Miami Heat Sign James Johnson, Kelly Olynyk and Dion Waiters

By Noriel See, Christian Post Contributor Friday, July 07, 2017

It seemed that the Miami Heat were only waiting to see if they could get Gordon Hayward before they started making moves.

According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, James Johnson has agreed to sign a four-year deal to stay with the Heat, and the Associated Press' Tim Reynolds has reported that the deal is worth over $60 million.

The 30-year-old forward had career highs in points (12.8), rebounds (4.9) and assists (3.6) in 76 games (five starts) with the Heat last season. He also shot a career-high 34.1 percent from beyond the arc.

Former Boston Celtics forward/center Kelly Olynyk has joined the Heat as well on a four-year, $50-million-plus deal, per Wojnarowski.

Olynyk played mostly as a reserve for the Celtics for four seasons, but he's a key player for the team because of his ability to knock down threes and cause matchup problems with opposing centers. In 75 (six starts) games with the Celtics last season, Olynyk averaged 9.0 points, 4.8 rebounds and two assists per game. He also shot 51.2 percent from the floor and 35.4 percent from beyond the three-point line.

Hours before Olynyk signed, Wojnarowski also reported that the Heat and Dion Waiters have agreed to terms on a four-year, $52-million deal.

Similar to Johnson, Waiters has mentioned that he prefers to return and play with the Heat after his career year with Miami. He averaged 15.8 points, 3.3 rebounds and 4.3 rebounds in 46 (43 starts) last season. He also shot a respectable 39.4 percent from beyond the arc.

With the lineup they have assembled, the Heat are going to be contenders in the weakened Eastern Conference.

Meanwhile, Shams Charania of The Vertical has reported that the Heat are working on a deal to send Josh McRoberts, a second-round pick and cash considerations to the Dallas Mavericks to clear up some cap space. The Heat will get A.J. Hammons in return.