Heat Interested In Chris Kaman
The Heat are interested in adding Chris Kaman to their roster, but they'll likely have to overcome a few obstacles to do it. Chris Tomasson of FOX Sports Florida reports that Heat officials have been calling people close to Kaman to ask about him, and are hoping to sign the big man if the Hornets buy out his contract.
Kaman, 29, was acquired by the Hornets in the Chris Paul trade, and was held out of the team's lineup for some time while New Orleans tried to move him. Although Kaman is playing again, he could likely be had in the right deal, with the Pacers and Rockets said to be among the interested teams.
The Heat don't have the trade chips to be a real contender for Kaman before the March 15th trade deadline, so the team's only realistic chance at him is via a buyout. As both Tomasson and Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel point out, it seems unlikely that the league-owned Hornets would allow the deadline to pass without dealing Kaman, buy him out, and allow the Heat to sign him in a move that would solidify Miami's title hopes.
Besides that significant roadblock, getting Kaman to the Heat would also involve him agreeing to the veteran's minimum with Miami and giving up his Bird rights, which could affect his next contract. As much as the Heat would like to see Kaman bring his talents to South Beach, it looks like a long shot at this point.
Heat Re-Sign Gladness To 10-Day Contract
After clearing the 48-hour waiver window, the Heat have re-signed center Mickell Gladness to a ten-day contract.
According to Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, who broke the story via Twitter, Gladness can be signed to up to two 10-day contracts (they don't have to be consecutive), after which he must be signed for the entire season or released. Gladness, 25, made his NBA debut with the Heat in December and is currently averaging 1.3 RPG in limited action this season. The former Alabama A&M star has spent most of his career in the NBA Developmental League having averaged 4.5 PPG and 3.7 RPG with the Dakota Wizards and the Rio Grande Valley Vipers in 77 games.
One player who should be happy to see Gladness return to the Heat is Terrel Harris, who was known to eat dinner on the road with his fellow rookie.
Odds & Ends: Dampier, Lin, Weems, Heat, Varejao
Let's take a look at a few links from around the league as we await tonight's renewal of the Lakers/Celtics rivalry in Boston….
- In a blog entry for NBA.com, Scott Howard-Cooper discusses Seattle's push for an NBA team, the Warriors' potential trade options, and Chauncey Billups' future.
- Hawks coach Larry Drew conceded to Michael Cunningham of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that Erick Dampier isn't in great shape (Twitter link). Atlanta signed Dampier to a 10-day contract to add frontcourt depth.
- As Jeremy Lin dominates headlines in New York, teams that could've signed and kept him look back on a missed opportunity. Donnie Nelson talked about the Mavericks' failed attempt to sign Lin (Dallas Morning News link), while Houston GM Daryl Morey tweeted that he should have held on to Lin when he was a Rocket.
- Sonny Weems won't be returning to the NBA this season, his agent tells Sportando.
- Talking to Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald, Oscar Robertson said the Heat need a center who can consistently record 12 points and 10 boards if they're going to win championships. With respect to the Hall-of-Famer, I think the Heat are talented enough to win a title without a strong presence in the middle.
- The Cavaliers won't actively place Anderson Varejao on the trade market, since they likely wouldn't get fair value for him, writes Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio.
Odds & Ends: Billups, Alston, Prince, Mavs
On this day seven years ago, Smush Parker was waived by the Suns, and it looked like his NBA career may be nearing an end. Parker bounced back though, signing with the Lakers and starting nearly every game for Los Angeles in 2005/06 and '06/07. Parker has been out of the NBA since 2008, but he's still playing professional basketball, having signed today with Venezuelan team Guaros de Lara (hat tip to Sportando). Here are a few more of today's odds and ends…
- Following his season-ending achilles injury, Chauncey Billups told Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times that he'd like to return to the Clippers next season to take care of "unfinished business."
- Rafer Alston, who recently signed with the NBA's D-League, spoke to Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv about his comeback attempt. Alston on the possibility of playing for his hometown Knicks: "If it happens, trust me, I’ll be like a kid in a candy story. I’ll feel like I won the lottery if I get an chance to play at home."
- Tayshaun Prince has no regrets about signing a long-term deal to stay with the Pistons, says Terry Foster of the Detroit News.
- Don't expect the Grizzlies to sign or trade for anyone in the next few weeks, says Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal, noting that the team still needs to get below the tax line.
- Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News would be surprised to see the Mavericks make a move at the trade deadline, but says they'll have plenty of money to spend this summer.
- Greg Stiemsma, whose contract was guaranteed yesterday by the Celtics, has taken an unusual road to Boston, writes Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe.
- Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel explains the Heat's decisions on players with non-guaranteed contracts.
Decisions On Non-Guaranteed Contracts
February 10th marks the day that all players on non-guaranteed contracts will have their deals guaranteed for the remainder of the season. However, if a team wants to meet that Friday deadline, it will need to make its decisions today, allowing its player(s) to pass through waivers in time.
Some non-guaranteed players, such as DeJuan Blair and Jeremy Lin, are in no danger of being waived. However, with a few dozen players on non-guaranteed deals across the league, there will be plenty of cuts before the day is out. Some of those players will sign 10-day contracts shortly after being cut, while others could join the D-League or find a place on our list of current unrestricted free agents.
We'll track all the day's decisions on non-guaranteed contracts right here, with the latest news up top:
- Other players who will have their contracts guaranteed for the remainder of the year: Ivan Johnson, Jannero Pargo, Jerry Stackhouse (Hawks), Cory Higgins (Bobcats), Brian Scalabrine, John Lucas (Bulls), Samardo Samuels, Alonzo Gee (Cavaliers), Sean Williams (Mavericks), Julyan Stone (Nuggets), Vernon Macklin, Damien Wilkins (Pistons), Dominic McGuire, Chris Wright (Warriors), Sundiata Gaines, Keith Bogans (Nets), Steve Novak, Jerome Jordan (Knicks), Ryan Reid (Thunder), DeAndre Liggins (Magic), Lavoy Allen, Francisco Elson (Sixers), Danny Green, Gary Neal (Spurs), Jeremy Evans (Jazz).
- The Jazz will guarantee Jamaal Tinsley's contract, according to Brian T. Smith of The Salt Lake Tribune (via Twitter).
- The Pistons are keeping guard Walker Russell, agent Giovanni Funicello told HoopsHype (via Twitter).
- The Hornets have waived DaJuan Summers and Carldell Johnson, league sources tell Ken Berger of CBSSports.com (via Twitter).
- The Rockets waived Jeff Adrien, reports Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter). The move clears a roster spot for Greg Smith.
- The Wizards have waived Hamady N'Diaye, according to a team release.
- Chris Johnson received a call from Trail Blazers GM Chad Buchanan this morning saying his contract would be guaranteed, tweets Mike Tokito of The Oregonian.
- The Celtics will hang on to Greg Stiemsma and guarantee his deal, according to Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe.
- The Lakers have waived Derrick Caracter. Caracter broke the news himself, tweeting "It's over before it begun!!! …. On to the next chapter of my life" (Twitter links). The Lakers will hang on to Devin Ebanks, Andrew Goudelock, and Darius Morris, tweets Mike Breshnahan of the Los Angeles Times.
- The Clippers have cut Solomon Jones, reports Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times (via Twitter).
- The Heat have waived Mickell Gladness, the team announced (Twitter link). Miami's other two players on non-guaranteed deals, Eddy Curry and Terrel Harris, look safe, tweets Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
- The Grizzlies have waived Josh Davis, according to Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal.
- The Spurs announced they've waived Malcolm Thomas, who was assigned to the team's D-League affiliate last week.
Zach Links contributed to this post.
Heat Notes: Curry, Przybilla, Howard
A few notes on the Heat, who topped the Cavs 107-91 tonight behind 26 points from Dwyane Wade and 24 from LeBron James..
- Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said that Eddy Curry's contract was never in jeopardy in advance of tonight's deadline, tweets Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel. Miami waived Mickell Gladness but opted to hold on to Curry and Terrel Harris. Spoelstra stopped short of saying that Gladness could be brought back on a 10-day contract, Winderman tweets.
- More from Winderman, as Spoelstra indicated that the club isn't in a rush to fill its newly vacant roster spot. This could mean that Joel Przybilla, who is said to have offers from the Bulls and Heat, could be on the backburner.
- Juwan Howard turned 39 today and said that he wouldn't mind one day having the title of the NBA's oldest player, tweets Chris Tomasson of FOX Sports Florida. Howard is the third-oldest active player in the Association behind Kurt Thomas and Grant Hill.
