Heat Rumors

Eastern Notes: Bucks, Heat, Knicks

November 15th, 2014 at 8:48pm CST by ChrisCrouse

After finishing last season with the worst record in the NBA, the Bucks are benefiting from a change in culture, writes Mary Stevens of Basketball Insiders. New coach Jason Kidd has received praise from many players, including center Larry Sanders. “He’s a great coach. As good as a player he was, I think he’s a better coach,” Sanders said. “He really knows how to run a team. He’s putting all of us in a position to be successful.” Sanders, who last year signed an extension to remain in Milwaukee through the 2017/18 season, has helped the Bucks rank third in scoring defense (93.6 points per game allowed) through nine games.

Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:

The Heat’s new additions have yet to gel and the lack of defensive cohesion is upsetting the team, writes Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel. “This defensive system is built on trust, and we’re not there yet,” center Chris Bosh said. “I think that’s obvious. But guys have to take their positions, guys have to know their rotations. They have to know exactly what they’re doing when the ball goes to a certain place.” Despite their decline, the Heat are only giving up 97.8 PPG, which is the 12th-best mark in the league.
Knicks coach Derek Fisher believes the team’s current hardship will help the club down the road, writes Barbara Barker of Newsday.com. “Oftentimes it takes humbling experiences and adversity to soften the environment enough for guys to really grow. I think we have a lot of that going on in our group right now and it’ll pay off in the long run. Right now, we’re not getting the wins that we would like, but it’s gonna pay off,” said Fisher. The Knicks have started the season with a 2-8 record.
Even though the Knicks are struggling, finger-pointing within the locker room is no longer an issue, writes Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com. Guard Iman Shumpert believes the team’s chemistry is better this season. “I know it was a problem last year. This year, [there’s] a confidence in the system and confidence in one another,” Shumpert said. “I think everybody trusted [each other] once we came to training camp; we could see that everybody worked their [butts] off this summer.”

Eastern Notes: Cavs, Patterson, Wade

November 11th, 2014 at 8:40pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Nate Duncan of Basketball Insiders runs down some possible options the Cavs have to fortify their struggling roster. Given Cleveland’s proximity to the luxury tax line, their spending flexibility is somewhat limited, so Duncan isn’t convinced that extending Anderson Varejao was the right decision.

Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference:

Earlier this week I ran down the highest paid players in the NBA and Kobe Bryant topped the list with his salary of $23.5MM for 2014/15. Chris Johnson of SI.com took a look at this same topic, but factored in taxes (city/state/Federal), NBPA fees, as well as the cuts that the players’ agents receive. According to Johnson’s new calculations the player who is actually taking home the most cash this season is the Nets‘ Joe Johnson.
Patrick Patterson said that he was “very tempted” to sign with the Magic this past summer, Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports reports (Twitter link). Orlando’s pitch tried to sell Patterson on an opportunity to be a starter, but in the end the forward wanted to play for a contending team, something re-signing with the Raptors gave him a much better chance at this season, notes Lewenberg.
Miami’s Dwyane Wade is much happier this season despite the Heat having lost LeBron James to the Cavs via free agency this past summer, Joseph Goodman of The Miami Herald writes. This isn’t because of any issues Wade had with James, but now Wade gets to have the ball in his hands more often, notes Goodman, something that makes Wade more comfortable as a player.

Charlie Adams contributed to this post.

Southeast Notes: Oladipo, Fournier, James, Wall

November 9th, 2014 at 12:35pm CST by Arthur Hill

Magic guard Victor Oladipo has donned a mask and is participating in light drills, reports Brian Schmitz of The Orlando Sentinel. The second-year guard suffered a facial fracture under his right eye during an October 23rd scrimmage and underwent surgery October 25th. He has been cleared to fly and is joining the team on its current road trip, but there is no schedule for his return to the court. “The biggest thing is just getting used to it, having something on your face,” Oladipo said of his mask, adding that it felt “a little bit” weird to wear it.

