- Chris Bosh and the Heat have received conflicting information about how soon he can stop taking blood thinners and return to the court, reports Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. Bosh can’t play until he’s off blood thinners, and while some doctors recommend that patients stay on blood thinners for three to six months after a clot develops, others disagree, Jackson notes. Bosh reportedly developed the clots in mid-February.
LeBron James is holding out hope that he can team with Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade and Chris Paul for at least one season before they retire, as he told Howard Beck of Bleacher Report. James, 31, and Wade, 34, can hit free agency this summer, but the 30-year-old Paul’s locked in with the Clippers through next season and Anthony, 31, doesn’t have an opt-out in his deal until the summer of 2018.
“I really hope that, before our career is over, we can all play together,” James said to Beck just before the All-Star break last month in comments that Beck kept under wraps until today (Twitter link). “At least one, maybe one or two seasons — me, Melo, D-Wade, CP — we can get a year in. I would actually take a pay cut to do that.”
Each is probably powerful enough to force a trade, with most such chatter surrounding Anthony, who has a no-trade clause that he’s been reluctant to consider waiving. Rumors about a three-team deal involving the Knicks, Celtics and Cavaliers emerged before the trade deadline this year, but it never appeared as though Anthony was close to joining James in Cleveland. Anthony once more reiterated his commitment to the Knicks today, as Marc Berman of the New York Post relays.
“I know the reason why I stuck it out,’’ Anthony said. “People that really understand it know why I’m sticking it out. It’s odd to question my loyalty at this point in time, especially when you showed and I’ve showed time and time again my loyalty to not just the organization, but New York and vice versa.”
Still, commitments change. That was the case with Anthony and the Nuggets, a team ‘Melo believed in strongly enough in 2006 to resist what James admits were veiled overtures meant to convince Anthony to sign a shorter extension that would allow him to become a free agent in 2010, just as James and Wade did, as Beck details. That was the summer that James and Wade teamed up on the Heat while Anthony and Paul remained under contract in Denver and New Orleans, respectively.
Anthony told Beck in January that he was disappointed that the Pistons passed him up with the second overall pick in 2003, saying that he’d been told Detroit would take him. It’s not clear who told Anthony that the Pistons would draft him instead of Darko Milicic, the center the Pistons fatefully selected when the time came. Regardless, the bond between James, Anthony, Wade and Paul is strong, and it’s made an impression on Team USA coach Mike Krzyzewski, who’s mentored all of them with the USA Basketball program.
“I think they love one another,” Krzyzewski said. “It’s so damn genuine, and it’s so cool to see. … They have each others’ back, on everything.”
Do you think James, Wade, Anthony and Paul will all play together on an NBA team at some point? Leave a comment to share your thoughts.
- Dwyane Wade walked back the suggestion Pat Riley made that he might play until he’s 40, notes Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel, but it’s clear that the relationship between the Heat and the 34-year-old star is strong, and seemingly in much better shape than when Wade reportedly considered leaving Miami last summer. Wade instead signed a one-year, $20MM contract that will make him a free agent against this coming offseason. “It’s just at this point I’m not thinking about playing until 40, no way, no how, at this point,” Wade said. “But I’m 34, so I’m just thinking about each year, each year, and keeping going from there.
Hassan Whiteside has earned a maximum contract with his play over the past two seasons, contends Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders. The Heat center leads the NBA in blocks and is fourth in rebounding, and Kennedy believes he has a strong case to be named Defensive Player of the Year. Because Whiteside was out of the league for two seasons, Miami was able to get him at a bargain rate. He’s making just $981,348 this year, but a major raise will be coming when he hits unrestricted free agency in July. Seventeen teams are projected to have enough cap space to offer at least one max deal, and the Heat won’t have Bird rights on him. “I can’t control anything that’s going to happen in free agency,” Whiteside said recently to Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. “I just try to be the best teammate and the best guy I can be and I think everything else is going to take its place. [My inner circle and I] really don’t talk about it. It’s really like, ‘Whenever the time comes, it comes.’ We focus on making a deep playoff run and everything else is in due time.”
