Miami Heat Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Eastern Notes: Williams, Hawks, Garnett

February 24th, 2015 at 6:34pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Pistons claimed Shawne Williams off waivers to offset the loss of Jonas Jerebko, who was traded to Boston last week, David Mayo of MLive.com writes. “We’re a little thin up front and Shawne played very well in Miami this year, got put in that trade to New Orleans, New Orleans waived him before they got everybody hurt, so we got some luck there,” Stan Van Gundy said. “So we got a little luck there. But we needed a little depth and he’s a guy that comes in, again, on a value contract, and he’s got a non-guaranteed contract for next year. So it gives us a lot of flexibility.”

Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:

The Wizards are sending $839K to the Kings as part of the Andre Miller for Ramon Sessions trade that occurred last week, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders notes (Twitter link).
There’s a decent chance the sale of the Hawks won’t be complete until May or June, a person familiar with the deal told Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Today is the deadline for prospective owners to submit preliminary bids, Vivlamore reports.
Newly acquired Goran Dragic has become a fan of his new team already, Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald relays (Twitter link). Speaking about the Heat, Dragic said, “They take care of players. I feel I’m spoiled here. So much great stuff.“
Kevin Garnett said that it was difficult for him to leave the Nets mid-season because of his loyalty to the organization, but he believed that returning to Minnesota was a great opportunity, Mike Mazzeo of ESPN.com writes.
The Knicks are counting on oft-injured Andrea Bargnani to help make up for the scoring the team lost with Carmelo Anthony being out for the season, Justin Tasch of The New York Daily News writes. “Well, he has the skillset and the versatility to do those things,” coach Derek Fisher said. “Whether he can average the same amount of points [as Anthony], we’ll see. He’s capable of it. I think if he can stay healthy and just continue to get a comfort out on the floor again, playing basketball, competing hard every night, the physical and mental grind that exists in doing that – which is different when you haven’t done that for a year, which is basically what it’s been for him.“

Suns GM On Dragic, Chemistry, Point Guards

February 24th, 2015 at 12:50pm CST by Chuck Myron

The departure of Goran Dragic from the Suns became contentious, with Dragic saying the day before the trade deadline that he didn’t trust the team’s front office, prompting executives Ryan McDonough and Lon Babby to fire back the day after trading him to the Heat. Isaiah Thomas, another of Phoenix’s starting-caliber point guards shipped out on deadline day, also takes issue with a recent McDonough remark. The Suns GM shared more of his side of the story Monday with Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe, whose piece provides a fascinating look at the dynamics at play with one of the most active teams at the deadline. Washburn’s entire interview with McDonough is worth a read, but we’ll share a few highlights:

On Dragic:

“I think the one thing that we took issue with more than anything else was one of our former players saying we lied to him. We didn’t lie to him. Maybe he forgets those comments. Maybe he doesn’t, you’d have to ask him but I feel like we’ve conducted ourselves with honesty, integrity. I feel like this is a place players like to come and want to do well. That was the thing that set us off and led to the comments that may have seemed a bit harsh.”

On the way the team meshed (or didn’t mesh):

“Heading into the All-Star break, we didn’t love the vibe around our team. I feel like there was a little more selfishness than there was last year. I think there’s some guys probably more concerned about their stats or individual contract status than team success. That’s one thing we’re trying to do here. We’re trying to build a culture, trying to find the core guys, the key guys to build around. I feel like we’re getting closer.’’

On the team’s experiment with Dragic, Thomas and Eric Bledsoe all together:

“Sometimes the players look at it and the agents look at it and say, ‘What’s best for my client?’ As a player, ‘What benefits me the most?’ That was a bit disappointing. [The three-guard offense] certainly didn’t succeed. It certainly didn’t fail but we’re fine with that.”

