Former Miami Heat Guard Reveals Players' Nightlife Habits Are Monitored

Miami is well-known for its extravagant nightlife.

The Miami Heat's management is also well aware and have supervised players' nightlife habits. Former Heat guard Tyler Johnson confirmed this during a recent podcast appearance.

"They say that that heat culture is not for everybody," Johnson said. "Playing for a guy like [Erik Spoelstra] is easy if you're a basketball junkie. So if you're a guy wants to come in and get better, it's really not that hard. You're gonna be in the gym and you're gonna be getting coached up by guys who had just went to the Finals four years in a row. You're in Miami so your distractions are there. If they're there, they're around. They walk by every day. So the problem is is you can get lost in that and if you do, like they're on it."

Johnson even boldly claimed the supervision from the Heat includes private investigators.

"They know exactly what you're doing," Johnson later added. "They got the P.I.s on you for sure."

Johnson played for the Heat from 2015 to 2019. He went undrafted in the 2014 NBA Draft before joining the Heat's then-D-League team, the Sioux Falls Skyforce. In Jan. 2015, he signed a ten-day contract. He played 32 games in his rookie season before carving out a consistent role off the bench as a scorer. Johnson signed a four-year contract extension worth $50 million in the 2016 offseason. He started most of his games throughout the 2017-18 season. Johnson last played for the Brisbane Bullets in Australia's National Basketball League.

FORMER HEAT COACH VAN GUNDY ON MORANT

The Miami Heat's six-game win streak was snapped Thursday night after a heartbreaking loss to the Memphis Grizzlies.

Ja Morant hit a buzzer-beating mid-range shot to hand the Heat their first loss since Mar. 21. However, even with this loss, the Heat secured a spot in the Play-In Tournament after a Bucks win.

During Thursday's game, former Heat coach and TNT sportscaster Stan Van Gundy criticized Morant's on-court behavior.

"Ja Morant [is] spending way too much of the night crying, talking about blaming his teammates, blaming the referees," Van Gundy said. "He simply needs to do a better job taking care of the ball and needs to be a lot more efficient."

Van Gundy was an assistant coach under Pat Riley from 1995 to 2003. He was promoted after Riley stepped away from the team. Under Van Gundy's reign from 2003 to 2005, the Heat had a 112-73 record along with playoff appearances in each season. He resigned 21 games into the 2005-06 season, leading to Riley's coaching return and a Miami Heat championship.

Morant is no stranger to controversy. This season, he has been under NBA review for multiple warnings over his finger gun gestures on the court. Morant has also been suspended twice after promoting violence on social media.

The Grizzlies fired coach Taylor Jenkins last week even with their standing in the Western Conference. Many believe Morant could be available in trade talks this summer with the growing dysfunction in Memphis. The Heat could be a team interested in acquiring the 2019 No. 2 overall pick.

HEAT HAVE TOUGH OFFSEASON AHEAD

The Miami Heat's disappointing regular season concludes next week.

The team holds the No. 9 seed in the Eastern Conference. That is good for a Play-In tournament appearance. However, the Heat were in the NBA Finals just two seasons ago. The Heat need to win out the remainder to finish with a .500 record. The last time the team finished below .500 was the 2018-19 season.

Moving Jimmy Butler to the Golden State Warriors at the trade deadline threw a wrench in the franchise's plans for the future. Bleacher Report believes the Heat have a somewhat difficult future ahead.

"Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro and rookie center Kel'el Ware give the Miami Heat a solid baseline off which to work moving forward," the article wrote. "But their draft-pick obligations demand chasing immediate highs, and they don't exactly have the assets or in-house upside to pull it off."

Over the past few seasons, Herro was floated in trade rumors, especially when the Heat were in the mix for All-Star guard Damian Lillard. This season, Herro has broken out, earning an All-Star nod. He is viewed as a building block for the future along with Adebayo and Ware.

"Point being: Miami doesn't have the freedom to rebuild, is light on tradeable firsts even after scooping up Golden State's for this year, and cannot carve out meaningful cap space until at least 2026," the article continued. "The Heat have limited capacity to shake things up, and the odds of dramatic internal improvement rest predominantly with Ware or Jaime Jaquez Jr. (to a lesser extent these days)."

The Heat have some money to work with this offseason after moving off Butler's contract. However, the 2026 offseason is crucial for the franchise as Terry Rozier and Duncan Robinson's expensive contracts expire.

Sean Jordan is a contributor to Miami Heat On Sports Illustrated. He can be reached at sjorda06@syr.edu.

Follow our coverage on Facebook

X: @SeanKJordan