There’s more tonight out of Miami:
- Dwyane Wade, 34, gives hardly any thought to retirement, according to Jason Lieser of The Palm Beach Post. The shooting guard, who scored his 20,000th NBA point Saturday, has a chance to play 75 games for the first time since the 2010/11 season. Team president Pat Riley said recently that the 13-year veteran could play until he’s 40, and Wade may be intent on doing that. “I go out there each year and try to do what I can within that season and I’m gonna try to do that until I don’t want to do that no more,” Wade said. “If God continues to bless me where I’m able to have the health to play, then I will do it. When I feel like I don’t want to do it no more, hopefully I can walk away from it when that time comes. But I’m enjoying it, man. I really like this team. I really like the vibe that we’re building in the city of Miami. No complaints here.”
- Briante Weber, whom the Grizzlies chose not to re-sign when his 10-day contract ended Friday, has rejoined the Heat’s D-League affiliate in Sioux Falls, tweets Chris Reichert of Upside and Motor.
Team president Pat Riley says the Heat are taking an “open-minded” stance on the health of All-Star big man Chris Bosh, according to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. Riley added that there is no expectation about whether Bosh will play again this season. “We’re just supportive of Chris and what he’s going through,” Riley said. “We’re just going to wait and see what the future holds. There really isn’t any comment. I have great empathy for the man. I know how much he wants to play. We’ll just see where it goes.”
Bosh, who hasn’t played since the All-Star break due to blood clots in his left calf, released a statement earlier this month saying that the condition has subsided and indicating that he plans to return before the end of the season. Jackson reports that Bosh has received mixed medical opinions, and Heat officials want to be fully convinced that there’s no danger before they let him play again. Last month, the Heat were reportedly trying to convince Bosh to sit out the rest of the season. The team has reason to be concerned about Bosh’s health, as blood clots in his lungs cut last season short for him and he still has three years and nearly $76MM remaining on his contract.
There’s more news out of Miami:
- Riley also marveled at the progress of center Hassan Whiteside, Jackson relays in the same piece. Whiteside signed with Miami in November 2014 after two seasons out of the NBA, and he quickly became a shot-blocking and rebounding force who now has a shot at a maximum contract in free agency. “In my 50 years in the NBA, I’ve never seen that kind of phenomenon,” Riley said. “I know that’s hurting me right now as far as his free agency goes, complimenting him. But he’s really grown a lot.”
- After the Heat crushed the Cavaliers on Saturday, LeBron James offered a hug to his former coach, Erik Spoelstra, and some kind words for the rebuilding job the Heat franchise has done since he left for Cleveland in 2014, writes Ethan Skolnick of The Miami Herald. “They’ve opened up the floor a lot more now, with them being able to put Luol [Deng] at the four, and it definitely benefits [Goran] Dragic for sure. He looks to play in the open floor. It definitely helps their tempo,” James said. “And then the kid coming off the bench, Josh Richardson, really gives them a boost as well.”
The Heat’s up-tempo offense was enough to convince Joe Johnson to choose Miami over Cleveland, according to Jason Lloyd of The Akron Beacon Journal. When he was hired to replace David Blatt, Cavaliers head coach Tyronn Lue announced that he wanted to speed things up, but Johnson apparently preferred the fast-paced approach already established in Miami. “Style of play was probably the biggest difference,” Johnson said. “[The Heat] told me they wanted to get up and down the floor and run, and I mean it enticed me. I thought it was the best fit.” The Cavs will face Johnson on Saturday night for the first time since he made his decision.
Veteran big man Udonis Haslem is averaging a career-low 7.6 minutes per contest this season and is viewed as more of a mentor than a part of the team’s regular rotation, a role he is trying to embrace, Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel relays. “I’ve had so many different roles in my career,” Haslem said. “I’ve been a starter. I’ve been a sixth man. And now my role is coming to the point of where I’m more of a mentor, I’m more of a leader off the floor. But it’s still a job. It’s still something that I have to do my best at. It’s still something that I’ve got to put effort into. It’s still something that I’ve got to master. It’s still something that challenges me every game.”
