Alec Burks breaks down decision to join Heat in free agency and how he can help

So far, the Miami Heat has added one new face to next season’s standard roster in free agency this year.

Meet guard Alec Burks.

Burks, who turns 33 on July 20, has already played for seven different teams in his first 13 NBA seasons. He joined his eighth different NBA team this offseason, signing with the Heat on a one-year veteran minimum contract worth about $3.3 million in free agency on Thursday.

“I’ve just admired the Heat culture from afar,” Burks said Monday during a Zoom call with reporters when asked about his decision to sign with the Heat. “I talked to [Heat coach Erik Spoelstra] right before I made my decision. We had a great conversation. I think that’s the real reason that I picked the team. I think I fit in. I think with what I bring, I can just be a role player and help out, help winning.”

While Miami has yet to make a significant addition in free agency this offseason, the signing of Burks should help a Heat team that finished with a bottom-10 offensive rating in each of the past two seasons.

Burks (6-foot-5 and 214 pounds) has shot an impressive 39.7 percent from three-point range on 4.8 three-point attempts per game during the past five regular seasons.

“Just my versatility,” Burks said of how he can help the Heat. “I feel like I can play a couple positions. Be able to shoot, space the floor for other guys to get in the paint. I think those two skills will help out a lot.”

While playing in a bench role for most of his NBA career, Burks has built a reputation as a quality reserve scorer. He began last season with the Detroit Pistons before being traded to the New York Knicks in February, averaging 10.4 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game while shooting 36.9 percent from the field and 37.6 percent on five three-point attempts per game in 66 appearances (one start) last regular season between the Pistons and Knicks.

Along with being a three-point threat, Burks is also effective at generating free throws. He has finished in the top-20 percentile among NBA guards in foul rate on shot attempts in each of the last three seasons, according to Cleaning The Glass.

Burks, who was drafted by the Utah Jazz with the 12th overall pick in 2011, scored 20 or more points in nine games and made five or more threes in seven games last season (including the playoffs).

“I think I can space the floor,” Burks said of how his game fits alongside the Heat’s leading trio of Bam Adebayo, Jimmy Butler and Tyler Herro. “All three of them are very elite. So I think I can just play my role and help out any way I can and just play off them.”

The Heat currently has 13 players on guaranteed standard contracts for this upcoming season — almost at the NBA regular-season limit of 15 players on standard deals: Butler, Adebayo, Herro, Terry Rozier, Duncan Robinson, Kel’el Ware, Kevin Love, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Josh Richardson , Nikola Jovic, Thomas Bryant, Burks, and Pelle Larsson.

Five players from the Heat’s season-ending roster remain free agents: Jamal Cain (unrestricted free agent), Haywood Highsmith (unrestricted free agent), Patty Mills (unrestricted free agent), Cole Swider (restricted free agent) and Alondes Williams (restricted free agent).

Aside from Burks, the only other new faces currently signed to standard contracts with the Heat for next season are Ware and Larsson, who were both added through this year’s NBA Draft. The Heat selected Ware with the 15th overall pick in the first round and Larsson with the 44th overall pick in the second round.

But even as a newcomer, Burks’ combination of experience and efficient three-point shooting makes him an intriguing option to immediately be plugged into a consistent role within the Heat’s rotation this upcoming season. If history is any indication, he will likely be used as a reserve after playing off the bench in 598 of his 742 regular-season appearances through the first 13 seasons of his NBA career prior to joining the Heat.

With Burks moving around so much during his playing career, he already has experience playing with two current Heat players. He played with Love as members of the Cleveland Cavaliers during the 2018-19 season and also played with Richardson as members of the Philadelphia 76ers during the 2019-20 season.

“I think that kind of comes with the game, the business sometimes,” Burks said of his long and winding NBA road to the Heat. “I have moved around a few times. Not by choice, but I just have because that’s the NBA sometimes. But it’s always kind of tough to move, especially with my family and my kids. But sometimes you just got to do it for the right situation.”