The Miami Heat have not lost a game since rookie forward, Okaro White, has joined the team. While he may not exactly be the driving force behind the team’s season-best five straight wins, the Heat still like what they’ve seen thus far from White.
So much so, that on Friday morning, the Heat signed the Florida State University product to his second 10-day contract with the team. His first 10-day contract had expired on Thursday.
“It feels great,” said White at Friday morning’s shootaround. “Like I said, they have the faith in me and invested in me. It feels good to have a great organization invest in you. I’m ready to get the next 10 days started.”
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Each team is only allowed a maximum of two 10-day contracts per player, so by Monday, Feb. 6, Miami will have two options — they can either sign him to a contact for the remainder of the season or release him to free agency. Of the two scenarios, White is naturally aiming for the former, but he’s trying not to let the uncertainty of the situation become a distraction:
“I mean, yeah, it’s in the back of my head,” he said. “But I’ve got to take it one day at a time and one play at a time. So, you know, I try to not let the business side conflict with my basketball side.”
Since joining the team in mid-January, White has played meaningful minutes down the stretch in some big games for Miami. He played stern defense on Kevin Durant in the final quarter of the team’s win versus the Golden State Warriors, and had his best performance in the team’s Wednesday win against the Brooklyn Nets, when he scored 10 points, grabbed seven rebounds and tallied four blocks.
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