Also in the Eastern Conference:

After a change of scenery, Evan Fournier is thriving in his new role for the Magic, Schmitz writes. Fournier, who was traded to Orlando along with the 56th pick of the 2014 draft for Arron Afflalo last June, isn’t trying to replace Affalo’s production. “I don’t take it that way,” Fournier said. “I’m here to play my game. That’s the only thing that matters. I’m not here to do something like Arron.”
Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel says LeBron James is asking for patience with the Cavaliers, but rarely showed it during his final season with the Heat. “By the end of his Miami Heat tenure,” Winderman writes, “all indications were LeBron James‘ patience had run out with Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Erik Spoelstra and Pat Riley/Micky Arison. He essentially left without a clarifying word to any.” Winderman charges that James’ desire to win more NBA titles to add to his legacy led the Cavaliers to trade away overall No.1 picks Andrew Wiggins and Anthony Bennett, while adding veterans Mike Miller and James Jones.
John Wall lamented the Wizards‘ lack of a “killer instinct” after nearly letting a 22-point lead get away Saturday against the Pacers, reports Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post. The fifth-year guard, who is in the second year of a five-year, $84.79MM max extension, says the Wizards haven’t learned haven’t learned how to put teams away when they have the opportunity. “We made it a tougher game than we wanted it to be,” Wall said. “We didn’t do a great job of closing the game out, but as long as we got the win and finished four-in-five-nights 3-1, you can’t ask for a better record.”

Chris Crouse contributed to this post.

Offseason In Review: Miami Heat

November 7th, 2014 at 6:16pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Hoops Rumors is in the process of looking back at each team’s offseason, from the end of the playoffs in June right up until opening night. Trades, free agent signings, draft picks, contract extensions, option decisions, camp invitees, and more will be covered, as we examine the moves each franchise made over the last several months.

Signings

Chris Bosh: Five years, $118.705MM. Re-signed via Bird rights.
Dwyane Wade: Two years, $31.125MM. Re-signed via Bird rights. Second year is player option. Includes no-trade clause.
Josh McRoberts: Four years, $22.652MM. Signed via cap room. Fourth year is player option.
Luol Deng: Two years, $19.86MM. Signed via cap room. Second year is player option.
Chris Andersen: Two years, $10.375MM. Re-signed via Early Bird rights.
Mario Chalmers. Two years, $8.3MM. Re-signed via Bird rights.
Udonis Haslem: Two years, $5.587MM. Re-signed via room exception.
Danny Granger: Two years, $4.247MM. Signed via cap room. Second year is player option.
Shawne Williams: Two years, $2.584MM. Signed via minimum-salary exception. Second year is non-guaranteed.
Shannon Brown: One year, $1.31MM. Signed via minimum-salary exception. Non-guaranteed.
Andre Dawkins: One year, $507K. Signed via minimum-salary exception. Non-guaranteed.

Extensions

None

Trades

Acquired 2014 pick No. 24 from the Hornets in exchange for 2014 pick No. 26, 2014 pick No. 55, Miami’s 2019 second-round pick and cash.

Waiver Claims

None

Draft Picks

Shabazz Napier (Round 1, 24th overall). Signed via rookie scale exception to rookie scale contract.
James Ennis (2013, Round 2, 50th overall). Signed via cap room for three years, $2.333MM. Second and third years are non-guaranteed.

Camp Invitees

Khem Birch
Larry Drew II
Chris Johnson
Tyler Johnson
Shawn Jones
Reggie Williams

Departing Players

Rookie Contract Option Decisions

None

When you lose a player who is arguably the best in the world, it’s not exactly a great start to an offseason. But that is the reality that the Heat had to deal with in the wake of LeBron James returning his talents to Cleveland. But alas, life must go on, and there are few folks around the league outside of Miami who feel sorry for the Heat. All things considered, team president Pat Riley managed to recover adroitly from the blow that LeBron’s decision struck, and Riley was able to land a number of useful new pieces while keeping a large part of the team’s core in place.

