Josh Harrellson's 10-day contract expires at midnight tonight, and it will signal the end of his tenure with the team, according to Joseph Goodman of the Miami Herald, who tweets that the team will not give the second-year big man another 10-day deal. The same appears to be the case for Jarvis Varnado, who became a free agent today after the Heat failed to re-sign him to another deal when his 10-day contract ended last night.

Harrellson will explore other options that will net him more playing time, Goodman notes. He made the Heat out of training camp on a non-guaranteed deal before he was waived January 7th, and he returned January 10th on his 10-day pact. Still, the 6'10" University of Kentucky product appeared in just six games for a total of 31 minutes after averaging 14.6 minutes across 37 contests for the Knicks last year. New York let him go over the summer in the sign-and-trade deal that brought Marcus Camby to the Knicks, and the Rockets waived Harrellson shortly thereafter.

The Heat are set to have 13 players on their roster once Harrellson's deal is finished tonight, giving them plenty of flexibility to shore up their rebounding woes. The Heat recently auditioned Chris Andersen, and Luke Adams of Hoops Rumors examined the Birdman and other options who could help the team improve its work on the boards. Miami is 30th in the league in total rebounds this season.

It’s more than reasonable for the Celtics to consider cashing out on an aging Paul Pierce for young assets to be used towards rebuilding, opines Joel Brigham of HoopsWorld.  In another season and a half, the veteran could retire or walk away from Boston with no compensation.  His trade value may never be as high as it will be now through the 2013 draft, and this may be the time to act, according to Brigham. Here's more from around the Eastern Conference.

• Sixers GM Tony DiLeo told reporters, including Tom Moore of PhillyBurbs.com, that the team will try to stay in contention for a playoff spot until Andrew Bynum gets back, and may make short-term upgrades that don't cut into next summer's cap space. 
• DiLeo also said the Sixers "are still looking at Andrew as a long-term solution," indicating they still plan on trying to re-sign him this summer.
• The extension Frank Vogel signed with the Pacers this week runs through 2014/15, and will pay the coach $2MM per season, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com.
• J.J. Redick doesn’t want to be traded away from the Magic, but after hearing from GM Rob Hennigan that several teams have expressed interest, he's girding himself for the possibility, writes John Denton of Magic.com.
• The Heat signed Josh Harrellson and Jarvis Varnado to ten-day contracts simply to stall for time until something better comes along, writes Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel.  The Heat can get a better sense of what might be available to add at either the trading deadline or buyout deadline.
• Anderson Varejao's injury isn't devastating to his long-term trade value, as The Plain Dealer's Mary Schmitt Boyer examines.

Zach Links of Hoops Rumors also contributed to this post.

Three days after being released by the Heat, Josh Harrellson has rejoined the team, according to Shandel Richardson of the South Florida Sun Sentinel. Richardson reports that Miami has re-signed Harrellson to a 10-day contract.

The Heat opened up two roster spots earlier this week by cutting Harrellson and Terrel Harris before their non-guaranteed contracts became guaranteed for the season. However, the club didn't waste much time in filling those spots. Besides Harrellson, Jarvis Varnado also signed a 10-day contract with Miami yesterday.

The pair of signings means that, for now, there's no room on the Heat roster for Chris Andersen, who worked out for the team this week. However, Miami will have the opportunity to reevaluate their frontcourt options in 10 days, when Varnado's and Harrellson's contracts expire.

Before Harrellson re-signed with Miami, he was in contact with the Timberwolves, according to Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (via Twitter).

The Heat have officially waived big man Josh Harrellson, according to a team press release. Harrellson was on a non-guaranteed contract, so the team won't be on the hook for his full-season salary.

Harrellson, 23, saw very limited action in Miami this season, logging just 28 total minutes in five games with the team. The 45th overall pick in 2011, Harrellson will become an unrestricted free agent assuming he clears waivers.

Having also waived Terrel Harris over the weekend, the Heat now have 13 players on their roster, leaving two open spots.

Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel believes that although Magic coach Jacque Vaughn would preferably bring young players along slowly to gradually build their confidence, he may have to expand the roles of rookies Moe Harkless and DeQuan Jones much earlier than he would like now that Hedo Turkoglu is out with an injury. Here is the rest of tonight's edition of Eastern Notes:

• During C.J. Miles' Q&A session with Jodie Valade of the Plain Dealer, the Cavaliers swingman touched base on what made him choose Cleveland over his hometown of Dallas during free agency: "I talked to Rick Carlisle the same way I talked to Coach (Byron) Scott, but this just felt like a better fit as far as what I wanted to do as a basketball player. Everybody wants to play for their hometown, but I think it was just a little different situation as far as what I want to become."
• Dei Lynam of CSN Philly writes that whereas Thaddeus Young had been ten pounds lighter than Carmelo Anthony before this season, the 76ers forward bulked up during the offseason at coach Doug Collins' request and is now five pounds heavier than the Knicks star. Philadelphia hopes that Young's speed and added strength will allow them to match up better against a player like Anthony.  
• Bucks coach Scott Skiles has been pleased with the impact that Ekpe Udoh has been making for Milwaukee defensively, according to Charles F. Gardner of the Journal Sentinel. 
• Heat forward/center Josh Harrellson said that the Knicks will always be a special place to him for providing his first opportunity in the NBA (Jared Zwerling of ESPN New York reports). 

The Heat have cut a pair of camp invitees, waiving Rodney Carney and Jarvis Varnado, according to Chris Tomasson of FOX Sports Florida (via Twitter). The move reduces Miami's roster to 16 players, meaning at least one more player will have to be released before Monday.

