Miami Heat Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Poor Shooting Doomed Gerald Green

July 24th, 2016 at 11:45am CST by Arthur Hill

Despite rumors that he was happy in Europe, Tomas Satoransky always planned to come to the NBA, relays J. Michael of CSNMidAtlantic.com. The 6’7″ combo guard, who has played overseas since being drafted in 2012, signed with the Wizards Thursday for $9MM over three seasons. Satoransky had frequent meetings with team vice president Tommy Sheppard during his time in Europe, Michael reports. Satoransky was reluctant to commit to Washington earlier because he believed he needed more experience and wasn’t sure there was room on the roster for him. The Wizards have since gotten rid of Andre Miller, Ramon Sessions, Gary Neal and Garrett Temple. Satoransky sought a $5.5MM mid-level exception from the Wizards in 2014, but they decided to use the money on Paul Pierce. They now have Satoransky signed for the next three years at about half that price. “I’m realistic,” he said. “I know it will take some time for me to adjust for a new type of game, for an NBA style of game.”

There’s more from the Southeast Division:

The Heat may have kept Gerald Green if he had made 3-pointers like they expected, writes Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. The veteran swingman connected on just 84 of 260 shots from long range, or 32%. He shot 35% and 40% from downtown in his two seasons with Phoenix before coming to Miami. Winderman adds that the Heat feel like they have to give a greater role to Tyler Johnson after matching his $50MM offer sheet from the Nets. With Justise Winslow expected to start at small forward, Josh Richardson earning more minutes and James Johnson and Derrick Williams added in free agency, there was little playing time left to offer Green.
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist doesn’t believe he came back too early from an injury last season, he states in an interview posted on the Charlotte Observer website. After having surgery on his right shoulder in October, the Hornets forward returned in January and managed just seven games before tearing his labrum for a second time. He blames the repeat injury on bad luck. “I just fell on my shoulder,” he said. “It was a freak accident.” The fully recovered Kidd-Gilchrist declares himself to be “200 percent” and says he’s looking forward to next season.

Latest On Chris Bosh

July 24th, 2016 at 9:01am CST by Arthur Hill

Chris Bosh believes he should be medically cleared to play and may take the issue to the players union, writes Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. Bosh, who has been sidelined with blood clot issues the past two seasons, had considered filing a grievance against the Heat during the playoffs, but eventually relented.

Miami officials are concerned that Bosh may be risking serious injury or worse by playing while on blood thinners. Doctors are debating whether he should stop taking the medication during the summer, but Bosh believes he can safely play while on a new drug that would be out of his system after 8 to 12 hours.

Miami-based doctor Robert Myerburg of UHealth told Jackson that he is skeptical of that plan, but said the two blood-clot incidents don’t mean Bosh will need the medication for the rest of his life.

“The debate in the medical community is because he’s on, should he be on permanent [blood thinners]? That’s a tough call,” Myerburg said. “The data just isn’t there to say he absolutely should or shouldn’t. It becomes a judgment issue. So if there is no predisposing factors other than trauma induced, that’s a judgment issue about whether to play.”

Myerburg suggested taking Bosh off blood thinners and using a smaller, temporary regimen if he experiences trauma after that. Bosh said last year that he doesn’t possess a gene that makes him predisposed to repeated clotting.

Heat president Pat Riley said at a recent press conference that the team is searching for ways to help Bosh get back on the court and will wait until August or September before making a decision on his status.

Some of Bosh’s representatives believe the Heat have financial reasons for not wanting Bosh to return. If he sits out the entire 2016/17 season, Miami can clear his salary for the following two seasons off its books, saving $25.2MM in 2017/18 and $26.8MM in 2018/19. The Heat insist that isn’t true, and say they will welcome Bosh back if he gets medical approval.

Teams are not permitted to remove a player from their cap until a year after his final game. Right now, that date would be Feb. 9, 2017, but if Bosh attempts a comeback next season, that time frame would be moved forward. If Bosh is taken off the cap, he would never be permitted to play for the Heat again.

Heat Notes: Green, James, Wade, Riley

July 23rd, 2016 at 7:17pm CST by Arthur Hill

The addition of James Johnson, Derrick Williams and Wayne Ellington left no room in Miami for Gerald Green, writes Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. Green, who agreed to terms with the Celtics this morning, spent one season in Miami and saw his playing time decline steadily as the year wore on. He appeared in 69 games, starting 14, and averaged 8.9 points per night. Green had expressed a desire to return to Miami, Winderman writes, and the Heat could have offered the same $1.4MM deal he received from Boston. Miami made it clear that the 30-year-old swingman wasn’t in its plans by signing Johnson, Williams and Ellington to be part of an already crowded rotation that includes Justise Winslow, Josh Richardson and Tyler Johnson. Amar’e Stoudemire and Dorell Wright are now the only remaining unsigned free agents from the 2015/16 roster.

