Miami Heat Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Poll: Will Heat Break Winning Streak Record?

March 18th, 2013 at 10:26pm CST by Zachary Links

With a 15.5 game lead over the Hawks in the Southeast and a 11.5 cushion separating them from the Pacers for the best record in the Eastern Conference, the Heat could probably afford to rest on their laurels a bit down the home stretch. However, with tonight's win over the Celtics, they now hold the second-longest winning streak in NBA history at 23. Right now, the Heat aren't chasing anyone except for the 1971/72 Lakers, who won 33 consecutive games.

Of course, rattling off another eleven straight victories won't be easy, but the Heat's schedule over the next few weeks is mostly made up of lottery teams. The schedule will feature the Cavs, Pistons, Bobcats, Magic, Bulls, Hornets, Spurs, Knicks, Bobcats (again), Sixers, and Bucks. The Spurs and Knicks should be the two toughest opponents of the bunch, but the Heat downed New York earlier this month at MSG, 99-93. It's your turn to weigh in.

Odds & Ends: Heat, Andersen, Draft

March 17th, 2013 at 8:00pm CST by Zachary Links

Earlier today, the Heat won their 22nd straight game when they topped the Raptors, tying the second the longest winning streak in NBA history. LeBron James had 22 points and 12 rebounds in 32nd double-double of the season, Dwyane Wade had 24 points and nine assists, and Ray Allen had 16 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter as Miami cruised to victory. Here's more from around the Association…

Chris Andersen tells Shams Charania of RealGM.com that was surprised the Heat picked him up earlier this year after he underwent offseason knee surgery and was released via the amnesty clause from the Nuggets. The Birdman's upside intrigued Miami's front office like no other free agent big man, Charania writes.
One NBA scout told Sam Amico of FOX Sports (on Twitter) that most GMs wish they could sit out the 2013 draft. The trouble is, no one particularly wants to trade for their picks.
Speaking of the 2013 draft, Joe Kotoch of Sheridan Hoops has his top 20 NBA draft prospects as we look ahead to March Madness. Despite his knee injury, Kentucky's Nerlens Noel still tops Kotoch's list.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Atlantic Links: Blatche, Kenyon, Celtics, Bynum

March 17th, 2013 at 11:00am CST by Chuck Myron

We passed along word of the Knicks' interest in Timofey Mozgov already today, and there's still more news out of the Atlantic Division. We've got it covered right here:

Andray Blatche hinted earlier this week that he might be willing to re-sign the Nets this summer at a discount, and he followed up by clearly expressing his desire to return to Brooklyn in comments to Mike Mazzeo of ESPNNewYork.com. "Most definitely," Blatche said. "I love it here. We've got a great team here, a great staff. The fans are crazy. I mean, everything about this organization is great, so hopefully I can come back. I feel like this is my new home, now, really. I feel comfortable with everything that's going on."
Kenyon Martin thought he deserved another shot with the Clippers after he served the team off the bench last season, but Mike Woodson is glad to have him around on the shorthanded Knicks, observes Marc Berman of the New York Post.
Shavlik Randolph and D.J. White have no idea whether the Celtics will keep them for the rest of the season when their second 10-day contracts expire this week, but with their playing time limited, Randolph believes the team will judge them based mostly on what they did before arriving in Boston. Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe has the details.
Randolph got a rare opportunity to contribute last night against the Bobcats, and his performance, which drew raves from coach Celtics coach Doc Rivers. That helped his case for remaining with the team for the rest of the season, opines Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com.
John Smallwood of the Philadelphia Daily News believes LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh will remain in Miami after 2014, when they have the opportunity to become free agents. That will keep the Heat on top for years to come, Smallwood writes, arguing that there's no use in re-signing Andrew Bynum for the Sixers, who won't realistically challenge for a title with or without him.

Heat Re-Sign Juwan Howard

March 12th, 2013 at 9:32am CST by Luke Adams

Juwan Howard's 10-day contract with the Heat expired overnight, but the team didn't waste any time ensuring that the veteran big man remains under contract. The Heat announced today in a press release that Howard has been re-signed to a second 10-day deal.