Aldridge’s Latest: Thunder, Lopez, Jackson

February 23rd, 2015 at 2:36pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Thunder aren’t making moves simply out of fear that Kevin Durant will jump ship in 2016 and Russell Westbrook will follow suit the next year, a league source tells TNT’s David Aldridge for his Morning Tip column on NBA.com. Still, it’s been an active season for GM Sam Presti, who went over the tax line to acquire Dion Waiters and stayed above it after Thursday’s swap that sent out Reggie Jackson and brought in Enes Kanter. Aldridge has much more in his column, and we’ll hit the highlights, many of which are Thunder-related:

The Thunder let the Nets know they wouldn’t do the proposed Jackson/Brook Lopez trade just 15 minutes before the deadline, Aldridge reports. The Nets likely would have dealt Jarrett Jack to the Wizards if they’d done that deal, Aldridge adds.
The concern that Arron Afflalo would turn down his player option and hit the open market dissuaded the Thunder from trading for him, as Aldridge explains.
The Rockets preferred Goran Dragic to Jackson and the Celtics weren’t willing to trade young players for the then-Thunder guard, Aldridge writes.
The Thunder didn’t have plans to re-sign Kendrick Perkins in the summer even before they traded him at the deadline, according to Aldridge.

Nets To Sign Thomas Robinson To 10-Day Deal

February 23rd, 2015 at 1:49pm CST by Chuck Myron

1:49pm: Robinson has agreed to sign a 10-day contract, though the Nets are expected to eventually sign him for the rest of the season, Wojnarowski reports in a full story.

1:26pm: Nets officials changed their minds about Robinson this weekend after they were initially uninterested in signing him, according to Tim Bontemps of the New York Post (Twitter link).

12:57pm: Robinson confirmed the agreement to Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders, as Kennedy relays in a pair of tweets.

12:47pm: The Nets and Thomas Robinson have agreed to a deal that will see the big man join the team after he clears waivers from the Nuggets, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). Denver released him Sunday after agreeing to a buyout deal, so he’s poised to clear waivers Tuesday. It’s something of a surprise to see Brooklyn end up with the former No. 5 overall pick, since a report late Sunday indicated that the Nets weren’t interested. That ran counter to an earlier dispatch from Shams Charania of RealGM that said Brooklyn, along with the Spurs, Suns, Heat and Hornets, had engaged in talks with Robinson.

Brooklyn has an open roster spot, so no corresponding move is required. The Nets are limited to paying the Tony Dutt client no more than the prorated minimum salary, which is less than the other teams reportedly in discussions could offer, as I explained. Still, it’s not a shock to see him settle for the minimum, as he’s struggled to live up to his lofty draft position, and Brooklyn is poised to become his fourth team in fewer than three NBA seasons. The Blazers declined their team option on the fourth year of his rookie scale contract before trading him to Denver at the deadline on Thursday.

Robinson was one of three prospects the Nets were particularly enamored with when they traded their 2012 lottery pick to Portland, according to Mike Mazzeo of ESPNNewYork.com (on Twitter). That pick came in sixth, which the Blazers used to select Damian Lillard, so Brooklyn wouldn’t have had a chance to nab Robinson, since the Kings took him fifth. Since then, Robinson has displayed proficiency on the boards, hauling in 11.7 per 36 minutes for his NBA career, but he’s otherwise failed to make much of an impact.

Financial Impact Of Deadline Trades: Southeast

February 23rd, 2015 at 8:58am CST by Chuck Myron

Last week’s trade deadline was a dizzying affair, with 39 players and 17 teams involved in a dozen trades, including a trio of three-team transactions. The day had wide-ranging effects on the salary structures of those 17 teams, and we’ll examine the aftermath for each of them in this multipart series.

We’ll begin today with the Southeast Division, home to the Heat, who acquired Goran Dragic, arguably the top player involved in the deadline-day trades, and the Wizards, who engineered an Andre Miller trade for the second deadline in a row. The salary figures listed here denote this season’s salaries, though we’ll also discuss salary for future seasons.

