A youthful big man is joining the Sacramento Kings to compete for Domantas Sabonis’ backup position as an All-NBA center. Orlando Robinson, a former center for the Miami Heat, is joining the Kings on a one-year contract, a league source told The Sacramento Bee. After being left undrafted out of Fresno State in 2022, Robinson played for two seasons with Miami.
Robinson, 24, weighs 235 pounds and 6 feet 10 inches tall. During the course of two seasons, he played in 67 games for the Heat, averaging 10.9 minutes, 3.2 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 0.9 assists. Robinson made 51.6% of his field goals and 38.1% of his three-pointers. Robinson made an impression while playing for the Houston Rockets in the Las Vegas Summer League. He shot 59% from the field and averaged 14.2 points, 9.4 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and 1.0 steals.
Robinson averaged 12.2 points and 6.6 rebounds as a freshman at Fresno State in 2020–21, earning him a spot on the second team of the Mountain West Conference. As a sophomore in 2021–2022 he averaged 14.6 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 2.1 assists, which earned him a spot on the first team of the Mountain West. On a two-way contract, Robinson played for the Heat in 2022–2023 and split his time between Miami and the G League Sioux Falls Skyforce. Before the 2023–24 season, Robinson was signed by the Heat under a normal two-year contract. On July 7, he was waived and became an unrestricted free agent.
Pat Riley’s response to a query from a Heat rookie regarding HBO’s Winning Time.
To the dismay of Miami Heat supporters who were looking for a shakeup following a quick playoff exit against the Boston Celtics in this year’s first round, Pat Riley and the team haven’t made many moves thus far in the 2024 summer. The Heat have consistently shown that they are among the NBA’s most formidable teams and that they should never be taken lightly, but at a certain point, one has to question Riley’s level of commitment to victory given his refusal to surround Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo with a lot of elite talent.
Drafting big man Kel’el Ware out of Indiana in the first round of the draft was one of the Heat’s only noteworthy offseason moves this year. Ware recently shared a story about how he wasn’t afraid to ask Riley about his portrayal on the recent HBO series “Winning Time,” which discussed his time with the Los Angeles Lakers.
“I can’t recall every word, but yeah, he didn’t like it, nah, he didn’t like it,” Ware stated in reference to the Mike Miller and Udonis Haslem podcast on The OG.
Several people thought Adrien Brody’s portrayal of Riley in the series was a little awkward and insecure in comparison to Riley’s actual self-assured personality.
Ware talked of sensing Riley’s presence in the space as well.
While I wasn’t scared of him, Ware remarked, “Every time I looked at him, I was like, damn, that’s Pat Riley right here.”
Haslem continued, “He’s got that aura about him.”
Even if Pat Riley could still have charisma, it’s reasonable to question whether he’s in the appropriate frame of mind to lead a club successfully in the NBA today. The average watcher could not understand how much the Heat need a third star to complement Butler and Adebayo, but Riley has so far declined to make a trade for a significant player even though there appear to be many opportunities to do so.
In addition, Butler will soon turn 35, so it’s probable that his play could deteriorate even more than it did the previous season and that his injury history will worsen even more.
Miami presently appears to be at least a full tier below clubs like the New York Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers in the Eastern Conference, who are already a full tier below the defending champion Boston Celtics, despite Adebayo having established himself as one of the finest centers in the league.
Even while past performance has taught us not to write this Heat squad off, it’s becoming more and more difficult to do so.