Miami’s most significant move of the summer was re-signing Chris Bosh to a five-year, $118,705,300 maximum-salary deal. The Rockets heavily courted Bosh, and Houston went as far as to deal away Omer Asik and Jeremy Lin in order to clear enough cap space to allow the team sign him. But in the end, Bosh stayed true to his word that he would return to South Beach, and the fact that the Heat were able to offer a fifth year didn’t hurt their recruitment efforts, either.

Now Bosh will get the opportunity to remind the league of his years with the Raptors when he was that franchise’s No. 1 option and averaged more than 22 points per game for five consecutive seasons. None of the “Big Three” sacrificed their games for the betterment of the Heat as much as Bosh did, and Bosh was suitably rewarded with his new deal. The 30-year-old forward has lived up to his end of the bargain thus far, averaging 24.2 PPG and 11 rebounds per game through the team’s first five contests.

Riley also re-signed franchise icon Dwyane Wade this summer, though I’m not as bullish on this deal as I am on Bosh’s, since Wade hasn’t appeared in more than 70 games in a season since the 2010/11 campaign, and he isn’t close to being the dominant force that he was during his prime. The $15MM that Miami will pay Wade this season isn’t a problem, but next season’s $16.125MM player option could hamstring Miami’s efforts to acquire another upper-tier player.

Also re-signing with Miami this summer were Mario Chalmers, Udonis Haslem, and Chris Andersen. All three are valuable role players for the franchise, though I feel that the team overpaid for Chalmers, who had a brutal postseason last year, and with first-round pick Shabazz Napier showing enormous potential, having Chalmers and his $4.3MM salary on the books for next year could be unnecessary. As for Haslem and Andersen, both are valuable rotation pieces who bring an enormous amount of energy and tireless work ethic to the court, but both are over 34 years old and have had numerous injury issues the past few seasons. The frequency of injuries usually doesn’t abate as players age, and that’s especially true with big men. Their salaries aren’t excessive, but fully guaranteeing the second years for both could end up being problematic.

Miami already has $41,185,835 in guaranteed salary committed for 2015/16, plus another $28,447,077 in player options, totaling $69,632,912. With the injury risks for Wade, Haslem, Andersen, and the oft-injured Danny Granger, whom Riley signed on the cheap this summer, Miami could be looking at a large chunk of its salary cap sitting behind the bench in street clothes for long stretches over the next two years. The team will probably enter next summer without cap space, and depending on what it wants to do with Norris Cole, who went without a rookie scale extension and is poised for restricted free agency, perhaps close enough to the tax threshold to keep it from using the full mid-level exception. With LeBron gone, so likely are the days when veterans would be willing to take pay cuts to come to South Beach in return for a shot at a ring.

The team made a pair of other important moves during the offseason, chief among them the signing of Luol Deng. Much of LeBron’s numbers will have to be made up by aggregation, but it’s not only on the offensive side where Deng can help the team compensate for James’ departure. It is Deng’s defense and fiery demeanor that will benefit the team the most. Deng, who has a player option, may only stay in Miami for a season, depending on how strong a year he has, and how he feels about the direction of the team, but he is an excellent addition nonetheless.

I’m not particularly fond of the deal the Heat gave to Josh McRoberts, however. This signing was made prior to LeBron announcing his free agent destination, and a large part of me feels that if Riley had known he wouldn’t have James next season, he wouldn’t have done this deal. McRoberts would have been an excellent rotation piece on a contending team fronted by James, but as a starter who will be counted on for more than just spreading the floor, a four-year, $22,652,350 deal seems like a gross overpay for a 28-year-old forward who has career averages of 5.7 PPG and 4.1 RPG. The Hornets made a much wiser signing to replace the departed McRoberts with Marvin Williams, who has significantly better career numbers and has been more consistent over the course of his time in the league.

The Heat made the best of a trying situation this offseason, though a number of the deals they made could come back to haunt them next season. Riley proved his worth as an executive once again in being able to field a competitive team in spite of having been spurned by James. Miami is also lucky to reside in the Eastern Conference, so the team should factor into the playoff picture this year. Still, it’s next season when the Heat will truly feel the weight of the salary cap pressing down upon them, and absence of LeBron will begin to sting more sharply.

