Over the last month or so, former Charlotte Hornets center Kai Jones saw his name get bounced around a lot in rumors connecting him to the Miami Heat. It was reported back in August that Jones worked out for the Heat, though Five Reasons Sports’ Greg Sylvander later claimed that the team wouldn’t go into the luxury tax to add him.
Sylvander’s colleague over at Five Reasons Sports Ethan J. Skolnick also reported last month that the Heat didn’t appear in any rush to bring on Jones or any other big for that matter. Fast forward to Monday, and Jones has opted to take his talents overseas, as he has agreed to a deal with Anadolu Efes of the EuroLeague.
Jones is joining the professional Turkish basketball team on a one-year deal after he logged 40 combined games with the Los Angeles Clippers and Dallas Mavericks in the 2024-25 regular season. He averaged 5.0 points and 3.1 rebounds per game on 79.8 percent shooting from the floor in his third NBA season.
With Jones off the open market, the Heat will have to pursue other options if they want to add another big man to the roster before the commencement of the new season. Precious Achiuwa is one center Miami has been linked to lately, and he’s among the more proven players at the position left on the market.
NBA champion Al Horford is technically the best center available, but it seems to be a matter of when rather than if he will sign with the Golden State Warriors this offseason.
Even if Horford wanted to sign with Miami, however, the Heat don’t have enough room to sign a 15th player to a standard contract and stay under the luxury tax. They’d have to wait until December to sign a player and remain under the tax unless they make another move to free up space.
All in all, with how Miami’s financial situation looks ahead of the 2025-26 campaign, it’s certainly not shocking that the Heat didn’t sign Jones and he left the NBA for an opportunity to play the sport overseas. With any luck, Jones will hone his game playing basketball internationally and play at the highest level again at some point.