There’s more news out of Miami:

As players become more powerful, the idea of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony and Chris Paul on the same team becomes more likely, Winderman writes in another piece. During the season, James speculated on the possibility of the four friends someday joining forces.
Team president Pat Riley recently offered some insight on teaming up James, Wade and Chris Bosh in 2010, Winderman relates in the same article. All three were slated to get max deals of $16.5MM per season, but they wanted to add Mike Miller and re-sign Udonis Haslem. Eventually, Wade volunteered to take less money, and James and Bosh agreed to sign-and trades. “The interesting part is on July 9th, they all agreed to come in on five-year deals, room only, so I didn’t have to give up any assets,” Riley said. “Then, at the 11th hour, they all wanted the sixth year. You know what that cost me and Andy [Elisburg, the Heat’s general manager]? That cost us four picks. I just said to them, ‘If you want the sixth year because I know you’re going to opt out after the fourth anyhow, but if you want the sixth year, I don’t want any of you to walk into my office and say, ‘Hey, can we get any young guys around here? Can we get some draft picks around here?’ Because they were gone.”
Riley’s decision to add more physical players this offseason was likely a matter of taking what was available on the market, rather than a strategy, Winderman writes in a separate piece. Winderman’s comment came in response to a reader’s question on whether acquiring Johnson, Williams, Luke Babbitt and Willie Reed would make the Heat more like the roster Riley had with the Knicks.

Heat Have Franchise-Player Void To Fill

July 21st, 2016 at 4:18pm CST by Luke Adams

With Dwyane Wade gone, the Heat will be seeking someone to fill the role of “franchise player” in Miami. In his latest mailbag, Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel explores whether or not Justise Winslow has that sort of upside.

Anthony: Wade Could Have Been A Knick

July 20th, 2016 at 9:50pm CST by Arthur Hill

Carmelo Anthony believes bad timing is all that prevented Dwyane Wade from joining him on the Knicks, relays Marc Berman of The New York Post. Wade sent shock waves throughout the NBA earlier this month when he agreed to leave the Heat and sign with the Bulls. Anthony says if Wade’s situation had become apparent earlier, the Knicks could have freed up the cap room to fit him on the roster. “There was a chance, definitely a chance,’’ Anthony said. “We would’ve had to pull a rabbit out of a hat in the 25th hour though. There was a chance. If it was two days earlier, we probably would’ve had Dwyane Wade.”

After passing up better offers and signing with the Heat, Willie Reed believes he’s in a perfect situation, writes Shandel Richardson of The Sun-Sentinel. After going undrafted and playing in Spain and the D-League, Reed’s future now appears secure after joining Miami on a two-year veteran’s minimum deal. He is expected to back up newly re-signed center Hassan Whiteside. After two seasons on the Heat’s summer league team, Reed knew he wanted to play for Miami. “I wanted to be able to come to the Heat [this offseason],” Reed said. “I told my agent that if I was able to get a minimum deal with the Heat, I’d take it just because what they did for me.”

Tyler Johnson Talks Free Agency

July 20th, 2016 at 12:45pm CST by Luke Adams

While Tyler Johnson would have been happy to join the Nets after signing an offer sheet with Brooklyn, he was hoping the Heat would match it, as he tells Couper Moorhead of Heat.com. “This is where I’m most comfortable. This is where I’ve found my way in the league. This is where my friends are at. These are the people that I’ve gone through battles with,” Johnson said. “At the end of the day I was still hoping I could figure out a way to come back and be in a HEAT uniform.”

Update On NBA Traded Player Exceptions

July 19th, 2016 at 3:52pm CST by Luke Adams

Traded player exceptions, which we’ve explained extensively in a Hoops Rumors glossary entry, are a tool that over-the-cap teams can use to complete trades. For mid-season deals, when most teams are at or over the salary cap, these exceptions are typically used and created frequently.

This summer, however, with the salary cap increasing by more than $24MM and most teams choosing to use cap room rather than staying over the cap, trade exceptions have become scarcer — and less useful. In order for teams to actually use their available cap room to take on salaries or to sign free agents, those exceptions must be renounced.

Heading into the 2016/17 league year, teams around the NBA held a total of 29 trade exceptions. After the new league year officially got underway and the moratorium ended, the majority of those TPEs were lost. In total, 22 of the 29 previously-existing traded player exceptions were renounced or expired.