Photo courtesy of USA Today. The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post. Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Southeast Notes: McRoberts, Harris, Frye

November 6th, 2014 at 3:31pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Wizards haven’t won a division title since 1978/79, but they’re atop the Southeast Division standings today with a 4-1 record. Of course, the season is only nine days old, but Washington is looking strong so far even in the absence of Bradley Beal. Here’s more on the Wizards’ rivals in the Southeast Division:

Heat power forward Josh McRoberts said it was his intention to re-sign with Charlotte when he opted out of his contract to hit free agency last summer, observes Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer. Miami made a stronger recruiting effort at the start, even though Hornets owner Michael Jordan doubled back to meet with him later, McRoberts said, adding that while he felt that some within the Hornets organization, including coach Steve Clifford, wanted him back, he didn’t think everyone did. The Hornets didn’t offer him a deal similar to the four-year, $22.652MM contract he signed with the Heat until Miami already had its money on the table, sources tell Bonnell.
Tobias Harris said the Magic never negotiated on an extension for him before the October 31st deadline, as Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel notes amid a piece examining the year ahead for the forward who’s poised for restricted free agency. GM Rob Hennigan said in September that he had spoken with the Harris camp, and multiple reports indicated that talks indeed took place, if only briefly. Perhaps Harris meant that the Magic didn’t budge from their initial proposals rather than that no discussions took place, though that’s just my speculation.
A fondness for the city of Orlando, the direction of the Magic‘s youthful roster, a chance for more playing time and a recommendation from Grant Hill helped influence Channing Frye‘s decision to sign with the Magic, as Frye told Steve Aschburner of NBA.com. The presence of Harris, Frye’s cousin, didn’t hurt, either, as Aschburner examines.

Eastern Notes: Napier, Dellavedova, Sixers

November 5th, 2014 at 10:31pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Sixers are keeping their eyes open for another big man to sign, Tom Moore of Calkins Media reports (Twitter link), though, according to Moore, no move is imminent. Philadelphia currently has 15 players on its roster so someone would need to be waived or dealt before another big could be added. The top bigs available currently are Dante Cunningham, Rashard Lewis, Ivan Johnson, Jeff Adrien, and Bernard James. With the Sixers in full-on rebuild mode, they may look to the D-League for a player with upside rather than a veteran, though that is just my speculation.

Here’s more from around the league:

The trade for Shabazz Napier on draft night has worked out very well for the Heat so far, Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel writes. While Napier is only averaging 5.0 PPG and 3.0 APG, he’s been the point guard on the floor for Miami during crunch time, which is a strong indicator of his standing on the team, notes Winderman. “The thing about that is that whatever opportunity I get, I’m going to try my best, and I expect a lot from myself no matter what,” Napier said. “And I’m fortunate enough that Coach puts me in the fourth quarter. So I’m going to do whatever I can possible do.“
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra isn’t thrilled with the new experimental rules that are to be tested in the D-League, Winderman writes in a separate piece. Spoelstra isn’t a fan of all the play stoppages the league currently has, and said, “I don’t think any of that stuff matters until we figure out what’s going on with replays. Replays are what’s extending the games 20, 30 minutes each game.” One of the new rules being tested are coaches challenges which would serve to increase the amount of time officials spend looking at replays during games.
The Bucks have fired Skip Robinson, longtime VP of player development, Gerry Woelfel of The Racine Journal Times reports (Twitter link). The reason for Robinson being dismissed is unknown at this time, Woelfel adds.
Cavs guard Matthew Dellavedova has been diagnosed with a grade two MCL sprain and is expected to miss up to six weeks, Chris Haynes of The Northeast Ohio Media Group reports. In three games Dellavedova is averaging 2.7 points, 1 rebound and 2.3 assists. Cleveland recently waived A.J. Price and signed Will Cherry, who will most likely see increased minutes with Dellavedova out for an extended period.
Former Celtic Leon Powe has been observing Boston’s practices and meetings with an eye on a potential move to a front office position in the future, Scott Souza of the MetroWest Daily News reports (Twitter link).

