Miami Heat pick up Norris Cole contract option for 2014-15

The team announced Tuesday night that they have picked up the 2013-14 option on the 2011 first-round pick. The team had until Oct. 31 to make the decision, otherwise he would have become an unrestricted free agent in the offseason.

The Heat will face a similar decision next offseason on his 2014-15 option, with that decision due by Oct. 31, 2013. If that fourth-year option is picked up, Cole then would become a restricted free agent in the 2015 offseason.

The point guard out of Cleveland State appeared in 65 games with the Heat last season as a rookie, making two starts. He averaged 6.8 points, 2.0 assists and 1.4 rebounds in an average of 19.4 minutes.

Among 2011-12 rookies, he finished 17th in scoring average, tied for 11th in assists per game and eighth in free throw percentage, at.776. He appeared in 19 playoff games during the Heat's championship run, averaging 1.8 points in 8.9 minutes of action in those appearances.

Cole originally was drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves at No. 28 in 2011, with his rights then acquired by the Heat in a draft-night trade.