The inside scoop on Kai Jones, possible Miami Heat signing | Five on the Floor
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And now, today’s episode. luxurious heat nation. Yeah. Mercy go down the Five on the floor for my dogs. Where’s the thing? You can check the score. Hustle hard. Couple stars. kept the floor plan got all y’all seen the block stop one hand and pap trust is about have the guts we’re here to bring the heat up welcome to five on the floor a daily insider show on the Miami Heat and the NBA featuring Ethan Skolnick Greg Sander Alex Toledo Brady Hawk and others from the five reason sports network also make sure to subscribe to Off the Floor for the most heat anywhere where all right welcome back to five on the floor. Here’s today’s floor plan. I’m Ethan Skolnick. You can follow me at Ethan J. Skull again at Five Reason Sports and our man in the Bahamas. You always hear from him when the Heater in training camp in the Bahamas did this past year, Timothy Bane. And he was the guy who kind of let me know that the Kai Jones thing might happen. So, we’re going to get into that and we’ll get to the latest on it. Alex and I did an episode just kind of introducing everybody to him before we go forward. The circumstances here, the Miami Heat are over the luxury tax currently, but they don’t have to get under it if they want to avoid the repeater tax until the end of the season. So, they they could add more salary and then shave salary as they go. Another thing just to get into, we cleaned this up. I know Timmy, you cleaned this up and I know Anthony Chen cleaned it up afterwards that Kai Jones cannot cannot get a two-way. He he would have to be a standard contract. The Heat do have a two-way available right now. We thought that was going to go to Drew Smith. Uh but right now, that’s not an option for Kai Jones because after he was drafted, uh 19th overall, of course, didn’t really work out with Charlotte. There was an incident in 2023 that he asked for a trade. They let him go. He ended up with Philadelphia and their G-League team, played for the Clippers and for Dallas. Uh, but he has enough service time now where he cannot be a two-way. So, he would have to be a standard contract. The Heat could do that. They have a roster spot available if they wanted to. And of course, they are short in terms of big men or front court players in general. Right now, if Keller is going to start alongside Bamabio, then Nicole Joic is really the only guy they can sub in off the bench and have any confidence in. Uh Vlad Golden is a two-way uh didn’t really show a lot in summer league that would show that he’s ready to play right away. But let’s get to your background here a little bit and what’s going on with Kai right now. This is uh Tuesday afternoon. Originally, I know you had thought he was going to go to Nicaragua to train with the Bahamian national team which is playing in the America Cup, but he didn’t, right? He’s the Heat have kept him around. So what’s the latest on that? So just to give you some background, I was actually the first person to ever interview Kai in a basketball setting. Uh 2017 the NBA came down here for the basketballs and he was one of two um NBA players I mean basketball players the only guy and since then I’ve been following him went to his draft where everyone kind of knew he’s going to Charlotte but we kind of hoped he would went could go to the Spurs because of the better structure. It didn’t work out. um he asked for a trade in 2023, you know, so he did some things online to like make that happen a bit quicker and they released him instead. And it’s so funny if he didn’t sign that deal with the Sixers uh and the Clippers, he would still be 2A eligible, but he may also be out of the league because again that helped um rehab this image. Not to say there anything was going on, just the fact that you know, young kid making noise online. He did not who really wants to play for Shonets to be honest. Who wants to play there? Um, so Kai, the last time we had the SE qualifier, um, in two springs ago, Kai was our featured player. We played against Puerto Rico, and that that performance got him signed to the Clippers, you know. So, he kind of was about to do the same thing. Well, he is going to do the same thing in two weeks. He’s going to be the only NBA player for America roster. And the team left today for training camp Nicaraga for a week. Um, so I thought that was why he got um he got that quick record in yesterday, but he has informed the team that he’ll come on Friday. So he’s given he basically three and a half days to show the word. So um there was reports that he’s going to sign Italy and I thought that was a done deal, but he wants to stay in the league. You know, that’s that’s like the thing. You want to be in the NBA, you want to be being a pro is one thing, but playing in the NBA is something else. So he had I interviewed him a few weeks ago. is dead set on playing the NBA team. Um it’s no secret that um Miami is a 30 minute or less flight from NASA Bahamas where we’re from. So