Miami Heat

In: ($9,206,250)

Goran Dragic ($7,500,000)
Zoran Dragic ($1,706,250)

Out: ($6,159,673)

Norris Cole ($2,038,206)
Shawne Williams ($1,227,985)
Justin Hamilton ($816,482)
Danny Granger ($2,077,000)

The Heat slightly lowered their financial commitments for 2015/16, since Zoran Dragic‘s salary for next season is about $464K less than Danny Granger‘s player option. That’s rare for a team that acquires a star, but it’s not nearly the most significant financial upshot here. There was no reasonable chance that Miami would have had been able to clear the cap room to chase Goran Dragic with a fair offer in free agency if they hadn’t traded for him at the deadline. Making a play for Dragic without already having him in the fold would likely have required Dwyane Wade to down his $16.125MM for next season and agree to re-sign for mid-level exception money. Even a “Heat lifer” such as Wade would no doubt hesitate to do that. The motivation to trade for Dragic was much greater for the Heat than for the Knicks or the Lakers, two of the other teams Dragic was reportedly eyeing, and two teams expected to have enough cap room to pay him the max this summer. Those teams will still be out there once Dragic turns down his $7.5MM player option, as he plans to do, but now Miami has the financial advantage of Dragic’s Bird rights to go over the cap to sign him.

For the time being, the trade makes it more difficult for the Heat to find a way to offset the loss of Chris Bosh for the season, since it causes the Heat’s team salary to leap by $3MM, putting them only around $1MM shy of the tax line. That makes it unlikely the team uses the full value of its nearly $2.653MM disabled player exception.

Washington Wizards

In: ($2,077,000).

Ramon Sessions ($2,077,000)

Out: ($4,625,000)

Andre Miller ($4,625,000)

Sacramento used a trade exception to accommodate this swap, which gave the Kings more than twice as much salary as they gave up, and that in turn allowed the Wizards the chance to create a trade exception of their own. The precise value of that new exception is unknown, since J. Michael of CSNWashington.com writes that the team used part of its $4,329,089 Trevor Ariza trade exception to absorb Sessions, while Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders figures the Wizards kept that exception intact (Twitter link). Michael’s way lets the Wizards create a new exception equivalent to Miller’s $4,625,000 salary, leaving the Ariza exception at $2,252,089. Pincus has the Wizards creating a new exception worth the difference between the salaries for Miller and Sessions, which comes to $2.548MM. If I had to take a guess, I’d say the Wizards did it as Michael indicates, since in that case the larger exception would be the newer of the two, giving it a later expiration date. However, that’s just my speculation.

What is clear is that Washington gave up some cap flexibility next season, taking on Sessions’ 2015/16 salary of more than $2.17MM instead of Miller’s contract, which expires at the end of this season, for some relief against the tax threshold this season. The Wizards were $1MM shy of the tax line going into the deadline, and now they have $3.548MM in breathing room. Even without the trade, Washington could still have added any player on a prorated portion of the minimum salary, which is all they have to give, and avoided the tax, assuming unlikely bonus clauses in the contracts of the players already on the roster didn’t trigger. I’d imagine the move was motivated more by Washington’s belief that Sessions can outperform Miller than by any immediate tax concerns, though that’s just my speculation. In any case, the team wouldn’t have had a chance to open enough cap room this summer to chase a marquee free agent before the trade, so adding Sessions’ salary for next season doesn’t do much harm. The Wizards should still have enough room beneath the projected $81MM tax threshold for 2015/16 to use the full biannual and non-taxpayer’s mid-level exceptions.

The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post.

And-Ones: Durant, Heat, Celtics, Hawks

February 22nd, 2015 at 11:32pm CST by Zachary Links

The Thunder announced via press release that Kevin Durant underwent a procedure on his right foot to help alleviate the soreness he has been experiencing. There’s no exact timetable for KD’s return at the moment, but we should have a better idea when he’s reevaluated a week from now. Here’s tonight’s glance around the Association..

