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Eastern Notes: Turkoglu, Heat, Pistons, Bulls

March 29th, 2013 at 12:54pm CST by Luke Adams

A few Friday notes from out of the Eastern Conference….

  • Turkey's Fenerbahce Ulker is hoping to add Hedo Turkoglu for the 2013/14 season, according to Can Pelister of TrendBasket.com (via Twitter). Of course, Turkoglu is still technically under contract with the Magic for next year, with half of his $12MM salary guaranteed. But while Turkoglu says he hopes to remain in Orlando, I'd expect the team to part ways with him.
  • In his latest mailbag for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, Ira Winderman explores whether the Heat will still be able to convince unrestricted free agents to sign in Miami at a discounted rate going forward.
  • With the Pistons officially out of the playoff hunt for 2012/13, Patrick Hayes of PistonPowered (via the Detroit Free Press) tries to determine which prospects might be good fits for Detroit in the upcoming draft.
  • As Amare Stoudemire works to get healthy for the postseason, Frank Isola of the New York Daily News looks back at the Knicks' decision to give Stoudemire a fully-guaranteed, uninsured $100MM contract.
  • Signing Kenyon Martin is the latest in a series of successful moves for Knicks GM Glen Grunwald, writes Moke Hamilton of SheridanHoops.com.
  • Sam Smith of Bulls.com addresses a number of Bulls-related topics in today's mailbag, including whether the Bulls will trade Luol Deng this summer, or sign Ben Gordon on the cheap, should the Bobcats buy him out — neither possibility is likely, says Smith.
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Poll: When Will The Heat Lose?

March 26th, 2013 at 11:40am CST by Luke Adams

Once the Heat won in Boston last Monday, extending their winning streak to 23 games, we expected the team to have a relatively clear path to 27 straight victories, considering the schedule. After surviving a close call in Cleveland, Miami cruised to wins against the Pistons, Bobcats, and Magic, and sure enough, the team has increased its streak to 27.

Having played the East's four worst teams though, Miami is now facing a tougher portion of the schedule. The Heat's next three games are on the road, and two of those are against talented playoff teams, in the Bulls and Spurs. Sandwiched in between those two contests is a game in New Orleans, where the Hornets ended the Nuggets' 15-game winning streak last night.

Logic would dictate that, like the Nuggets did, the Heat will stumble at some point in the next week or two, and fall short of the 33-game record set by the Lakers over 40 years ago. But Miami has also clearly established itself as the NBA's premier team, and figures to be favored in every game going forward.

So today's poll question is this: When will the Heat suffer their next loss? Which team is the best bet to end this incredible streak? Or, at this point, do you expect the Heat to get to 34?

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Eastern Notes: Nets, Raps, Maggette, Heat, C’s

March 25th, 2013 at 11:29am CST by Luke Adams

With the Bucks currently holding a seven-game lead on the ninth-seeded Sixers for the Eastern Conference's final postseason spot, there won't be a race for the playoffs over the season's final few weeks. But if we flip the standings upside-down, there is a race developing for the best chance at June's first overall pick. A pair of Bobcats wins last week pulled them within two games of the Magic, and the two teams are set to square off in Charlotte this Wednesday. As we, uh, look forward to that contest, let's round up a few Monday items from around the conference:

  • Following up on the latest report linking John Calipari to the Nets, Ric Bucher of 95.7 The Game suggests (via Sulia) that owner Mikhail Prokhorov is too discerning to simply be interested in Calipari because the Kentucky coach is a "big name." According to Bucher, Prokhorov had genuine interest in Phil Jackson, but Bucher thinks the idea of Calipari being a worthwhile fallback option is "absurd," despite the improvements he has made since his last NBA stint.
  • Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun looks ahead to the summer and predicts which Raptors will be back with the team next season.
  • Corey Maggette isn't entirely sure why he hasn't played in over three months, but he isn't going to complain about his situation, as David Mayo of MLive.com writes. Earlier this month, a report suggested that Maggette and the Pistons were both open to the veteran returning to the team next year via free agency. I have to think he'll at least explore the market in search of an opportunity for more minutes though.
  • Responding to a reader's question in his latest mailbag, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel agrees that Shane Battier has been the Heat's best non-Big-Three signing of this era.
  • Last summer, the Celtics participated in both the Orlando and Las Vegas summer leagues. However, since the C's aren't expecting to add as many young prospects to the roster this summer, they'll only participate in the Orlando league, according to Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald.
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Odds & Ends: LeBron, Humphries, Gay, McRoberts