Howard, 40, has yet to appear in a game with the Heat this season, but has a spot on the roster more for his off-court leadership than what he can provide on the court. Chris Tomasson of FOX Sports Florida reported last week that Howard was expected to receive a second 10-day contract, while Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel reported when Howard first signed that he would likely stick with the Heat for the season.

Howard's new 10-day contract will expire next Thursday night, at which point the team will have to either let him go or re-sign him to a rest-of-season deal.

D-League Moves: Thunder, Heat, Lamb, Varnado

March 10th, 2013 at 10:01pm CST by Chuck Myron

We'll keep track of today's D-League assignments and recalls here, with any additional moves added to the top of the page.

The Heat announced that they have recalled Jarvis Varnado from the Sioux Falls Skyforce after a stay that lasted less than two weeks. In 15 D-League games this year, Varnado has averaged 12.3 points, 9.9 rebounds, 3.67 blocks, 1.1 assists and 29.9 minutes while shooting 52.2 percent from the field.
The Thunder continue to make liberal use of their nearby D-League affiliate, announcing they've assigned forward Perry Jones III and shooting guard Jeremy Lamb to the Tulsa 66ers. It's the sixth time Jones has been sent down this season, and the seventh assignment for Lamb, who's put up slightly better numbers over his time in Tulsa. Lamb is averaging 21.1 points, 5.4 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game in the D-League, while Jones has posted 14.8 PPG and 6.9 RPG.

Odds & Ends: Oden, Mavs, Rose, HGH, Kings

March 9th, 2013 at 4:35pm CST by Chuck Myron

Greg Oden and the Cavs appeared to engage in heavy flirtation last night, as the former No. 1 overall pick sat in one of owner Dan Gilbert's courtside seats at the Cavs-Grizzlies game. While Oden regards Cleveland as one of his favored destinations for a return to the league, the Cavs haven't made him an offer, agent Mike Conley Sr. tells Chris Tomasson of Fox Sports Florida (Twitter link). Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld believes the big man will eventually sign with the Heat, based on multiple sources who insist Miami will be his choice, in spite of the ability other teams have to offer him more money and a longer contract (Twitter links). Oden isn't expected to sign with any team until the summer, so we'll likely be hearing plenty more about him in the coming months. In the meantime, here's more from around the league:

Coach Rick Carlisle expects the Mavs will look at players to fill the roster spot vacated today when the team waived Dominique Jones, tweets Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com.
Bulls GM Gar Forman says there's no rift between Derrick Rose and the team's front office over the timing of the former MVP's return from injury, notes Fred Mitchell of the Chicago Tribune.
Henry Abbott of ESPN.com reported yesterday that the NBA and the players union were nearing an agreement that would subject players to blood tests for human growth hormone as soon as next season, but Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News hears no deal is close.
Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com interprets David Stern's call for Sacramento bidders to pour more money into their efforts to buy the Kings as a sign that the commissioner isn't as closely aligned with the city as it might have otherwise appeared.
Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic caught up with Sacramento mayor Kevin Johnson, who spoke at length about his push to keep the Kings in town.
For draft prospects on college teams that might not make it to the NCAA tournament, the week ahead will be their final opportunity to make an impression before the combine. Chad Ford of ESPN.com, in an Insider piece, takes a look at five prospects who could be seeing their last collegiate action.

Heat Expected To Re-Sign Juwan Howard

March 8th, 2013 at 11:14am CST by Luke Adams

Juwan Howard has yet to play a single minute during his first three games back with the Heat, but the team is still planning to re-sign him to a second 10-day contract, according to Chris Tomasson of FOX Sports Florida (via Twitter). Howard's first 10-day deal will expire on Monday night.

The news comes as no surprise, since Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel reported at the time of the initial deal that the Heat would likely keep Howard around for the rest of the season. While the veteran big man provides an additional frontcourt body off the bench, he's primarily on the roster for his off-court leadership skills.

Howard is occupying the 15th and final spot on Miami's roster, so as long as the team continues to re-sign him, there won't be room to add anyone else without waiving a player.

