BREAKING: Miami Heat plan to sign Kevin Love and Cody Zeller, per reports

The Heat add to a frontcourt that sorely needed depth.

Cody Zeller and Kevin Love both plan to sign with the Miami Heat this week, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported Sunday.

Love, 34, averaged 8.5 points and 6.8 rebounds, shooting 35.4 percent from 3-point range (4.8 attempts) and 88.9 percent from the free-throw line in 41 games this season. He and the Cleveland Cavaliers agreed to a buyout on Saturday, so he is expected to clear waivers on Monday.

Zeller has not played since last season, when he appeared in 27 games with the Portland Trail Blazers. He averaged 5.2 points and 4.6 rebounds in 13.1 minutes, and the 30-year-old’s posted averages of 8.5 points and 6.0 rebounds over his nine-year career. Miami held a workout for Zeller earlier this week.

The Heat, who had two open roster spots heading into Sunday, added to a frontcourt that desperately needs depth. They had one playoff-eligible big behind Bam Adebayo in Omer Yurtseven, who’s in the midst of recovering from an ankle injury he suffered in the preseason.

The terms of the contract Love and Zeller plan to sign — whether they’re sign the minimum (the most likely), bi-annual exception or the mid-level exception, all of which are available — have not yet been disclosed.

Assuming both deals get finalized on Monday, a minimum contract for both would warrant a ~$507K 2022-23 cap-hit; the subsequent cap-hit figures for the BAE and MLE would be ~$3.14M and ~3.07M, respectively.

When they’re fully healthy, the Heat can either start Love next to Adebayo or slot him as a stretch-4/5 off the bench; Miami possesses enough defense around Love and Zeller to make-up for any shortcomings they may have. Though Zeller, who’s not a natural floor spacer, works best as the presumptive backup-5, filling in the second-unit along with Caleb Martin (if he goes back to the bench), Haywood Highsmith and Max Strus, among others.

This is a breaking news story. Stay tuned for updates.