Miami Heat Rumors

Eastern Notes: Caboclo, Antetokounmpo, Murry

August 1 at 7:00pm CDT By Alex Lee

The Raptors front office staff gave broad support to selecting Bruno Caboclo 20th overall when GM Masai Ujiri brought up the idea to them on draft night, observes Chris Mannix of SI.com. The Mavericks and Celtics were also interested in the unheralded Brazilian prospect, Mannix reveals, and an earlier report indicated that the Jazz and Suns were poised to draft Caboclo, too. Toronto pulled another surprise when it signed Caboclo for this season rather than stash him overseas, even before he impressed in summer league play, as Mannix writes.

“When a guy goes overseas you don’t get to monitor him as closely, to see if he is getting stronger, to see all of what he is doing,” Ujiri said. “Keeping him here, we can do that. When he needs playing time, send him to the D-League. He can play in NBA practices, he can go through a training camp and after the year we will wait to see where he is and what more he needs to develop.”

Here is what else is going on in the Atlantic division on Friday evening:

When the Knicks took Greek guard Thanasis Antetokounmpo with the 51st pick in June, many believed they did so with the intent of stashing him overseas. As Marc Berman of the New York Post points out, the team could also assign Antetokounmpo to their D-League affiliate without giving him an NBA contract, in turn preventing him from taking up one of their 15 NBA roster spots.
The Heat are indeed among the teams with interest in free about Toure’ Murry, a source tells Ian Begley of ESPN New York. Aaron Falk of The Salt Lake Tribune suggested as much late last month.
Pistons assistant coach Scott Roth will become the new head coach for Sevilla of the Spanish League, reports ESPN’s Marc Stein, where he will coach 2015 lottery hopeful Kristaps Porzingis. Roth joined the bench in Detroit mid-season in February after three years as an assistant in Toronto. In all, he worked as an assistant on six NBA teams and was also a coach in the D-League. (Twitter links)
Pistons center Andre Drummond is confident that current teammate Greg Monroe will be back in Detroit for the 2014/15 season, writes Vince Ellis of USA Today. We heard this morning that Monroe might not want to return to the Motor City and this isn’t the first time Drummond has addressed his teammate’s status as a restricted free agent. Monroe has the option of signing his qualifying offer from the Pistons and becoming an unrestricted free agent next summer.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Contract Details: Parker, Fredette, Johnson

August 1 at 6:05pm CDT By Chuck Myron

It’s a month into free agency, and while the pace has slowed, details are still coming in from July’s rush of signings. There’s also new information on moves that happened just this afternoon, as we detail:

The second year in the deal between the Heat and Williams is non-guaranteed rather than a team option, clarifies Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (via Twitter).

Earlier updates:

Tony Parker‘s extension with the Spurs is without option clauses, USA Today’s Sam Amick reports, and is indeed for the max, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter links).
Jimmer Fredette‘s minimum salary with the Pelicans this year is fully guaranteed, Hoops Rumors has learned.
The one-year deal the Lakers gave Wesley Johnson is fully guaranteed, a source tells Hoops Rumors.
Kings signee Eric Moreland‘s salary for this year is partially guaranteed, Hoops Rumors has learned.
Shawne Williams‘s contract with the Heat is a two-year arrangement that’s fully guaranteed for this season and features a team option for next year, agent Happy Walters tells Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald (Twitter link).

Heat Sign Shawne Williams

August 1 at 12:15pm CDT By Chuck Myron

The Heat have signed forward Shawne Williams, the team announced. Miami is limited to shelling out only the minimum salary, but it’s not clear how long the deal is for or whether the salary for the former 17th overall pick is guaranteed.

Williams spent 36 games with the Lakers last season, most of them coming while he was on a non-guaranteed deal at the start the season. The team cut him loose just before the deal was to become fully guaranteed and re-signed him to a 10-day contract after he spent time in the D-League. He was out of the NBA during the 2012/13 season, and he’s more than three years removed from his most productive campaign, when he averaged 7.1 points in 20.7 minutes per game and shot 40.1% from behind the three-point arc for the 2010/11 Knicks. The career 33.3% three-point shooter hasn’t been able to duplicate that sort of marksmanship since.

The Heat had been carrying only 10 guaranteed contracts and 12 players total, so the signing helps them bolster their roster, and Williams appears to have a strong chance to make it to opening-night. The 28-year-old is a client of Relativity Sports agent Happy Walters, as our Agency Database shows.

Eastern Notes: LeBron, Wade, Monroe, Bucks

August 1 at 9:59am CDT By Chuck Myron

Dwyane Wade said today that he didn’t try to recruit LeBron James back to the Heat when the two spent time together shortly before the four-time MVP announced his decision to sign with Cleveland, as Wade told reporters, including Jason Lieser of the Palm Beach Post. James didn’t tell Wade about his decision until after their time traveling back to Miami from Las Vegas, according to Wade, but James dropped enough hints to make his choice apparent.