March 24th, 2013 at 10:21pm CST by Zachary Links

Many are buying into the speculation that LeBron James will give serious consideration to returning to Cleveland in the summer of 2014 and Ric Bucher of 95.7 The Game (Sulia link) says that he can see it happening.  Bucher believes that James wants to be universally liked, especially in his hometown, and it's hard to imagine that he won't at least think about making peace with the place he still calls home.  Here's more from around the Association..

  • Kris Humphries has been squeezed out of the Nets' rotation for much of the season after inking a two-year, $24MM deal in the offseason.  However, Hump saw eleven minutes against the Clippers on Saturday night and coach P.J. Carlesimo wants to get him back in the rotation, writes Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News.  One has to imagine that Humphries will be a trade candidate after this season, though he doesn't have a ton of value at present.  If the big man is back in the mix for the Nets, however, they may prefer to keep him.
  • Raptors coach Dwane Casey believes that the organization will consider shutting down prized acquisition Rudy Gay down for the season, according to the Associated Press.  Gay missed his third game of the month on Saturday due to back issues.
  • Bobcats forward Josh McRoberts is hoping to parlay his playing time into a multi-year pact this summer, writes Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe.
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Odds & Ends: Yi, McGrady, Turkoglu

March 23rd, 2013 at 5:47pm CST by Ryan Raroque
A handful of players have joined the NBA after finishing their season in China, and Chris Sheridan of Sheridan Hoops wonders if Yi Jianlian could attract some attention after dominating in the CBA thus far. The former NBA lottery pick has averaged 24.9 PPG and 10.5 RPG while shooting 59.4% from the field and 40.7% from long distance for the Guangdong Southern Tigers this year, and is currently playing in the CBA Finals.  We've got several more links to share with you this evening:
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Southeast Notes: Heat, Magic, Bobcats, Martin

March 23rd, 2013 at 3:22pm CST by Zachary Links

The Bobcats haven't exactly had a banner season thus far but they can make their mark on the 2012/13 campaign by snapping the Heat's bid for the longest winning streak in NBA history. Charlotte will travel to Miami tomorrow night to take on the Heat and will try to hand them their fourth home loss of the entire season. Here's more on the Heat and other notes out of the Southwest division..

  • Rumor had it that if the Knicks didn't sign Kenyon Martin at the trade deadline that the Heat would have pounced on him. However, that's news to Martin, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post (Sulia link). The veteran said that despite the rumors and speculation, the Heat never called his agent Andy Miller. Martin joked that he would be in South Beach today had the Heat called for him and went on to say that he was so desperate to play that he even would have suited up for the Bobcats if they gave him the call. Martin, of course, found himself a tremendous landing spot in New York and is coming off of a 19 point, 11 rebound performance last night where he shot 9-of-10 from the floor. 
  • The Magic have lost guard Arron Afflalo for the season due to injury, but they will not look to sign anyone to a 10-day contract to fill the void, tweets Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel. 
  • Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel is surprised to see Heat coach Erik Spoelstra left out of the Coach of the Year discussion, despite Miami's tremendous play this season. Winderman notes that the award usually goes to coaches who have overachieving teams and the Heat could actually qualify, given that no one expected them to be quite this good this year.
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Heat Sign Juwan Howard For Season

March 22nd, 2013 at 4:13pm CST by Luke Adams

Juwan Howard's second 10-day contract with the Heat expired last night, and rather than letting him go, the team has re-signed him for the remainder of the season, according to a press release. 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, 40, has not appeared in a single game during his first 20 days with the team. As I noted when he signed his second 10-day deal, he  has a spot on the roster more for his off-court leadership than what he can provide on the court.

