Where Heat stands after NBA’s latest roster deadline. Martin playing through pain and more

The buzzer sounded on one of the NBA’s final roster deadlines of the season Monday, and the Miami Heat allowed it to pass without making any changes.

Monday was the final day for NBA teams to sign players to two-way contracts. With the Heat already at the three-player maximum for two-way deals with Jamal Cain, Cole Swider and Alondes Williams signed to such contracts, it did not make any changes in the days leading up to the deadline.

After opening the schedule with Cain, Swider and RJ Hampton on two-way contracts, the Heat’s only two-way move this season came when it waived Hampton to create room to sign Williams to a two-way deal on Feb. 9.

Another two-way change is still possible, though, even after Monday’s deadline.

That’s because while the Heat can’t add a new player on a two-way deal, it can still promote one of its current two-way contract players to a standard contract until the final day of the regular season. With two-way contracts not coming with playoff eligibility, this move would allow that player to compete in the playoffs.

But in order to make such a move, the Heat would need to waive a player from its 15-man roster to make room for that promotion because Miami is already at the 15-player maximum for standard contracts.

The obvious path would be to waive Dru Smith, who is out for the rest of the season after undergoing surgery on his right knee in late December, to make room for Cain, Swider or Williams to be promoted to a standard contract.

But the Heat has not yet parted ways with Smith, 26, because it values his skill set and prefers to keep him within its developmental system, although that could always change if a player who the team covets becomes available before the end of the regular season. Smith’s $2.1 million salary with the Heat for next season is non-guaranteed.

With two-way contracts limiting the amount of NBA games that players signed to such deals can be active for, here’s how many each of the Heat’s three-way contract players have remaining for the rest of the regular season: Entering Tuesday night’s matchup against the Detroit Pistons at Kaseya Center, Cain can be on the Heat’s active list for 19 more regular-season games, Swider can be on the active list for 23 more regular-season games and Williams can be on the active list for 13 more regular season games.

Cain and Williams are currently with the Heat’s G League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce. But Swider remains with the Heat for Tuesday’s game against the Pistons.

MARTIN READY TO PLAY

Despite receiving six stitches on a mouth laceration following Saturday’s home win over the Utah Jazz, Heat forward Caleb Martin will be available to play on Tuesday against the Pistons.

Martin left Saturday’s game with 2:11 left in the fourth quarter after teammate Jimmy Butler’s hand inadvertently hit him in the mouth. Martin was unable to speak to reporters after the win, getting dressed in the locker room with gauze in his mouth to help stop the bleeding.

But following Tuesday’s morning shootaround, he spoke to reporters about that unfortunate moment.

“It was tough, especially with two minutes left,” Martin said, sporting a swollen lip. “But I’ll be alright. It’s not my first time, it won’t be my last.”

Martin is also playing through a sprained left thumb he suffered during Thursday’s loss to the Nuggets in Denver.

But the Heat will be without Cain (G League), Tyler Herro (right foot medial tendinis), Kevin Love (right heel bruise), Josh Richardson (right shoulder dislocation), Smith (right knee surgery) and Williams (G League) against the Pistons.

WRIGHT’S FEAT

Point guard Delon Wright now has nine assists and zero turnovers as a member of the Heat and 91 and 11 for the season, one of the top two ratios in the league.

“Definitely aware” of those numbers, he said. “I really hate turning the ball over. I don’t know what it is about turnovers. I just really hate them.”

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra characterized Wright as “a smart, winning player. He fits right in.”

Among those who reached out to Wright after he played well as a starter in Sacramento last week: Former Heat wing Quentin Richardson, who in January suggested to Spoelstra and team president Pat Riley that they pursue Wright.

“I was thanking him for being one of the first people to put this in motion,” Wright said of Richardson.

Wright started in Terry Rozier’s absence in last week’s win at Sacramento, but played 17 minutes on Tuesday in Portland and three on Thursday in Denver. He did not play in Saturday’s win over the Jazz in Miami.

▪ Nuggets coach Mike Malone said Heat rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr. is “a really skilled player. High IQ... Hasn’t shot the three nearly as well as late. But [had the] 26 points in Sacramento. Crafty. For a rookie, he’s very mature.”

▪ The Heat drew praise from opponents throughout their Western road swing.

“They play with a lot of speed and poise on both ends of the floor. They’re really aggressive,” Denver center and defending Finals MVP Nikola Jokic said after the Nuggets’ 103-97 win. “They know what they’re doing and it’s hard to play against that team.”

After the Heat’s 121-110 win at Golden 1 Center, Sacramento guard De’Aaron Fox said “it’s like a running joke. Regardless of who Miami puts out there, it looks like that’s a team that played in the Finals or played together for a while.

“They have guys who do their job and they have guys who come out, regardless of how long they’ve been with the team, they play hard. So it’s just their continuity. They play hard. They understand what they need to do.”