MIAMI — Facing limited payroll options for the upcoming season now that Giannis Antetokounmpo is being acquired from the Milwaukee Bucks, the Miami Heat on Wednesday essentially deferred a long-term decision on emerging 2024 second-round pick Pelle Larsson.
Positioned to handle Larsson’s next contract this offseason by bypassing their team option, the Heat instead picked up Larsson’s $2.3 million salary for next season, which will make him a restricted free agent in the 2027 offseason, if not extended in the interim.
Larsson is eligible for a four-year, $93 million extension, one that now would not impact his lower-cost standing against the 2026-27 payroll.
With the Heat sending out a significant amount of young talent in the trade for Antetokounmpo, Larsson stands as a prime component of the reworked roster, having emerged in his second season as a reliable bench boost and starter.
The Heat had a Monday deadline on Larsson’s team option, instead moving five days in advance.
The Heat also could have picked up Larsson’s $5.9 million qualifying offer for this season, thereby able to negotiate a new contract in free agency this summer.
Larsson appeared in 70 games last season, starting 54, He averaged 11.4 points, 3.5 rebounds, 3.4 assists in 26.4 minutes per game, shooting .496 from the field and .797 from the foul line. He scored in double-figures 41 times, including eight 20-point games and connected on multiple 3-pointers 18 times.
In 2025-26, Larsson finished third on the team in assists and free throws made and recorded multiple steals 12 times Additionally, he took 12 charges, tying for most on the team.
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra made clear at season’s end that Larsson was valued.
“Pelle had a massive jump just in terms of being the ultimate glue guy in any lineup,” Spoelstra said in the wake of the Heat’s 43-39 season and loss in the play-in opener, missing the playoffs for the first time in seven seasons. “But you can see how his offensive improvement came with confidence and the work behind the scenes.”
Larsson, taken in the second round in 2024 out of Arizona, said his second season heightened his perspective.
“Definitely a step up in my development,” the member of Sweden’s national team said. “And I think just getting more minutes, being on the court more and having more familiarity with everyone around here just made me comfortable to play the way I did.”
With more, he vowed, to come.
“I think I definitely have more to build on,” he said. “I don’t really see the whole season as one chapter. It’s kind of like gradually changing throughout the season, too. My first season, I didn’t play at all at the beginning. By the end, I really started to get into some flow, similar to this one.
“I think how I viewed my game at the end of the season was a lot different than how I viewed it in the beginning. I think it’s just going to gradually keep growing that way.”
Beyond the now-decided option decision on Larsson, the Heat has team-option or qualifying-offer decisions impending with Keshad Johnson and Dru Smith, as well as with 2025-26 two-way players Vlad Goldin and Trevor Keels. The Heat also are awaiting a player-option decision from forward Andrew Wiggins, with that deadline on Monday.
