Dwyane Wade Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Eastern Notes: Wade, Jennings, Qvale

October 28th, 2014 at 11:30am CST by Chuck Myron

If the Bulls and Cavaliers meet in the Eastern Conference Finals this year, it should be a compelling affair, if evidenced only by the virtual dead heat between the clubs among Hoops Rumors readers who’ve weighed in on which team they think will win the NBA title. Still, the health of Derrick Rose is an X-factor after the point guard missed all but one game of the past three postseasons, and no one knows quite how the Cavs will come together with all of their new pieces, so there’s plenty of mystery surrounding the East this season. Here’s the latest from around the conference:

The idea of signing with the Bulls “played on my heart,” as Dwyane Wade told TNT’s David Aldridge, but the longtime Heat guard reiterated that Miami is his home, as Aldridge notes amid his Morning Tip column for NBA.com. The Bulls reportedly put out feelers to Wade this summer, and they also pursued him in 2010.
Former Pistons front office chief Joe Dumars took the fall, but Brandon Jennings tells Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press that he and Josh Smith simply didn’t perform to the level they should have after the Pistons committed a combined seven years and $78MM to the duo. “We did get a new contract, both of us, so the blame has to go to both of us, actually,” Jennings said. “I’m going to put myself in there because I’m the point guard. So if anything, I’m going to hold myself accountable first, before anyone else. I definitely didn’t do my job last year. It was one of the most embarrassing seasons ever, especially with the talent that we had, and I feel like we should have [gone] farther than we did. But I put that on myself. That really bothered me all summer. So I have a lot to prove this year.”
Hornets camp invitee Brian Qvale has signed with Tofas Bursa of Turkey, the team announced (translation via Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia, who was the first to report the deal, via Twitter). Charlotte waived the center last week.

Eastern Notes: Allen, Heat, Cavs

October 16th, 2014 at 9:58pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Many around the NBA believe Ray Allen will become a member of the Cavs this season and Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio is among the Cleveland optimists. “My gut tells me he’ll join the Cavs,” Amico said. Cleveland is among the many teams with interest in bringing the shooting guard aboard. Amico also notes that he believes Allen has already decided on whether or not he’ll play this season, and where.

Here’s more from Eastern Conference:

After he struggled last postseason there were doubts the Heat would re-sign Mario Chalmers, but head coach Eric Spoelstra is a firm believer in the point guard, writes Shandel Richardson of the Sun Sentinel. “He’s one of the all-time clutch players in this game,” Spoelstra said. “How many times does he have to prove himself?”
In a separate piece, Richardson documents how the environment around the Heat is changing post-LeBron James. Dwyane Wade couldn’t be happier about the changes. “It’s more relaxed, more chill, an opportunity we can get some work in,” Wade said. “We can actually make some mistakes and not do things as great and not really be talked about as much. We’re a team that needs time individually to get comfortable with whatever roles we’re going to be in. It’s good it’s quiet.”
Although Kevin Love‘s neck injury isn’t believed to be too serious, Jeff Caplan of NBA.com wonders if LeBron’s new teammates can stay healthy. Caplan points out the injury history of Love and Kyrie Irving and notes how crucial it is that the new big three get as much time on the court together as possible
There are Atlantic Division teams that have young players with the potential to improve such as Terrence Ross of the Raptors and Tyler Zeller of the Celtics, writes Jonathan Tjarks of RealGM.com. Mason Plumlee of the Nets, Iman Shumpert of the Knicks and Michael Carter-Williams of the Sixers are also among the players Tjarks lists as internal improvement candidates for the coming season.

Eastern Notes: Cavs, Rautins, Heat

August 23rd, 2014 at 11:00am CST by Eddie Scarito

The Cavaliers‘ roster overhaul this offseason is reminiscent of what the Celtics did back in 2007, including obtaining a star player from the Wolves, writes Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal.

Here’s more from the east:

Former Knicks second-round pick Andy Rautins has signed with Pallacanestro Varese of the Italian League, reports Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. Rautins only appeared in a total of five games for New York, averaging 1.6 PPG. His last NBA action came for the Bulls‘ Summer League team back in 2013.
If Dwyane Wade can stay healthy, Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel believes that the Heat‘s roster this season is better than the one they had prior to LeBron James‘ arrival.
Former NBA player Terrel Harris has signed with Maccabi Ashdod SCE of the Israeli League, the team announced via their Facebook page (hat tip to Basketball Insiders). Harris has played for the Heat and the Pelicans, with a career average of 2.3 PPG. He spent last year in the NBA D-League, most recently with the Bakersfield Jam.