“I want to be out there in the fight,” Haslem continued. “But if I’m not in the fight, then I have to do the best job that I can on the outside looking in. So that means pointing out things that I see on the floor, keeping the guys encouraged, being an extension of the coaches to some extent. And just still making sure guys do things the way that we do things. It’s a constant battle with myself because I’m such a competitor. I want to be on the floor. And it’s not like I’m old and broke down. I can still play. But I understand that there has to be room for these new guys. They have to blossom and they have to flourish and the only they’re going to do that is to get out there and play and get the experience. So, for that to happen, somebody has to step to the side.”
Here’s more regarding the Heat:
- Combo forward Luol Deng, who is set to become an unrestricted free agent this offseason, indicated that his priority when signing his next contract is to play for a winning organization and to not be a part of any rebuilding effort, as he told Sam Amick and Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today on their podcast (Audio link). Deng praised the Heat organization, referring to it as “first class,” and also lauded the team’s up-tempo offense, as the duo relayed. But despite Deng’s happiness with the team as well as his move to power forward, he told the USA Today writers that he fully intends to explore his options on the open market this summer. The 30-year-old has appeared in 61 games this season and is averaging 12.3 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 32.1 minutes per night. Deng is earning $10,151,612 in the final season of his contract.
- The Heat owe much of their second-half success to the improved play of the team’s reserves, Ethan J. Skolnick of The Miami Herald notes. Since moving center Hassan Whiteside into a reserve role, Miami has improved its bench output from last in the league with an average of 25.5 points in 17.5 minutes per game to ninth with 37.1 points in 18.8 minutes of action per contest, the scribe relays.
The Hawks‘ patience with Tim Hardaway Jr. is beginning to pay off, with the player finally rounding into shape after a wrist injury he suffered last season derailed his offseason program, David Aldridge of NBA.com writes. The swingman’s progress is due to the team being more concerned about getting him healthy than getting him on the court early in order to justify sacrificing a 2015 first-rounder in order to acquire him, Aldridge adds. Hardaway admitted it was difficult for him when told he wasn’t going to begin the season in the rotation, but coach/executive Mike Budenholzer‘s willingness to communicate assuaged any doubts he may have had, the scribe relays.
“I knew what was at stake,” Hardaway said. “I know what coach wanted me to do. When the coaches are able to talk to the players one on one, it makes life a lot easier, just to know what they want out of that player. It was great to have coach Bud just talk to me one on one, consistently, and not have me worry about it. He hears the positives I’m doing. And that helped me out tremendously.”
Here’s more out of the Southeast Division:
- The Heat are hoping the addition of Joe Johnson and their newfound offensive versatility will allow them to be a factor in the playoffs, Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel writes. “I think we’re an unpredictable team as far as who’s going to score the basketball,” Johnson said. “We’re not predictable in who’s going to have a big night. We’ve got a lot of guys that are very versatile, who make plays offensively and defensively. So I think it takes pressure off of everybody.” Miami has a 6-2 mark since signing Johnson, who agreed to a buyout with the Nets in order to join a playoff contender, Winderman notes.
- The Magic are a long shot to make the playoffs this season, with coach Scott Skiles pointing to the team’s lack of consistency throughout the campaign as a major contributing factor to its woes, Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel relays. “My ego would be crazy big if I thought it was having an effect right now,” Skiles said regarding his rallying cry for the team to make a postseason push. “We just came out and laid an egg. The rallying cry’s been the rallying cry. But you’re not eliminated ’til you’re mathematically eliminated. That’s just the way it goes. But the fact that we haven’t been able to consistently do the things that we need to do is not a good sign. But at any point we could do them. We just haven’t gotten it done.” Orlando is currently 4.5 games behind Chicago for the eighth and final playoff slot in the East.