you know he his family would get to see him basically every weekend if they so wish you know. So I’m sure he just wants to play in the team but it’s you know I always like to tell people Miami like if you look up the charter like Behemians signed to make Miami it’s less so number two. So, it mean the world for us to have a behemoth playing 30 minutes away. Okay. So, more on this because uh as a basketball player, Alex got into this and he had some good moments in the 12 games he played in Dallas. Metrics were pretty good. The Mavericks were really beat up at that point. They needed to turn to somebody. He’s an athletic player. Um he kind of understood his role there and he filled it. I I don’t think anybody’s really questioning uh the athletic profile here like and that they need that because they do. They they need one more guy in there that they could trust for a few minutes at the very least. I mean, something happens to Bam or Kell, I don’t know what they’re doing in the front court because they they just don’t have a lot of options. Joic is not a five. Excuse me. Joic is a five. Yoic is not a five. Uh, and he’s probably going to be playing four with either of those two guys as he slides in. So, the athletic thing is not the issue, but you you’ve kind of downplayed the thing that happened in 2023. Are you’ve spent some time around him? Are are you because I assume the Heat have the Heat investigates. So, just to give you some background, like I said, he he was going on live and he was seem to be talking of his head, but um he said something very pertinent in my interview with him two weeks ago before he even got that deal with the Sixers because other teams felt the same way. He he had to go through a a program with the union, you know, he didn’t just get signed. He the the union made him go through a program to make sure everything was right and he finished that with flying colors and then he was able to sign with sites. So there’s no lingering whatever um thought was left in the 2023 incident the league made him forced him to they didn’t just then go to NBA team he was put through a program just shout out to the union he put went through a program I’d like to say that was February 2023 and that was what allowed him to go to six in the clippers so that that’s been dead past and buried you know um and he reminds me a lot of Derek Junks Jr. Um, in terms of he’s just a raw athlete. Like I think he would be the best athlete on the team if he’s signed. Like I I love B, but that boy you could literally just throw it up to the to the rim and he would get it. He plays hard. Like I said, with Dallas, he was shooting basically 89% from the floor like ridiculous. He was like I think like 52 or 65 something something like that. So um and he’s a short burst player. You’re not looking for him to come and play 30 minutes. You got 15 20 minutes. He’ll run the floor. He’ll play hard. But like you say, God forbid something happens to wear up um you you’re starting um what Simone at at center if he stays. I I don’t know who they’re starting. I they don’t they don’t really and and not only that you you’ve taken away at least in training camp and maybe for the start of the season one of Spo’s uh small ball four options which is Highmith is not in there either. So, they’re they’re really it’s funny because we talked about them sizing up and they are with Bam and Wear as starters, but then they don’t have a lot else. And I I just don’t I don’t I mean, Golden and Kai Jones could not be more opposite as basketball players. Um Golden is, you know, he’s he’s he’s rugged. Uh he’s a more traditional big. He’s got some touch inside, but don’t put him in space. I watched some of that in summer league. And this is a guy who is he’s like you said, he’s an athlete. I mean, they they would use him on some I mean, I I I wish their lobs would get better, but they would use him on some of that stuff that they would use wear with. He could come in, he could play a few minutes. I I see the attraction. They’ve also had more interest in these kind of I don’t want to say busted first round picks in recent years, right? They tried RJ Hampton. They tried Josh and he you have a team who could not have a center and he couldn’t get couldn’t get to play. Now, mind you, now he went to the G- League and every G- League since he got he was basically a star. He was averaging like 20 points. So we know the talent was there. But the issue is again 69 610 not that not that that large. So you is he a four and then you know league he’s shooting a lot. He’s trying to show that he has range. So the issue has been being put in roles that he should not be in you know. So again I we know that he turned um you know Dustin to go you know we imagine with a system with a structure. So again like you said he fits in the role of what they look for. Yep. Yeah. And we we’ll talk about more about it on the other side because I want to get into what you think is actually going to happen here. Uh and we’ll make some predictions here. Before we do, we want to mention