And-Ones: Varejao, Bryant, Cavs

November 1st, 2014 at 4:50pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Given Anderson Varejao‘s injury history, the Cavs signing him to a three year deal might seem risky, but Terry Pluto of The Plain Dealer explains why it was a smart move for the team. Pluto cites the team’s desire to win now, Cleveland’s lack of depth at center, and that Varejao’s $10MM per season salary won’t seem that high once the new CBA kicks in and player salaries escalate. Pluto also notes that the non-guaranteed third year of the contract was added because the organization views it as a potential trade chip.

Here’s more from around the league:

The Lakers look to be in for a long season that is more likely to end with a lottery pick than a playoff berth. Brian Schmitz of The Orlando Sentinel believes that Los Angeles should consider trading Kobe Bryant to the Knicks for Amar’e Stoudemire‘s expiring contract. This would get Bryant’s deal off of the books in time for next summer’s free agent class, as well as reunite Bryant with Phil Jackson, and help the Knicks implement the triangle offense more effectively, Schmitz opines.
Cavs owner Dan Gilbert’s comments about a willingness to spend whatever it took to put LeBron James back on top, no matter the cost, were a jab at the Heat organization and team owner Micky Arison, Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel writes. Moves such as amnestying Mike Miller in 2013, or the team declining to use their mid-level exception last season despite a lack of roster depth, were rumored to rub James the wrong way and possibly contributed to him returning to Cleveland, notes Winderman.
Lorenzo Brown and Josh Bostic agreed to contracts with the Grand Rapids Drive of the NBA D-League, David Mayo of MLive reports (Twitter link). Both players were waived by the Pistons who will retain their D-League rights.

Heat, Norris Cole To Pass On Extension

October 31st, 2014 at 8:31pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Heat and Norris Cole will forgo an extension before tonight’s 11:00pm Central deadline, setting up the point guard for restricted free agency next summer, reports Joseph Goodman of the Miami Herald (Twitter link). A report from Marc Stein of ESPN.com overnight indicated that an extension was unlikely, and aside from Stein’s dispatch from two weeks ago indicating that the sides were in talks, the rumor mill has been quiet about any extension for the 28th overall pick from the 2011 draft.

That’s no surprise, since Cole has spent almost his entire time with the Heat as a backup to Mario Chalmers, to whom the Heat committed a new two-year, $8.3MM deal this summer. Chalmers nonetheless came off the bench behind Cole in Miami’s opener, signaling a larger role for the 26-year-old as he embarks on what’s now a walk year.

Cole, a native of Dayton Ohio who went to Cleveland State University, dropped agent Joel Bell over the summer in favor of Rich Paul and Klutch Sports, the same agency that represents former teammate LeBron James. Klutch has reportedly been using the prospect of James’ influence with the Cavs to sell potential clients on the idea that they can receive a favorable deal from Cleveland if they join the agency. Still, there have been no reports linking Cole to the Cavs.

The Heat apparently turned away inquiries about Cole at the trade deadline last year, but a report over the summer indicated the team was dangling him in trade talk. In any case, he’ll be playing this season on an expiring contract with a salary of more than $2.038MM. Miami has nearly $42.2MM in commitments for 2015/16, but that doesn’t include more than $18MM in player options for Dwyane Wade, Luol Deng and Danny Granger. Perhaps more importantly, the lack of an extension for Cole also preserves Miami’s flexibility for the summer of 2016, when the Heat are set to be major players in the free agent market.

