NBA Moves: Heat, Precious Achiuwa, Knicks, Garrison Mathews, Suns

Heat

Miami has made its final round of cuts and is promoting one of its young guards in the process.

The Heat waived big man Precious Achiuwa along with Ethan Thompson, Dain Dainja and Bez Mbeng, per Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald. All four were on non-guaranteed camp deals, meaning no money will remain on the books.

Achiuwa, 26, was the 20th overall pick by Miami in 2020 and has logged 320 NBA games with the Heat, Raptors and Knicks. The versatile 6-foot-8 forward averaged 7.6 points and 5.7 rebounds in 20 minutes per game across those five seasons.

Miami is expected to convert guard Jahmir Young’s Exhibit 10 contract into a two-way deal, per Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel.

The Maryland product averaged 21.7 points, 7.0 assists and 4.5 rebounds in the G League last year and was named to the All-Rookie Team after finishing third in Rookie of the Year voting.

Knicks

New York will waive sharpshooter Garrison Mathews ahead of Saturday’s deadline, according to Ian Begley of SNY.tv and Stefan Bondy of the New York Post.

The Knicks were impressed with Mathews’ preseason but are pressed against the second apron, limiting them to just one veteran minimum contract. Landry Shamet, long considered the frontrunner for that final spot, appears set to stay.

Mathews, 27, spent the past two-plus seasons in Atlanta and is expected to draw interest from other teams seeking shooting depth.

Suns

The Suns have decided to keep guard Jordan Goodwin on their regular-season roster, Shams Charania of ESPN reports.

Goodwin, 27 next week, averaged 5.6 points and 3.9 rebounds for the Lakers last season and impressed in preseason play for Phoenix, putting up 12.5 points on 46 percent shooting.

Known for his defense, Goodwin also spent part of the 2023–24 season with the Suns before being traded to Memphis.

To make room, Phoenix waived guards Jared Butler and David Duke Jr., per the team. Both had strong preseason showings but were caught in a numbers crunch. Duke’s Exhibit 10 deal makes him a likely candidate for the Valley Suns in the G League.

Phoenix then signed Brazilian forward Nathan Mariano and veteran Sean McDermott to Exhibit 10 deals, Keith Smith of Spotrac reported. Both are expected to be waived and join the G League affiliate as well.