Earlier this month, only the Clippers, Cavaliers, and Thunder still held any TPEs, with Cleveland hanging onto five of them, and L.A. and OKC holding one apiece. Over the last week or so, a few new trade exceptions have been created, but with so many teams still under the cap, the full list is much shorter than it has been in past years.

Here’s a breakdown of the newly-created TPEs:

Charlotte Hornets

Amount: $1,666,470
Expires: 7/12/17
How it was created: When the Grizzlies signed Troy Daniels away from the Hornets, they did so in a sign-and-trade deal, allowing Charlotte to create a TPE for half of Daniels’ $3,332,940 salary.

Cleveland Cavaliers

Amount: $1,333,420
Expires: 7/15/17
How it was created: The Cavaliers created this TPE worth Sasha Kaun‘s 2016/17 salary when they sent him to Philadelphia without receiving any NBA salary in return.

(Note: The Cavaliers also created a $4,803,750 trade exception by signing-and-trading Matthew Dellavedova to the Bucks, but immediately used that exception to acquire Mike Dunleavy.)

Los Angeles Clippers

Amount: $1,209,600
Expires: 7/15/17
How it was created: When the Clippers acquired Devyn Marble from the Magic for C.J. Wilcox, the team actually used its old $947,276 TPE (acquired in January’s Josh Smith trade) to absorb Marble’s salary, then created a new exception worth Wilcox’s salary.

The traded player exceptions listed above have been added to our full breakdown of the TPEs available around the league. That list no longer includes the $2,038,206 exception the Thunder created last summer when they sent Perry Jones III to the Celtics — that TPE expired on July 14.

Our full list of TPEs also no longer features the following exceptions, all of which were renounced earlier this month when these teams went under the cap (expiry date listed in parentheses):

Atlanta Hawks: $947,276 (2/18/17)
Brooklyn Nets: $2,170,465 (7/13/16)
Chicago Bulls: $2,854,940 (2/18/17)
Chicago Bulls: $947,276 (6/22/17)
Denver Nuggets: $135,000 (2/18/17)
Detroit Pistons: $6,270,000 (6/29/17)
Golden State Warriors: $5,387,825 (7/27/16)
Golden State Warriors: $3,197,170 (7/31/16)
Memphis Grizzlies: $450,000 (2/18/17)
Miami Heat: $1,706,250 (7/27/16)
Miami Heat: $1,294,440 (7/27/16)
Miami Heat: $2,129,535 (11/10/16)
Miami Heat: $2,145,060 (2/16/17)
Miami Heat: $845,059 (2/18/17)
Miami Heat: $2,854,940 (2/18/17)
Milwaukee Bucks: $5,200,000 (7/9/16)
Milwaukee Bucks: $4,250,000 (7/9/16)
Minnesota Timberwolves: $5,000,000 (7/12/16)
New Orleans Pelicans: $102,217 (12/24/16)
New York Knicks: $1,572,360 (6/22/17)
Phoenix Suns: $578,651 (2/18/17)

Information from Basketball Insiders was used in the creation of this post.

Heat Notes: Wade, Ellington, McGruder

July 19th, 2016 at 11:34am CST by Luke Adams

On Saturday, we rounded up several of the comments made by Pat Riley during a press conference, including his thoughts on Dwyane Wade‘s departure, the team’s unsuccessful pitch to Kevin Durant, and Chris Bosh‘s uncertain future. During that session, Riley also addressed whether or not the Heat had any interest in Al Horford, admitting the team eliminated the free agent big man from consideration very early in free agency.

“It’s not out of a lack of respect for him, it’s that at 12:01 am, I came to an agreement with Hassan,” the Heat president said, per Jason Lieser of The Palm Beach Post. “I don’t care if Dallas came in after us, we had Hassan. Once we got Hassan, I didn’t want to string along anybody else. … We like Al, we love Joakim Noah. Everybody that was at the top – the DeRozans, the Beals, the Batums, Howard, Horford – all those guys, their deals were done. Horford is going to really help Boston, I think. But we didn’t really push on that one.”

Here’s more out of South Beach:

Riley said on Saturday that the Heat don’t plan to use their $2.9MM room exception this summer, but that doesn’t mean it will go unused for the entire league year. As Anthony Chiang of The Palm Beach Post writes, the club intends to use it in February or March if a noteworthy veteran free agent becomes available, like Joe Johnson did last season.
Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel looks back at the Wade/Riley situation, noting that the crux of the issue between the two sides involved Riley’s preference to go season-by-season for Wade’s next few years. The longtime Heat star wanted a longer-term commitment from the franchise.
Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders has provided several salary-related updates on recent signings by the Heat. As Pincus details, Wayne Ellington‘s second-year salary ($6.27MM) is non-guaranteed until the first day after 2017’s July moratorium. Additionally, Stefan Jankovic and Okaro White got similar two-year, minimum-salary deals from the club, while Rodney McGruder got a three-year contract worth the minimum.
Jankovic, White, and McGruder all start with $100K guarantees, but each player has different deadlines for when more of their salaries become guaranteed, per Pincus. McGruder has four upcoming guarantee dates for his 2016/17 salary, then has multiple guarantee dates for his 2017/18 salary as well.