Because of luxury-tax implications, the Heat may have to bypass spending the entire $2.65MM salary-cap exception received for Josh McRoberts‘ knee injury, Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel writes. The Heat have until March 10th to use that DPE, but they’re only $1.4MM below the 2014/15 luxury tax line of $76.8MM. The immediate luxury tax payment would be minimal, but it would reset the team’s luxury tax clock.
Even with Isaiah Thomas now in the fold, the loss of Jared Sullinger may be enough to sink the Celtics‘ playoff hopes, Jeremy Gottlieb of Boston.com writes. The C’s announced on Sunday that Sullinger will miss the remainder of the season because of a metatarsal stress fracture in his left foot. Sullinger was averaging 14.4 points and 28.7 minutes per game this season, both career highs.
Who says you need a superstar to win? The Hawks are shunning convention with their roster and soaring, Eric Koreen of the National Post writes.

Southeast Notes: Beasley, Dragic, Cole, Magic

February 21st, 2015 at 10:15pm CST by Arthur Hill

Former Heat forward Michael Beasley could be an option to replace Chris Bosh, reports Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel. Bosh was diagnosed with blood clots in his lungs this morning and will miss the rest of the season. Winderman notes that Beasley recently finished his season in China and has been holding workouts at Miami’s AmericanAirlines Arena. Another possibility is free agent center Andray Blatche, whom the team considered earlier this season. Miami has a $2.65 MM disabled-player exception from the knee injury suffered by Josh McRoberts.

There’s more news from the Southeast Division:

Newly acquired Goran Dragic isn’t committing to staying with the Heat yet, but he’s offering hints that he would like to see it happen, Winderman tweets. Dragic adds that his focus for now is helping Miami for the rest of the season (Twitter link), and he hopes that he has “a lot more years” with the Heat, but the business side of basketball is unpredictable (Twitter link).
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra told Winderman in a separate story that parting with Norris Cole was the most difficult part of the three-team trade that brought Dragic to Miami. Cole won two NBA titles in his three full seasons in Miami. “When you send a player like Norris Cole,” Spoelstra said, “to another team, a two-time champion, somebody that came up through our ranks — we developed him, we spent a lot of time when we drafted him — that’s always tough in this business.” For the record, the Bulls drafted Cole in 2011 and shipped him the next day to the Wolves, who flipped him to the Heat that same day.
The Magic aren’t planning any buyouts before the end of the season, reports Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel. At age 33, Willie Green had been considered a possible candidate, but he flatly stated that he has no interest. “‘Buyout’ is not really in my language,” Green said. “I get paid to come in here to be professional and play hard and go out and try to help the team win. As far as I’m concerned, I’m with Orlando for the rest of the year.”

Five Teams In Talks With Thomas Robinson

February 21st, 2015 at 7:07pm CST by Chuck Myron

Thomas Robinson has had conversations with the Spurs, Nets, Suns, Heat and Hornets in the wake of his buyout deal with the Nuggets, reports Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter link). The former No. 5 overall pick went to Denver in the deadline-day trade that sent Arron Afflalo to the Blazers.

The Suns can spend the most, with more than $3.247MM in cap room. Miami has a disabled player exception worth nearly $2.653MM it can spend. The Spurs have a prorated portion of their mid-level, worth about $2.4MM, while the Hornets have their room exception, which comes to about $2MM at this point. The exceptions that San Antonio and Charlotte possess reduce in value daily. The Nets are limited to the minimum salary, which also prorates on a daily basis.

Robinson has seen his minutes decline each season after his rookie campaign, when he was traded midseason from the Kings to the Rockets. Portland acquired him when Houston sent him out in a cap-clearing move that helped the Rockets sign Dwight Howard, but at each stop, the power forward has failed to live up to his draft position. Still, he’s an efficient rebounder, averaging 4.2 boards in 12.2 minutes per game this season.

Southeast Notes: Dragic, Sessions, Wizards

February 21st, 2015 at 4:23pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Dwyane Wade is extremely pleased that the Heat acquired Goran Dragic, calling his new teammate the best point guard he’s ever been paired with, Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel writes. “I haven’t played with a point guard with his ability since I’ve been here, in the league,” Wade said. “This is going to be great for everyone, a guy who can penetrate, set guys up, but also a guy who can score the basketball, as well, someone who’s very tough. You want a tough guy to play with. He is that. Needless to say, I was very happy about what we were able to do at the trade deadline.”

