luxury tax threshold with the move. Spoelstra said after Sunday’s practice that the team releasing Achiuwa is “tough” due to the history.

“It is tough, especially because we spent time with him four years ago, it felt like we wanted to keep that going. But that’s just where we are right now with the roster. We’ll have to see what happens in the future,” Spoelstra said, via Heat Diehards on X, formerly Twitter.