one of our great new sponsors. That’s our friend Nette, excuse me, Nanette. The Align Training Method by Nette is offering a free 30inut virtual movement assessment. So, if you’ve been feeling tight in your hips, stiff in your spine, or your body’s out of alignment, check it out. It’s completely free. A 30 minute free 30 minute virtual movement assessment. This isn’t some generic workout plan. and you get a personalized breakdown of your posture, hip function, and movement patterns so you can train smarter, avoid injury, and move better overall. It’s great for anybody working through pain, coming back from injury, or just looking to reset their body mechanics. So, head to, and here’s the link, the vault training. That’s the vaultraining.online to book your session. This is where smarter movement begins. Okay, so let where’s the movement here now? They’ve kept him uh for a couple days to to sort of evaluate him and make a decision. And I Heat fans who are like, “Oh, they’re going to go in deeper into this they’re not going to go deeper into the tax for an unproven player.” Again, they can work their way out of it. They got a whole season to do that. They’ve done that before. I mean, if they they made a trade at the deadline that moved off Rosier, they’d probably take back less money in the deal and that would end up solving the problem. There’s a lot of different ways for them to do this. uh as you said he doesn’t really he told you and I know you did an interview with him about music and off the court and other some of his other interests but his basketball interest is to play here 100% he he did not want a two-way and he’s happy he’s not eligible for one he does he doesn’t necessarily want to go to Europe but again he wants to play ball he is dead set singly focused on getting an NBA contract issue is timing right league starts before the NBA he has he has an offer in Italy He’s going to America Cup on Friday. He would like to when he finishes the tournament and hopefully we could finish once know with a a goal towards the Olympics. He wants to be able to go from America up knowing to where his next team is. He doesn’t want to go and have to then sit down and wait for a call. That’s why I feel like all these things came I think the reason why the Italy game um deal came out was to spur some of these in if you really want me to get me now before I go to the next side of the world. Right. So, it’s like, no, and I get it. And then the Heat jumped on it. They gave him the workout. And this is, as I said, they they’ve looked more at these first round pick types, Josh Christopher, RJ Hampton, in recent years, in addition to obviously the guys who fall through the cracks uh of of the draft. I I mean, typically when they keep a guy around this long and they’re doing the research on him, it’s with the intention to if not keep him now, then maybe bring him back later. I I think one thing they could be doing is gathering information here and then maybe he goes overseas. I I do you know the contract I know it’s Italy. Do you know if that is if there’s optouts in that? Not no idea as yet. So but my personal opinion this is not his role. I think I think at bare minimum he gets at least a training camp invite. He wouldn’t um skip three days of our training camp for a very important like this is a very important tournament. I don’t think he would blow them off for three days just to work out. I think at minimum he gets us a training camp invite just based on his conviction. Yeah. I mean, it’s kind of based on what I’m hearing, too. So, I I I think we’re in alignment on that. By the way, if you’re not familiar with how connected Tim Tim Timmy is here. First thing, check out his Instagram because he had you put up all the YouTube videos with Kai. But also, as I’ve said, you’re the only person in our network who says, “I’ll have to pod later because I’m spending some time with the prime minister.” I none of our other guys are doing typical Tuesday. Typical Tuesday. Typical Tuesday. I mean, even as powerful as Brady is, he’s not spending time with uh with the governor of Florida. Well, anyway, I I hope he doesn’t. Uh Timmy, appreciate it. Uh thank you very much. Again, we’ll keep uh posting your stuff on Off the Floor. If you sub to Off the Floor, you knew we were hinting at this about 10 days ago. Just had to be a little bit careful here about the way we did it. But now that it’s come out, um he’s your go-to guy on on things Kai Jones. All right. Again, check out uh the vault, excuse me, the vaulttraining.online and also prize picks. Use the code fi. I’m using a new camera here and it makes me look bright red. I that that’s been totally distracting. That’s I don’t I don’t know what that is. I’m a tomato. All right, have a good day everybody.
As Kai Jones stuck around in Miami a couple extra days to work out with the Heat, before he joins his national Bahamian team, Ethan Skolnick welcomes contributor Timothy Bain (who has known Jones for several years) to provide insight.
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