Day 2 Free agency tracker: Heat sign Ware, loses Wright. And Cavs expect to keep Mitchell

The first day of NBA free agency on Sunday included a commitment from veteran Kevin Love to return to the Miami Heat. What does the second day of free agency have in store for the Heat?

What will happen on Day 2 of free agency on Monday? Updates will be posted here throughout the day.

11:55 p.m.: The Heat, late Monday night, signed first round pick Kel’El Ware to a four-year deal worth $20.5 million. His first-year salary is $4.2 million.

Under NBA rules, he cannot be traded for the next 30 days.

Ware, who was selected to the Big Ten All-Defensive Team, started all 30 games for Indiana last season and finished second in the Big 10 in both rebounds per game (9.9) and field goal percentage (58.6).

He averaged 15.9 points (12th in the conference) and 1.9 blocks (fifth in the conference) and shot 42.5 percent from three-point range and 63.4 percent from the foul line.

8:20 p.m.: The Heat announced the signing of guard Dru Smith, who returns for his fourth year in the team’s development program. Smith returns to the Heat on a two-way deal.

After already locking in Florida guard Zyon Pullin and Arizona forward Keshad Johnson to two-way contract agreements shortly after they both went undrafted last week, Smith fills the third and final two-way contract spot on the Heat’s roster.

Heat signs first-round pick Kel’el Ware, brings back familiar face Dru Smith on two-way deal

5 p.m.: The Heat’s hopes of landing Donovan Mitchell in a trade seemingly took a hit on Monday when Cavs management made clear that it expects their star guard to commit to the team longterm.

Mitchell, who could become a free agent in the summer of 2025, reportedly is expected to sign a four-year extension topping $200 million. The fact he hasn’t publicly agreed to the extension yet had created some questions about his intentions; he was eligible for the extension as soon as the NBA Finals ended but cannot sign it until Saturday.

But Cavaliers president of basketball operations Koby Altman indicated that Mitchell is “invested. He’s really invested in what we’re doing, and hopefully soon we’ll have more of a decisive answer on [a contract extension] for you. But he’s been great. He’s been super involved and super collaborative and very, very much pro-Cleveland.”

This past weekend, Altman and new Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson attended Mitchell’s “Spida Elite Camp” for young guards.

“We feel good about Donovan,” Altman said Monday during Atkinson’s introductory press conference. “He’s in a great space mentally. He’s healthy. He was out there with those young high school players, hooping in a really good space. Really enjoyed the fact that him and Kenny could sit down and talk about the future, talk about the team.”

Atkinson said: “We had a great sit down. We also have a little bit of East Coast, similar backgrounds. We didn’t grow up far from each other really, if you think about it. Right off the bat, felt a great connection. Talked about more personal stuff. Family, his family, my family. It was really a great get-to-know you session.”

The Cleveland Plain Dealer’s Chris Fedor wrote on Monday: “If Mitchell surprises everyone, including rival teams across the league, by turning down a new deal for the second straight summer, Cleveland would look into potential trades, hoping to recoup some assets. No one is expecting that outcome.”

2:40 p.m.: One of the biggest names on the free agent market is off the board, as Klay Thompson is reportedly joining the Dallas Mavericks on a three-year contract worth $50 million.

Thompson, 34, is moving to Dallas after spending the first 11 seasons of his NBA career with the Golden State Warriors.

With Thompson committing to the Mavericks, the top available free agents are LeBron James, DeMar DeRozan, Caleb Martin, Gary Trent Jr. and Buddy Hield, among others.

12:45 p.m. Guard Derrick White, who has tormented the Heat and other teams since the Celtics acquired him from the Spurs, will remain in the Heat’s path for years to come. Boston and White on Monday agreed to a four-year, $125.9 million extension, per ESPN.

White averaged 16.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and 4. 3 assists and shot 50 percent against the Heat last season. He also has had some good moments against Miami in recent postseasons.

12:20 p.m.: The first Heat player defection of the offseason happened at midday Monday, when Delon Wright agreed to a one-year, $3.3 million contract with Milwaukee, according to ESPN. That’s the veteran minimum for players in their 10th NBA season; Wright is entering his 10th season.

Wright, signed by Miami on Feb. 18, averaged 5.4 points and 2.6 assists in 14 games and one start, while averaging 20.4 minutes per game and shooting 39.4 percent from the field and 36.7 percent on three-pointers.

Wright, who began the season with Washington, had an incredible 37-to-3 assist to turnover ratio with the Heat. For the season, he finished with 119 assists and 14 turnovers.

The Heat will need to find another veteran backup point guard either with a minimum contract or via the trade market. Patty Mills remains an incumbent Heat option among free agents.

10:05 a.m.: While the Knicks added Mikal Bridges through a trade to upgrade their roster this offseason, they’re losing center Isaiah Hartenstein in free agency.

According to The Athletic’s Shams Charania, Hartenstein plans to sign a three-year, $87 million deal with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Hartenstein averaged 7.8 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.1 blocks per game in 75 regular-season appearances (49 starts) for the Knicks last regular season.

9:10 a.m.: Eastern Conference contenders continue to upgrade their rosters this offseason.

The Orlando Magic, which won the Southeast Division over the Heat last season, reportedly added three-and-D guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in free agency. Pope agreed to a three-year contract worth $66 million to join the Magic.

The Philadelphia 76ers reportedly landed nine-time All-Star Paul George on a four-year, $212 million maximum contract in free agency. George is teaming up with All-Stars Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey in Philadelphia.

These moves come days after the New York Knicks made a trade to acquire Mikal Bridges, adding Bridges to a talented roster that already includes Jalen Brunson, OG Anunoby, Julius Randle, Josh Hart and Donte DiVincenzo.

The defending NBA champion Boston Celtics haven’t made any big moves, but they are running it back with a roster widely considered to be the best in the league.

9 a.m.: The Heat enters Day 2 of free agency with 10 players on standard contracts for next season: Jimmy Butler ($48.8 million), Bam Adebayo ($34.8 million), Tyler Herro ($29 million), Terry Rozier ($24.9 million), Duncan Robinson ($19.4 million), Kel’el Ware ($4.2 million, contract not signed yet), Kevin Love ($3.8 million), Jaime Jaquez Jr. ($3.7 million), Josh Richardson ($3.1 million) and Nikola Jovic ($2.5 million).

This list does not include Orlando Robinson and Pelle Larsson, with the inclusion of those two players giving the Heat 12 players on standard contracts for next season depending on what the team opts to do with their deals.

The Heat’s salary cap situation limits what it can do to add outside free agents.

With the Heat entering free agency as a team on its way to surpassing the first apron, but expected to stay below the second apron, it currently only has the projected $5.2 million taxpayer midlevel exception and minimum contracts to offer outside free agents this offseason.

But using any part of the $5.2 taxpayer midlevel exception would hard cap the Heat at the second apron for the entire season.

With Love committing to return to Miami, that leaves eight players from the Heat’s season-ending roster who remain free agents: Thomas Bryant (unrestricted free agent), Jamal Cain (unrestricted free agent), Haywood Highsmith (unrestricted free agent), Caleb Martin (unrestricted free agent), Patty Mills (unrestricted free agent), Cole Swider (restricted free agent), Alondes Williams (restricted free agent) and Delon Wright (unrestricted free agent).