Community Shootaround: Eastern Playoff Team Most Likely To Slide?

July 18th, 2016 at 5:09pm CST by Luke Adams

Last week, one of our Community Shootaround discussions focused on this year’s non-playoff teams in the East, asking which of those clubs had done the most to improve its roster so far this summer. The Knicks and Sixers received the most support, but several lottery teams got positive reviews from Hoops Rumors commenters for their offseason work.

Today, it’s time to look at the other eight teams in the East. The Cavaliers, Raptors, Heat, Hawks, Celtics, Hornets, Pacers, and Pistons all earned spots in the postseason. How many of those teams will be back in 2017, and how many will drop out?

The Heat had the most notable departure of any of those eight playoff teams, when Dwyane Wade left Miami to sign with his hometown Bulls. But Miami wasn’t the only club to lose a notable player. The Hawks saw Al Horford depart, and the Raptors parted ways with breakout rim-protector Bismack Biyombo.

The Hornets and Pistons, meanwhile, managed to re-sign their own key free agents, including Nicolas Batum and Andre Drummond, and added some complementary pieces. But Charlotte, at least, will have to deal with some notable departures as well, including Al Jefferson, Jeremy Lin, and Courtney Lee.

Finally, the Cavaliers, Celtics, and Pacers have all received solid reviews for their summer decisions — in Cleveland’s case, it’s simply enough to bring back most of the team that beat the 73-win Warriors for the championship. For Boston and Indiana, the changes are more notable — the C’s added Horford and No. 3 pick Jaylen Brown, while the Pacers brought in Jefferson, Thaddeus Young, and Jeff Teague, among others.

What do you think? Which of the Eastern playoff teams is most likely to slide down the standings in 2016/17? How many of these eight clubs do you expect to finish in the lottery next year? Is Miami the most obvious candidate to take a step or two backwards, or is there another team more in danger of underachieving?

Take to the comments section below to share your thoughts and opinions on the Cavs, Raptors, Heat, Hawks, Celtics, Hornets, Pacers, and Pistons. We look forward to hearing your thoughts.

Southeast Notes: Winslow, Howard, Bazemore

July 17th, 2016 at 11:42am CST by Arthur Hill

Pat Riley anointed Justise Winslow as the Heat’s starting small forward for next season, but he hasn’t addressed the larger question of power forward, writes Ira Winderman of the Sun-Sentinel. Riley expressed his confidence in Winslow during a news conference Saturday, saying the rookie will be penciled in as the starting three for 2016/17. But if Chris Bosh isn’t medically cleared to play, that leaves Josh McRoberts, Luke Babbitt and Udonis Haslem as candidates to start alongside Winslow and Hassan Whiteside on the front line. Riley said even though Winslow is only 20, he’s ready to be an NBA starter. “I remember when James Worthy came to the Lakers and Jamaal Wilkes was incumbent,” Riley said, “and then there came that time, there came that time when it was just a matter of time when James Worthy was going to take his position.”

There’s more from the Southeast Division:

Dwight Howard hopes his return home to Atlanta will revitalize his career, according to Steve Hummer of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The 30-year-old center, who signed a three-year deal worth $70.5MM with the Hawks, has even changed his number to 8 to signify “a new beginning.” Howard insists that his back, which required surgery in 2012, is no longer a problem. “My back hasn’t been an issue,” he said, “and I don’t think I’ll ever have an issue out of my back for the rest of my career.”
Kent Bazemore‘s comments at the press conference after he re-signed with the Hawks showed how much he wanted to stay in Atlanta, relays K.L. Chouinard of NBA.com. Bazemore, who landed a four-year, $70MM contract in free agency, said it was important to remain with the team he joined two seasons ago. “This is one of the high points of my life,” he said, “and I couldn’t choose a better place to be. I said I wasn’t going to get emotional, but I just love it here, you know. People have just embraced me and it just feels like home, man.”
It’s hard to understand why the Wizards re-signed Marcus Thornton so early in free agency, writes Ben Standig of CSNMidAtlantic. Thornton, who received a one-year deal for the veteran’s minimum, projects as a fifth guard, Standig contends, adding that it’s unusual for teams to fill roster spots with those type of players before Summer League begins.