Extension Rumors: Butler, Rubio, Thompson

October 31st, 2014 at 11:54am CST by Chuck Myron

The 11:00pm Central deadline for rookie-scale extensions is only about half a day away, and there’s sure to be action in the hours ahead as decisions loom for the remaining eligible players. Here’s the latest as of this morning:

The Bulls and Butler were apart by $2.5MM in average annual value as they talked Thursday, Johnson reports. Butler’s camp doesn’t see a deal happening before the deadline, according to USA Today’s Sam Amick (on Twitter), which isn’t surprising considering the gap.
The Wolves are willing to sign Rubio to a four-year extension worth $52MM, and the team would perhaps be on board with going up to $54MM, according to Wolfson (Twitter link). Agent Dan Fegan has reportedly been seeking the maximum salary for his client, which would likely entail at least $66MM over four years, but Rubio would take $58MM, Wolfson says.
There’s “plenty of pessimism” surrounding the talks between Tristan Thompson and the Cavs as a gap remains in their proposals, reports Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com (via Twitter).

Earlier updates:

Ricky Rubio is more likely than not to sign an extension with the Wolves as advanced negotiations have taken place between the sides over the past few weeks, sources tell Marc Stein of ESPN.com. That echoes an earlier report from Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities, who heard from people outside the organization who believed Rubio and the team would ultimately settle on a four-year, $52MM deal.
Agent Brian Elfus has been in San Antonio negotiating with the Spurs this week, as Stein writes in the same piece, but Kawhi Leonard is nonetheless unlikely to sign an extension, Stein says, seconding a report from ESPN colleague Chris Broussard. Stein hears the Spurs prefer to take Leonard to restricted free agency next summer to maintain maximum financial flexibility. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports wrote earlier this week that the Spurs were reluctant to give Leonard the maximum salary he’s seeking.
Talks are continuing between the Warriors and Klay Thompson and the Cavs and Tristan Thompson, Stein reports.
Brandon Knight and Norris Cole appear unlikely to receive extensions, according to Stein, though talks are still going on between the Bucks and Knight’s agent, Arn Tellem, a source tells Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Stein seconds earlier reports indicating that Jimmy Butler, Reggie Jackson and Iman Shumpert also seem unlikely to sign extensions.
The Bulls are going to have to increase their offer to Butler to entice him to sign, tweets K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune. It’s unclear what the Bulls have on the table, but as of a week ago the sides were “millions apart,” as Johnson wrote then.

Minor Moves: Covington, Mekel, Heat, Warriors

October 30th, 2014 at 12:19pm CST by Chuck Myron

Robert Covington nearly had a deal with the Sixers this week shortly after the Rockets waived him, but talks broke down over contract length and the 23-year-old forward is expected to sign with the D-League instead, Shams Charania of RealGM reports. Philadelphia offered a four-year arrangement with a “high” amount of guaranteed salary, Charania writes, but Covington apparently passed on that. The sides were unable to forge a deal on a shorter contract, Charania notes. Covington joins K.J. McDaniels, the 32nd pick in this year’s draft who inked with the Sixers for just one year, among those resisting Philly’s efforts to tie up young players on long-term deals. The deluge of players hitting waivers in the past week has led to news around the D-League and international circuits, and we’ll pass along the latest here:

Gal Mekel isn’t thinking of heading overseas to play in the wake of the Mavs‘ decision to waive him Wednesday, tweets David Pick of Eurobasket.com, so he’ll remain free to sign with another NBA team providing he clears waivers.
Khem Birch, Larry Drew II, Tyler Johnson and Shawn Jones have agreed to join the Heat‘s D-League affiliate, reports Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel (Twitter link). Miami is using its ability to reserve the D-League rights to up to four of its preseason cuts to keep Birch, Johnson and Jones out of the D-League draft, but Drew played with the Heat’s D-League affiliate last year, so he wouldn’t have been subject to the draft. That allows the Heat to preserve their ability to retain the D-League rights to one player they waive during the regular season. Andre Dawkins seems a likely candidate for that sort of maneuver, Winderman suggests (on Twitter).
Sean Kilpatrick will play for the Warriors D-League affiliate, tweets Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv, who confirms an earlier report that Aaron Craft will do the same. That means Golden State retained the D-League rights to both after waiving them last week.

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