- Trading Reggie Jackson isn’t the right answer for the Pistons, argues Bob Wojnowski of The Detroit News. A rumor made the rounds Friday that Detroit was considering a deal with Minnesota involving Jackson and Ricky Rubio. Pistons coach/executive Stan Van Gundy contacted Jackson and assured him it wasn’t true. Wojnowski states that it would be a mistake for the team to trade its floor leader after investing so heavily in him two years ago. “If he traded me, I told him it was news to me,” Jackson said. “I appreciated the text, just let me know I’m his guy. But I don’t really pay attention much to it.”
- Goran Dragic has Dwyane Wade‘s competitive spirit, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said this week, as Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel details. “This game means so much to Goran Dragic,” Spoelstra said. “When we lose, he doesn’t sleep. He takes it hard like a coach would. I get text messages from him about things that he thought he could have done better or differently, hours after the game.” Dragic’s 20.3 points per game are his highest total since 2013/14 with the Suns.
Orlando tried to pick up Miami point guard Goran Dragic, offering center Nikola Vucevic and a future first-rounder in return, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com.
Miami rejected the offer as the Heat already have Hassan Whiteside manning the middle on a maximum deal he signed in July. Still, it confirms persistent rumors that Orlando has interest in acquiring Dragic.
The Heat don’t seem to be interested in dealing Dragic before the February 23rd deadline, Stein adds. The 30-year-old still has three seasons and more than $54MM left on his contract. Vucevic, who has been in and out of the starting lineup this season, is signed for two more years at $25MM.
The Bulls will be “at the front of the line” to sign Chris Bosh if the veteran forward can play next season, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Chicago is already making plans to recruit Bosh, who will turn 33 in March, Stein adds.
Bosh hasn’t played since last season’s All-Star break after doctors discovered blood clots for a second time. He failed a physical right before training camp and his NBA future remains in limbo.
Miami is expected to petition the league to get the final two seasons of Bosh’s contract removed from its salary cap, but sources are telling Stein they don’t expect that to happen before March 1st to make sure he’s not playoff-eligible for another team. The Heat can make the move any time after February 9th, which is the one-year anniversary of his last game for Miami.
The Heat have been granted a $1.3 million salary-cap exception, writes Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel. The exception can be used through March 10 to sign a single player whose contract expires at the end of the season. The amount is half the salary for Justise Winslow, who underwent season-ending shoulder surgery earlier this month. The Heat would have to open a spot to use the exception because they have a full roster after signing Okaro White on Tuesday.
JANUARY 17: The Heat have formally announced the signing of White, issuing a team release to confirm the deal. While the team didn’t disclose the terms, it’s a 10-day contract, as Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel tweets.
JANUARY 15: The Heat will sign power forward Okaro White from their D-League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce, after Miami acquired a player exception, Shams Charania of The Vertical reports (Twitter link). The hardship exception was granted because Miami has four players that have missed at least three games, as Bobby Marks of The Vertical tweets. International journalist David Pick tweets that the Heat will make the signing on Monday and that it will be a 10-day pact.
The Heat have battled the injury bug all season with notable players missing significant time. Chris Bosh is out because of his ongoing battle with blood clots, second-year forward Justise Winslow is out for the year after shoulder surgery and veteran big man Josh McRoberts is sidelined indefinitely with a foot problem. It is unclear how long White will be with Miami, but the 24-year-old is averaging 18.4 ppg and 8.7 rpg while shooting 43% from the field for Sioux Falls.
White was cut by Miami after training camp before playing in the D-League. White went undrafted out of Florida State in 2014 and then headed overseas, spending the 2014/15 campaign with the Italian club Granarolo Bologna, where he averaged 12.2 points and 6.9 rebounds on the season. White then headed to Greece, notching averages of 13.9 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 26.8 minutes per outing. He shot .465/.337/.791 from the field on the year.
- After an 11-30 first half, the Heat aren’t going to be pushing for a playoff spot in the second half, but that doesn’t mean the team doesn’t still have plenty of goals to aim for down the stretch. Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel identifies 10 areas for the club to focus on, including considering life without Goran Dragic, freeing up roster space, and pushing the development of young players like Tyler Johnson and Josh Richardson.
Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra confirmed today that the NBA has granted the team a harship exception, allowing for a 16th player to be added to the roster (Twitter link). According to Spoelstra, Miami has not yet determined which player will be added to the roster using that exemption (Twitter link). However, the Heat coach may simply be waiting until the move is official to formally discuss the team’s newest player — according to reports on Sunday, Miami is prepared to call up Okaro White from its D-League affiliate to take that 16th roster spot.
Here’s more on the Heat:
- Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel explains why the Heat qualify for a hardship exception that allows them to add a 16th player, providing updates on where things stand on sidelined players like Chris Bosh, Josh McRoberts, and Justise Winslow.
- Meanwhile, Josh Richardson will be sidelined for at least the next two weeks of action, Spoelstra confirmed today (Twitter link). When Richardson is ready to return, the Heat will have to part ways with someone to get back down to 15 players.
- In a mailbag for The Sun Sentinel, Winderman discusses the possibility of the Heat matching up with the Magic for a Goran Dragic trade. In Winderman’s view, it makes sense for Miami to be patient if any such deal would involve a 2017 first-round pick, since the Heat would want to be sure that pick lands as high as possible in the draft. Of course, the further Orlando is from the playoff race in the East, the less likely the team is to part with a 2017 pick.
- Within the same mailbag, Winderman also suggests that James Johnson and Wayne Ellington are more likely than someone like Derrick Williams to generate interest as trade chips.
- The Heat are doing their due diligence when it comes to fielding trade offers, so Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel went so far as to break down each major player’s case as an available asset.
Orlando is among several teams that have contacted the Heat about Goran Dragic, according to Zach Lowe of ESPN.com. The Magic are looking to solidify their point guard position, which belonged to Elfrid Payton when the season began, but was taken over by D.J. Augustin in late November. Dragic still has three years and more than $54MM left on his current contract. He is averaging 19.0 points and 6.5 assists in 32 games this season, but has missed time recently with back problems.
There’s more news today out of Orlando:
- After losing six of their last seven and dropping to 16-24, the Magic need to act quickly to save their season, writes Brian Schmitz of The Orlando Sentinel. Offense has been a problem for Orlando all year, and Schmitz says the team needs to find a scorer who can create his own shot. He suggests Allen Crabbe of the Trail Blazers as a realistic target and suggests offering, possibly with shot-blocking center Bismack Biyombo going to Portland in return.
- Nikola Vucevic will be back in the starting lineup tonight, with Biyombo coming off the bench, according to Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel. Vucevic was demoted along with Payton in the November shakeup. Coach Frank Vogel plans to utilize more “small-ball” lineups with Jeff Green moving to power forward and Mario Hezonja back in the rotation as a backup small forward.
- The Magic made a huge error when they gave up on Maurice Harkless two years ago, Robbins argues in a separate piece. After three disappointing seasons in Orlando, Harkless was traded to Portland in the summer of 2015 in exchange for a second-round draft pick in 2020. He was a regular starter for the Blazers during last year’s playoffs and has started all 40 games in which he has appeared this season. “It was a tough situation: a lot of guys trying to figure it out, including the staff and the front office,” Harkless said of his time in Orlando. “It was a unique situation. It was tough. Obviously, it wasn’t going to work out for everybody. I think a change of scenery is what I needed.”