“We had a long flight back from Vegas,” Wade said. “I probably knew then, without him telling me at that moment. You could tell where someone’s heart is and what they’re thinking. I kind of knew at that moment. As his friend, I’m just supportive. As crazy as that might sound, I’m supportive of my friend doing what makes them happy. Obviously same thing with him in this situation. You’ve gotta do what makes you happy — selfishly do what makes you happy. The decision to go back home was that.”

There’s more from Wade amid the latest from the Eastern Conference:

Wade also said that he wanted to be with a winning team more than he wanted the money he sacrificed when he opted out of his contract and re-signed with the Heat on a discount deal, as Lieser notes. Wade is convinced that the total of $10.694MM over the next two seasons that the transactions cost him gives Miami a better chance at success. (Twitter links).
Greg Monroe‘s interest in returning to the Pistons isn’t too strong, but while Detroit talked with the Hawks and perhaps the Suns about sign-and-trades involving him, those teams have moved on, as Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports told podcaster Aime Mukendi Jr. Buddy Grizzard of Hawks/Hoop provides the transcription.
The Bucks gave second-round pick Johnny O’Bryant $600K in the first year of an otherwise minimum-salary contract, notes Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). Milwaukee used part of its cap space to complete the deal with this year’s 36th overall pick.

And-Ones: Mudiay, Bosh, Lowry

July 31 at 10:31pm CDT By Cray Allred

Yannis Koutroupis of Basketball Insiders runs down many of the players returning to college next year who have first-round potential in the 2015 draft. Here’s more from around the association:

Highly touted 2015 draft prospect Emmanuel Mudiay will receive a $1.275MM salary from Guangdong of China, according to Pat Forde and Dan Wetzel of Yahoo! Sports. That’s a little bit more lucrative than the $1.2MM figure that was originally reported when he signed with the club.
Chris Bosh admitted he was close to leaving the Heat as a free agent when being interviewed by The Ticket 104.3 FM in Miami (transcription via ESPN.com). “It was close. I’m not going to lie,” Bosh said. “It was a weird situation because we were waiting so long [on LeBron James' decision] and I didn’t know what was going on. I think you’re always in a situation where it is close even if you don’t leave because teams got very aggressive on me.”
Jared Zwerling of Bleacher Report details Kyle Lowry‘s long and unexpected path to re-signing with the Raptors, who almost traded him in-season, then weren’t the favorites to bring him back as a free agent this summer. “[The Raptors] weren’t always the favorite, but [GM Masai Ujiri] wanted to get the deal done, and it made it a lot easier,” Lowry told Zwerling. “[Lowry's agent and I] approached it as a business and so did [Toronto]. At the end of the day, I didn’t wait for [the other teams]. I wanted to make my decision for myself.”

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Heat Notes: LeBron, ‘Melo, 2016, Allen

July 31 at 10:10am CDT By Chuck Myron

Heat team president Pat Riley went after free agents this year with the idea that LeBron James would return to the team, and he sold potential signees on that notion, as he told reporters, including Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. Still, Riley said James didn’t answer frequent emails and texts that he sent in an effort to recruit him back to Miami, Jackson notes. That suggests that the only communication between the two took place when James met with Riley a few days before he made his decision to sign with the Cavs, as Jackson details. We rounded up several key passages from Riley’s address on Wednesday, and we’ll pass along other noteworthy tidbits here among the latest Heat-related news:

Riley called Leon Rose, the agent for Carmelo Anthony, after LeBron left, but, “We were a little bit late to that party,” Riley said, as Jackson writes in the same piece. Anthony had already finished meeting with other teams, and he made his decision to re-sign with the Knicks the day after LeBron made his choice.
The team will be focused on making a splash in free agency in 2016, Riley said, adding that it would have been the plan even if LeBron had remained, according to Jackson.
Riley said the Heat will keep Justin Hamilton through Friday, when his non-guaranteed contract becomes partially guaranteed for more than $400K, as Jackson notes.
Miami hasn’t given up hope of re-signing free agent Ray Allen, tweets Jason Lieser of the Palm Beach Post. Riley said he’s remained in contact with Allen’s agent, Jim Tanner, Jackson writes.
Riley confirmed that Miami has spoken with Michael Beasley‘s people about re-signing with the team, Lieser tweets. “He’s still a consideration, absolutely,” Riley said. Beasley reportedly auditioned for the Lakers on Wednesday.
The team is also still thinking about re-signing Greg Oden, Riley added, as Jackson notes. Jackson reported last week that the Heat were non-committal about bringing back Beasley and Oden.
Guard Tyler Johnson impressed during a summer league stint with the Heat and is drawing interest from multiple NBA teams, a source tells Hoops Rumors.

Pat Riley On Heat Offseason

July 30 at 7:25pm CDT By Eddie Scarito

Heat President Pat Riley spoke to reporters today via a teleconference in regards to Miami’s offseason, losing LeBron James to the Cavaliers, and the franchise’s prospects for the upcoming season and beyond. Ira WInderman of the Sun Sentinel recapped the interview, and here are some of the highlights:

Discussing his re-tooled roster:

“I feel very good about where we are right now, at this moment, with the 12 guys under contract. Unlike a lot of the prognosticators . . . I feel with all the conversations I’ve had with these players, that we’re going to be up to the challenge.”