Here’s more from the Southeast Division:

The trade of Andre Miller to the Kings for Ramon Sessions gave the Wizards approximately $2.5MM more space beneath the luxury tax threshold to work with, which could come in handy if Washington needs to sign another player, Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post notes.
The Wizards hope that Sessions will perform well enough to lock down the backup point guard duties for next season, when he is owed a reasonable $2,170,465, J. Michael of CSNWashington.com writes. “There’s no question about that. We’re not going to take on any real long-term contracts. We don’t want to hurt our long-term flexibility,” Washington GM Ernie Grunfeld said. “At the same time, when a player comes available you want to look at it. He’s under contract this year and next year and if you look at backup point guards that are going to be available next year, it’s not a great list. It’s not that many of them.“
Sessions is happy to be a member of the Wizards, Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today relays. “Washington is a great situation for Ramon,” Sessions’ agent Jared Karnes said. “He’s obviously looking forward to going to the playoffs. He has a contract year coming up and this gives him a chance shake things up and be part of a playoff team. Ramon appreciated his time in Sacramento and wishes them success.“

Chris Bosh Out For The Season

February 21st, 2015 at 3:39pm CST by Chuck Myron

SATURDAY, 3:39pm: Bosh is officially out for the remainder of the season, the Heat announced in a press release. The team’s statement added, “Bosh, who is receiving care under the guidance of Miami Heat team physicians at a Baptist Health System Hospital, is currently resting comfortably. Chris is OK and his prognosis is good.”

5:08pm: The Heat are expected to announce that Bosh’s season is over, Joseph Goodman of The Miami Herald reports (Twitter link). However, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra has stated that no decision regarding Bosh has been made yet, Jason Lieser of The Palm Beach Post tweets. “We’re still in the info collecting process. Anything right now is premature. We’ll know more as soon as we can,” Spoelstra said.

12:46pm: Bosh has blood clots in both lungs, Zwerling hears (Twitter link).

11:49am: Heat coach Erik Spoelstra cautioned that while the team is concerned, Bosh’s diagnosis isn’t final, as USA Today’s Jeff Zillgitt relays.

9:49am: Bosh has a blood clot in one lung, according to Bleacher Report’s Jared Zwerling (Twitter link). Heat team president Pat Riley understands that Bosh’s condition typically sidelines players for the season, tweets Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald, who wrote earlier that it’s “difficult to envision” Bosh playing again this season.

FRIDAY, 8:19am: The Heat are worried that Chris Bosh has multiple blood clots on his lungs that would force him to miss the rest of the season, reports Joseph Goodman of the Miami Herald. Initial tests proved inclusive after Bosh was admitted to a Miami-area hospital Thursday, according to Goodman. The treatment for pulmonary embolus, or multiple clots, would involve blood thinners, which could keep the Heat’s star out for even longer than the balance of 2014/15, Goodman writes. The condition appears to have come on rather quickly for Bosh, who played just this past Sunday in the All-Star Game.

An absence of any significant length would be a devastating blow to the Heat, who are in a dogfight to make the playoffs in the Eastern Conference, and on Thursday they acquired Goran Dragic in part to help that postseason push. The deadline to apply for a disabled player exception passed last month, so Miami couldn’t gain any additional salary flexibility if Bosh were to be ruled out for the season, though the team does already have a disabled player exception worth $2,652,500 for Josh McRoberts. That exception doesn’t expire until March 10th.

The Heat have a pair of open roster spots, though they’re reportedly set to sign Henry Walker to a 10-day contract. Center Kendrick Perkins seems headed for a buyout from the Jazz, while the Nuggets and Thomas Robinson have apparently already agreed to one, and the Heat reportedly showed interest in free agent Andray Blatche earlier this season. It’s unclear if Miami would pursue any of them at this point, and none would come close to the production of Bosh, who’s averaged 21.1 points and 7.0 rebounds per game. Bosh, 30, is making $20.644MM in the first year of a five-year max contract. One NBA player is already being forced to miss the rest of this season with multiple blood clots in his lungs, as the condition struck Nets forward Mirza Teletovic last month.