Odds & Ends: Iverson, Lin, Green, Kaman, Heat
A few late-morning links for Tuesday:
- A Puerto Rican source told Sportando (Twitter link) that it's hard to picture Allen Iverson playing in Puerto Rico, since "no teams [are] looking for that kind of player." We heard yesterday that Iverson was drawing interest from Puerto Rico's professional league.
- Newest Knicks starter Jeremy Lin was a candidate to be waived as recently as last week and would have considered playing overseas had that happened, writes Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv.
- Scott Schroeder of Ridiculous Upside thinks Gerald Green should get a shot at an NBA roster on a 10-day contract. I mentioned Green on Friday when I looked at a few notable former NBA players in the D-League.
- By not playing Chris Kaman when they were shopping him, the Hornets subtracted one of their few resources, says John DeShazier of the New Orleans Times-Picayune.
- ESPN.com's Chad Ford (Insider link) polled NBA scouts, asking which college freshmen would be better off staying at college for their sophomore seasons. Andre Drummond and Austin Rivers were among the players named.
- Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel fields Heat-related questions in a mailbag.
Odds & Ends: Heat, T-Wolves, 76ers, Jackson
On this day in 2008, the Heat parted ways with Shaquille O'Neal, shipping him to Phoenix in exchange for Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks. Although Shaq saw a boost in his production for the next year and a half, he didn't win a playoff series in Phoenix — the Suns fell to the Spurs in the first round in 2008, then failed to make the postseason a year later. Here are a few items of note from around the league, starting with one of Shaq's former teams:
- In a perfect world, the Heat would add a bulkier center and a veteran point guard, writes Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
- Teams can begin signing players to 10-day contracts today, as Chuck Myron outlined in our primer over the weekend. At SB Nation, Scott Schroeder looks at a few D-League players who are candidates for NBA contracts.
- The Timberwolves have assigned Malcolm Lee to their D-League affiliate in Sioux Falls, tweets Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune. A 2011 second-round pick, Lee had knee surgery in December and has yet to make his NBA debut.
- John Hollinger of ESPN.com (Insider link) wonders if the 76ers could clear cap space and pursue Eric Gordon this offseason.
- Magic GM Otis Smith shouldn't have acted on Dwight Howard's personnel suggestions and signed Glen Davis this offseason, argues Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel.
- Meanwhile, Chris Paul, who's all too familiar with trade rumors, has some words of advice for Howard, as Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel writes.
- Stephen Jackson told Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that he couldn't say whether or not he's asked Bucks management for a trade.
Kenyon Martin Granted Unrestricted Free Agency
NBA teams were informed today that Kenyon Martin has become an unrestricted free agent and can sign with any team, reports ESPN.com's Marc Stein (via Twitter). Martin's former Chinese team, the Xinjiang Flying Tigers, failed to reply to a request for a letter of clearance, so FIBA made the decision to clear him, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports.
The Heat have already extended an offer to Martin, while the Clippers intend to make him a formal offer as well. The Hawks also met with the the 34-year-old's representatives this week, reports Michael Cunningham of the Atlanta Journal Constitution. Stein hears that West teams probably have an edge based on the minutes they could offer (Twitter link), and the Clips "like their chances," according to Broderick Turner of the L.A. Times. However, Martin is intrigued by the role he could play in Atlanta, Wojnarowski tweets.
Since the restrictions on Martin's availability were lifted earlier than expected, Monday's report suggesting he'll decide where to sign by this weekend seems more logical. The Lakers, Spurs, and Knicks are among the other teams who have some interest in the power forward.
Heat Make Offers To Przybilla, Martin
Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com reports that the Miami Heat have offered contracts to both Joel Przybilla and Kenyon Martin.
We heard earlier about the mutual interest between Przybilla and the Heat, and it was reported that a decision is expected to be made by the end of this week. Ira Winderman of South Florida Sun Sentinel indicated (via Twitter) that Przybilla is leaning toward selecting the Heat over the Bulls, who have also shown interest. It was also noted that Kenyon Martin could make his decision by this weekend as well.
The current Heat roster stands at the maximum of 15 players, so Miami would need to find a way to clear a roster spot for Przybilla and/or Martin if they accept their respective offers. Terrell Harris and Mickell Gladness, two rookies who are currently playing on unguaranteed contracts, are candidates to be waived.