As Tomasson adds in a second tweet, the news bodes well for Josh Harrellson, who appears to have made the roster. Guards Terrel Harris and Garrett Temple will likely be battling for the final roster spot, with the odd man out being the last player cut. Nothing is set in stone yet, however, as Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel tweets, noting not to rule out Juwan Howard.

Carney looked strong at times during the preseason with the Heat, finishing with 6.8 PPG in five games. Varnado didn't appear in any of the team's preseason contests due to a hamstring issue. Both players will become unrestricted free agents when they clear waivers.

• Jodie Valade of The Plain Dealer takes a closer look at the decision the Cavaliers have to make on Sloan and Pargo and lists the pros and cons of keeping both. She also notes that Byron Scott believes one of them currently has an edge over the other, but the coach would not elaborate beyond that. 
• Joseph Goodman of The Miami Herald took to Twitter to speculate on what he calls the Heat's "no-doubt-about-it cut list," listing Rodney Carney, Jarvis Varnado, Mickell Gladness, and Robert Dozier. He mentions that the last two spots could come down to a competition among Josh Harrellson, Garrett Temple, and Terrel Harris, adding that he would keep the latter two (Twitter link). 
• Interestingly enough, although Juwan Howard is not part of Miami's training camp roster, Goodman points out that the former Heat player still has a locker. 
• Ben Golliver of the Blazers Edge shared a transcript of Trail Blazers GM Neil Olshey's in-game interview with CSNNW on Friday. Some notable comments include Olshey's thoughts on Will Barton's potential, Nicolas Batum and the team moving forward after his contract extension, and landing J.J. Hickson.
• In response to a report that Stephen Curry will sit out the rest of pre-season, Tim Kawakami of the Mercury News tweets that Curry's long-term extension talks with the Warriors are on hold. 

Coming off a championship season and a summer in which they didn't lose any significant pieces, the Heat appear to have less uncertainty heading into the 2012/13 season than any other team in the NBA. Still, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel is able to identify 10 questions facing the Heat as they get set to open training camp. Here are the rest of the morning's notes from out of Miami:

• In his latest mailbag, Winderman says he wouldn't mind seeing the Heat add a little more depth at point guard, perhaps a defensive-minded player.
• The Heat are expected to keep two of Dexter Pittman, Josh Harrellson, Mickell Gladness, and Jarvis Varnado, says Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. Of those four, Pittman has a leg up since his contract is guaranteed.
• One Eastern Conference scout on a couple of Miami's options: "Harrellson can be exposed defensively, but he’s a better player than Gladness and more skilled. Gladness is athletic and long but has no offensive game. Harrellson can shoot it and plays his butt off."
• Juwan Howard is still working out with the Heat and hopes to earn a one-year deal from the team, according to Jackson.
• Terrel Harris and Garrett Temple will likely compete for the final perimeter spot, says Jackson.
• Shane Battier tells Jackson that he thinks he could get away with playing primarily at power forward this season, if the team needs him there: "The regular season is not as physical as the playoffs. Guys aren’t hitting as hard."

After weeks of consideration, the Heat appeared to conclude their hunt for a big man yesterday, inking Josh Harrellson to a non-guaranteed deal. Another team that has long been eyeing free agent bigs, the Timberwolves, continued their search today. According to Darren Wolfson of ESPN 1500 (via Twitter), Wolves GM David Kahn is still talking to agents, with Hassan Whiteside, Sean Williams, and others believed to be in the mix. That's one of a handful of today's odds and ends that we've yet to cover, so let's round up the rest....

• Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel fielded questions in his mailbag about how the signing of Harrellson would affect the Heat's roster and rotation.
• Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio follows up his tweet on Lester Hudson from earlier today with a full story on Hudson's agency letting him go when he failed to attend a workout with the Bobcats. "The Bobcats ended up eating a ticket for $750," said agent Tyler Glass. "I worked so hard to get him a workout, and he didn’t show. The Bobcats were annoyed and they should have been. They’re a professional organization. You don’t skip out on workouts.... He really can play in the league. But what happened with the Bobcats... Word gets around."
• Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld makes his picks for the offseason's most underrated acquisitions.
• The sale of the Grizzlies to Robert Pera continued to move in the right direction today, as Memphis City Council approved transfer of the city's agreement with ownership. Amos Maki of the Memphis Commercial Appeal has the details.
• With Dwight Howard no longer a distraction, the Magic are excited about their new direction, writes John Denton of OrlandoMagic.com.

The Heat have officially signed Josh Harrellson, the team announced today in a press release. Terms of the deal weren't disclosed, but it figures to be a minimum-salary contract that's either non-guaranteed or partially guaranteed.

Earlier today, we had heard that the Heat were finished looking at Hassan Whiteside, and were deciding whether to sign Whiteside, Harrellson, or neither player. Although Heat president Pat Riley said last month that Miami didn't need to add another big man, the team seemed to be weighing its options over the last few weeks, and appeared likely to take a flier on a player like Harrellson.

Acquired by the Rockets in the sign-and-trade deal that sent Marcus Camby to the Knicks in July, Harrellson was waived shortly thereafter, and worked out for the Heat multiple times while he sought a new contract. In his rookie season in New York, the 23-year-old big man averaged 4.4 points and 3.9 rebounds in 14.6 minutes over 37 games, including four starts.

The signing brings the Heat roster to 18 players.