On the departure of James:

“You recover. I don’t want to go back in history, but after 45 years of being in the league, I think I’ve been around 15 transcendent players that walked out the door . . . and you move on. We were shocked, but we recovered. It was a tough blow to take, but we’ve recovered very well, and I think we will continue to recover.”

Discussing his plan entering this year’s free agency period:

“I went in with the notion that he [LeBron] was coming back. So I was selling it to players. I let him know that prior to free agency, that was the direction I was going. He never said to me, ‘Don’t do that‘.”

Discussing re-signing Dwyane Wade despite his recent injury history:

“When it comes to Dwyane, we’re just going to see where we are with him. And we think with what he’s done this summer, there’s the possibility of Dwyane can return to where he was before he ceded a good part of his game to LeBron, and the same thing with Chris.”

On re-signing Chris Bosh:

“He’s the most versatile big man in the NBA. And that’s what the market was for him, and Micky [Arison] stepped up to the plate. . . . I’ll be [expletive] if I was going to let him walk out the door.”

On signing Luol Deng late in the free agency rush:

“I think the first day that I met with him, I truly believe if we could have signed him, he would have signed. At that time, we were an exception team. We were sort of dealing with the thought we were an exception team. . . . So that discussion had to take a number of meandering roads. But he knew that we wanted him, that we would do whatever we could to get him.”

Heat Re-Sign Chris Bosh

July 30 at 4:39pm CDT By Chuck Myron

JULY 30TH: The deal is finally official, the team announced, after Bosh spent much of the month traveling overseas.

“Chris Bosh is a two-time NBA champion and one of the most versatile big men in the league,” Heat president Pat Riley said. “His unique skillset makes him one of the best players in the game today. I’ve always felt he was committed to this organization, this staff and this city. I think he’s going to have the opportunity of a lifetime leading this team next season and having the nine-time NBA All-Star back in the fold was a big key for us. We are very blessed to have him.”

JULY 11TH: The Heat and Chris Bosh are finalizing an agreement on a five-year deal for the maximum salary, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). The Rockets believed they would get Bosh to commit to their offer of the maximum, which by rule was only for four years, with lower annual raises, but the Henry Thomas client ultimately spurned Houston to remain with the Heat. The new max deal will include a starting salary of $20,644,400, and total $118,705,300 over the life of the contract.

Bosh and his wife love living Miami, and their affection for South Florida was a strong factor in the decision, tweets Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com. It’s a major victory for the Heat and team president Pat Riley, who’ll know the team will at least keep one of its three stars after LeBron James bolted for the Cavs. The Lakers and Bosh reportedly had mutual interest, too, but ultimately it came down to a decision between the Rockets and Heat.

Before the Rockets made their push, Bosh seemed like a strong bet to return to Miami, having said publicly that he would return. Still, that seemed to hinge on the return of LeBron, and when he left for Cleveland, Bosh seemed destined to follow the four-time MVP out of Miami.

Instead, the Heat will retain the No. 3 player in the Hoops Rumors Free Agent Power Rankings. As Charlie Adams of Hoops Rumors wrote when he examined Bosh’s free agent stock, Bosh had plenty of leverage to secure a lucrative payday in a destination of his choice after establishing himself as an athletic force defensively and a versatile scorer.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

And-Ones: Heat, Wolves, Stokes, Mudiay

July 28 at 10:19pm CDT By Eddie Scarito

Heat owner Micky Arison addressed the team’s fans today to assure them that despite losing LeBron James, the franchise would contend in the east, writes Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel. Arison said, “We are laser-focused on the present and the task at hand of defending our Eastern Conference championship with the East being described as ‘wide open,’ while also positioning ourselves for maximum flexibility and maneuverability in the future.“

Here’s more from around the league:

The Grizzlies may have found a diamond in the rough on draft night with their selection of Jarnell Stokes, writes Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders. Stokes was projected by some experts as a potential late first-round pick, but slipped to Memphis who selected him 35th overall.
Top 2015 prospect Emmanuel Mudiay said he is skipping SMU for financial reasons, not because of any academic issues at his former prep school, tweets Adam Zagoria of SNY. Mudiay reportedly signed for $1.2MM in China.
The Wolves signing of Mo Williams earlier today will give the team the a player who can create his own shot, which is something the team was lacking, opines Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune (Twitter link).
The signing of Williams could potentially affect a number of players’ roster spots on the team, writes Michael Rand of the Star Tribune.
When discussing the rumors about any potential trade that would bring Kevin Love to the Bulls, Derrick Rose said, “That’s up to the front office. I’m riding with whatever decision they make. My job right now is to prepare,” tweets Sam Smith of Bulls.com.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

Western Notes: Rubio, Nash, Thompson

July 28 at 8:47pm CDT By Eddie Scarito

The Wolves are willing to give Ricky Rubio an extension similar to the four-year, $44MM extension Stephen Curry signed with the Warriors two years ago, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities. Rubio and agent Dan Fegan are asking for the max over five seasons. We took a look at Rubio and other extension candidates earlier today.

googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1340899094780-0'); });