Heat ‘Feverishly’ Pursued Trade For Nikola Vucevic

March 6th, 2013 at 10:59pm CST by Chuck Myron

Nikola Vucevic gives the Heat fits, having twice gone for at least 20 points and 20 rebounds against the team after tonight's 25-point, 21-board performance. The second-year Magic center could have been putting up those numbers for the Heat instead of against them if Miami had been willing to part with either Mario Chalmers, Norris Cole, or both, according to John Denton of Magic.com (Twitter link). Denton tweets that the Heat were "feverishly" trying to trade for Vucevic when he was with the Sixers last season, but apparently they weren't willing to give up their top two point guards to make it happen.

The Sixers dealt Vucevic to the Magic in August as part of the four-team Dwight Howard/Andrew Bynum blockbuster. The 22-year-old native of Switzerland has blossomed in Orlando, where he averages 12.1 points and 11.2 rebounds per game as the starting center. He's seeing twice as many minutes per game as he did last year with Philadelphia, which made him the 16th overall pick in the 2011 draft. Vucevic saw even less time in the playoffs, notching just three minutes during the Sixers' run to the Eastern Conference semifinals.

The Heat had evidently seen enough to believe he could address their deficiencies in the paint. Miami has grabbed the fewest rebounds of any team in the league, and certainly the addition of Vucevic would have helped remedy that. Money likely wasn't an inhibiting factor for the Heat, since he's on a rookie-scale contract that pays him just $1.7MM this season. Still, Heat president Pat Riley and the rest of the team's front office probably didn't predict Vucevic would develop as well and as quickly as he has. If they had foreseen it, they might have had pause about dealing away both of their top two point guards, though they're apparently confident enough in the ballhandling abilities of Dwyane Wade, LeBron James to go without a third point guard this season.

Southeast Notes: Oden, Heat, Magic, Scott

March 6th, 2013 at 4:28pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA's longest current winning and losing streaks both belong to Southeast Division teams, and will be on the line tonight. The Heat are hosting the Magic, in search of their 16th straight win, while the Bobcats will look to snap a seven-game losing streak at home against the Nets. As we wait for the Eastern Conference's best and worst clubs to get underway tonight, let's round up a few notes out of the Southeast….

Agent Mike Conley Sr. doesn't expect Greg Oden to sign anywhere until July, suggesting to Chris Tomasson of FOX Sports Florida that teams will have more financial flexibility to pursue his client after the season. According to Conley, there is mutual interest between Oden and the Heat, and the two sides expect to talk again in the summer. The Cavs, Bobcats, and Spurs are other potential suitors for the former first overall pick, according to Tomasson.
Responding to Dwight Howard's suggestion that his Magic teams were "full of people nobody wanted," Jameer Nelson shot back at his former teammate, as Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel documents. "At some point, when are you [Dwight] gonna as a man, when are you going to take ownership and stay out of the media in a professional manner?" Nelson said.
Mike Scott has returned to Atlanta to rejoin the Hawks after a brief stint with the team's D-League affiliate, according to Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The Hawks officially announced in a press release that Scott has been recalled from the Bakersfield Jam and will be available for tonight's game against the Sixers.

Eastern Notes: Heat, Williams, Thomas, Lowry

March 5th, 2013 at 11:03am CST by Luke Adams

The race for the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference continues to become less dramatic by the day, as the Bucks won again on Monday night. Milwaukee now has a seven-game cushion on the ninth-place Sixers, who are at home against the Celtics tonight. If there's any drama in the East, it relates to seeding — the Bucks and Celtics are two of five playoff teams currently separated by just three games in the Eastern standings.

Here are a few Tuesday morning items out of the East:

Whether or not Chris Andersen returns to the Heat next season may depend on how much playing time he gets in the playoffs, says Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel, noting that Ronny Turiaf left Miami last offseason after becoming an "afterthought" in the postseason.
Terrence Williams' contract with the Celtics will become guaranteed for next season if he makes the team out of camp, according to Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald.
The Bobcats have told Tyrus Thomas to stay home during the team's four-game West Coast road trip for physical rehab and individual work, reports Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer. Thomas, who has fallen out of Charlotte's rotation entirely lately, remains a strong candidate to be amnestied this July, as I noted last week.
Kyle Lowry's first year with the Raptors hasn't been entirely smooth sailing, but after the team traded Jose Calderon, Chauncey Billups had dinner with Lowry and impressed upon the ex-Rocket that Toronto must have plenty of faith in him to hand him the point guard reins (Sulia link via Ric Bucher).