With Howard under contract for the season, the Heat now have 15 players on fully guaranteed deals, so if the team wanted to add anyone, a corresponding roster move would be required to open up a spot.

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Odds & Ends: LeBron/Cavs, Wafer, Harrington

March 21st, 2013 at 7:00pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Without leading scorers Kyrie Irving and Dion Waiters yesterday, the Cavaliers had the surging Heat against the ropes in Cleveland through three quarters, leading by nine before ultimately losing in a heartbreaker. The last few years have represented some trying times for Cavs fans, although with the rise of Irving as a young potential superstar, Dion Waiters showing flashes as a promising scorer, and Tristan Thompson continuing to improve, the horizon is beginning to look bright in Cleveland. A promising young core on a team with cap space could only be a selling point toward a possible homecoming for LeBron James in 2014, although ESPN's Marc Stein (Twitter link) believes that the Akron native and Dwyane Wade are too close for LeBron to just "bolt Miami." Here are more of tonight's miscellaneous notes from around the NBA: 

  • Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld highlights that several clubs have considered signing Von Wafer, particularly teams looking to bolster their rosters before the playoffs start. The former second-round pick had recently returned from a stint in China and last played in the NBA during the 2011/12 season. In the same piece, Kennedy identifies players who have helped their free agency stock with their strong play this year. 
  • Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel writes that Al Harrington could decide to sit out the rest of the season for the Magic for the sake of their young players benefiting from major playing time. The 33-year-old forward, who overcame a staph infection after arthroscopic surgery on his right knee, insists that his knees are fine now and that he will focus on preparing them for next year. Robbins adds that although Harrington is due about $14.7MM over the next two seasons, those years are partially guaranteed and could be bought out for nearly half that number this summer.
  • Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro discusses his job status with Bill Dwyre of the Los Angeles Times. Now in his third season in LA and nearing the end of his contract, Dwyre writes that Chris Paul's contract status, the level of preference for Del Negro, and the team's performance in the playoffs are all substantial factors that are in play with regard to the coach's future with the team. 
  • Pistons coach Lawrence Frank tells David Mayo of MLive.com that, considering their record this year, none of the players – as well as the coaches – should feel safe about retaining their role for next season. 
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D-League Moves: Terrence Jones, Jarvis Varnado

March 21st, 2013 at 11:43am CST by Luke Adams

We'll follow today's D-League assignments and recalls in this space, with any additional moves added to the top of the page throughout the day:

  • The Rockets have re-assigned Terrence Jones to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, the team announced today in a press release. Houston's D-League affiliate, which lost one power forward today, will add another in Jones, who has averaged 18.4 PPG and 9.3 RPG in 17 games with the team this season.

Earlier updates:

  • The Heat have sent Jarvis Varnado back to the D-League, following last night's win over the Cavs, tweets Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel. The move was confirmed by the Heat in a press release. In 15 D-League games so far this season, Varnado has nearly averaged a double-double, with 12.3 PPG, 9.9 RPG, and 3.7 BPG.
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Heat Notes: LeBron, Gilbert, Howard

March 20th, 2013 at 6:22pm CST by Zachary Links

After signing Juwan Howard to back-to-back 10-day contracts, the Heat now have to sign the veteran for the balance of the season or cut him loose.  Howard has been reunited with Miami for a number of their 23 consecutive wins, but he hasn’t suited up for a single one of them.  Here’s more out of South Beach..

  • Prior to tonight’s tip between the Cavs and Heat, Cleveland owner Dan Gilbert (via Twitter) said that he’s ready to let bygones by bygones with former star LeBron James.  “Cleveland Cavaliers young talent makes our future very bright. Clearly, LeBron’s is as well. Time for everyone to focus on the road ahead,” tweeted Gilbert.
  • Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel (on Twitter) questions why Gilbert would embrace James 15 months before he could potentially reach free agency after raising tampering concerns two years ago.  Earlier today, Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com took an extensive look at the teams that could be in the running for James in 2014.
  • Sam Smith of NBA.com wonders if this year’s Heat team could wind up being among the best in league history.
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