Cavs center Timofey Mozgov has cost himself millions with his poor play this season, Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal opines. Mozgov, who is making $4.95MM this season and will head into unrestricted free agency, has been dealing with unspecified personal problems that have contributed to his lack of on-court production, Lloyd continues. Mozgov has been particularly ineffective defensively, which has led to a drop in playing time and teammates yelling at him after breakdowns, Lloyd adds. “I’ve got a lot of [stuff] in my head,” Mozgov told Lloyd. “I’m not going to share it to nobody. You ask me what’s going on in my head, you’re not going to find out.”
In other news around the Eastern Conference:
- Jose Calderon will play for the Spanish National Team during this summer’s Olympic Games, but his Knicks future beyond this season is uncertain, Marc Berman of the New York Post writes. Calderon has one year and approximately $7.7MM remaining on his contract but the Knicks could use the stretch provision and save $5MM on next season’s cap, Berman continues, though he’s a viable option as a backup point guard. Calderon’s thoughts concerning the offseason are centered around winning a gold medal, Berman adds. “It will be my fourth Olympics,” he told Berman. “I don’t know if I’ll have a chance to play more. I think four is a good number.”
- Sixers center Joel Embiid will have restrictions if and when he returns next season, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. The No. 3 pick in the 2014 draft is expected to finally make his debut after foot surgeries wiped out his first two seasons, but the team will exercise caution with him, as coach Brett Brown relayed to Pompey. “We have to be responsible with some minute restrictions with him,” Brown said. “You would assume that he’s not going to play back-to-back games. All those things will be determined.”
- Power forward Chris Bosh returned to the Heat bench in street clothes on Monday night, his first appearance there since blood clot issues sidelined him at the All-Star break, according to ESPN.com’s Michael Wallace and The Associated Press. However, it remains unclear if Bosh will return this season, the story adds. Bosh released a statement last week in which he expressed optimism about playing again before season’s end.
Heat point guard Goran Dragic praises former teammate Beno Udrih for accepting a buyout agreement, Ira Winderman of the Florida Sun Sentinel reports. Udrih’s buyout after suffering a season-ending foot injury eased the signing of swingman Joe Johnson and alleviated the team’s luxury tax issues, Winderman continues. “In the end, he helped a lot for this team with that buyout, what he did,” Dragic told Winderman. Udrih, who is still utilizing the Heat’s facilities during his rehabilitation, could re-sign with the Heat during the offseason, Winderman adds.
In other news around the Southeast Division:
- The Magic‘s decision to hire Scott Skiles as head coach and bring in an experienced staff has not worked, according to Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel. Orlando has a 9-24 record since New Year’s Day and doesn’t look much different than the team that Jacque Vaughn coached last season, Robbins continues. That makes Skiles’ rallying cry to make the playoffs ring hollow, Robbins adds. “The fact that we haven’t been able to consistently do the things that we need to do is not a good sign,” Skiles told Robbins. “But at any point we could do them. We just haven’t gotten it done.”
- Reserve Magic big man Jason Smith has positioned himself to take advantage of the league’s rising salary cap this summer by emerging as a valuable bench piece, John Denton of the team’s website writes. Smith, who becomes an unrestricted free agent again this summer, is averaging 6.7 points and 2.5 rebounds in 14.9 minutes as a rotation player. He signed a one-year, $4.3MM contract with Orlando last offseason and is shooting 49.9% from the field despite being primarily a midrange jump shooter, Denton adds. “I just try to be a spark off the bench,’’ Smith told Denton, adding that he prefers a backup role at this stage of his career. “I can get a feel for the game and how [the opponent] is going to play and how we’re playing on defense.”
- The Wizards lead the league in games lost due to injury but the front office and coaches are a bigger reason why they’ve had a disappointing season, Brett Koremenos of RealGM.com argues. The front office filled the back end of their roster with declining veterans and journeymen, while the coaches failed to make proper adjustments when injuries struck and the team needed to rely on its depth, Koremenos continues. The Wizards take too many low-percentage, long two-point shots because the playbook has a lot of complex, ineffective sets, Koremenos adds.