Eastern Notes: Scalabrine, LeBron, George

August 4th, 2014 at 8:43pm CST by Zachary Links

As most of you already know, the Celtics scored a major victory earlier today when Brian Scalabrine announced that he is coming home to Boston to join the television broadcast team. In a heartfelt essay on CSNNE.com, White Mamba explained that he felt that he still had unfinished business with the C’s organization. “Remember when I spurned the Celtics and signed with the Chicago Bulls in 2010? Actually I begged [Danny] Ainge to keep me and he wished me the best of luck,” Scalabrine wrote. “I was thinking, ‘This is really tough.’ I could feel it. I left something I had spent five years creating. I haven’t paid for a meal since 2008. What if all of this goes away?” More out of the East..

Dwyane Wade didn’t put on an all-out recruiting blitz for LeBron James when the two of them met in Las Vegas shortly before James announced he was returning to the Cavs, as Bleacher Report’s Ethan Skolnick writes. Wade did more listening than talking, as Skolnick puts it, but right after James told him he wouldn’t re-sign with the Heat, Wade, nervous that Chris Bosh would leave, too, put in a call to his remaining superstar running mate. As for Wade, he told agent Henry Thomas not to reach out to other teams on his behalf, preferring all along to stay with Miami, according to Skolnick.
The Pacers will certainly miss Paul George this season, but they can still make the playoffs, argues Kevin Pelton of ESPN.com (Insider sub. req’d). With George, the Pacers were still projected to regress from their 56 win season thanks to the improved Eastern Conference and Lance Stephenson‘s departure. Pelton’s new projection has them winning 37 games, which could put them in the mix for one of the East’s final playoff spots.
The Hawks hired European coaching stalwart Neven Spahija as an assistant coach, the team announced. The native of Croatia was the head coach at Cibona Zagreb in his homeland last year and carries almost 30 years of overseas coaching experience into his job with Atlanta.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Eastern Notes: LeBron, Wade, Monroe, Bucks

August 1st, 2014 at 9:59am CST by Chuck Myron

Dwyane Wade said today that he didn’t try to recruit LeBron James back to the Heat when the two spent time together shortly before the four-time MVP announced his decision to sign with Cleveland, as Wade told reporters, including Jason Lieser of the Palm Beach Post. James didn’t tell Wade about his decision until after their time traveling back to Miami from Las Vegas, according to Wade, but James dropped enough hints to make his choice apparent.

“We had a long flight back from Vegas,” Wade said. “I probably knew then, without him telling me at that moment. You could tell where someone’s heart is and what they’re thinking. I kind of knew at that moment. As his friend, I’m just supportive. As crazy as that might sound, I’m supportive of my friend doing what makes them happy. Obviously same thing with him in this situation. You’ve gotta do what makes you happy — selfishly do what makes you happy. The decision to go back home was that.”

There’s more from Wade amid the latest from the Eastern Conference:

Wade also said that he wanted to be with a winning team more than he wanted the money he sacrificed when he opted out of his contract and re-signed with the Heat on a discount deal, as Lieser notes. Wade is convinced that the total of $10.694MM over the next two seasons that the transactions cost him gives Miami a better chance at success. (Twitter links).
Greg Monroe‘s interest in returning to the Pistons isn’t too strong, but while Detroit talked with the Hawks and perhaps the Suns about sign-and-trades involving him, those teams have moved on, as Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports told podcaster Aime Mukendi Jr. Buddy Grizzard of Hawks/Hoop provides the transcription.
The Bucks gave second-round pick Johnny O’Bryant $600K in the first year of an otherwise minimum-salary contract, notes Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). Milwaukee used part of its cap space to complete the deal with this year’s 36th overall pick.

Contract Details: Wade, Deng, Diaw

July 16th, 2014 at 3:47pm CST by Chuck Myron

It took a while, but we finally found out the precise value of the discount that Carmelo Anthony gave the Knicks this afternoon. We’ll have to wait even longer to know whether the more than $5MM in savings that ‘Melo afforded his team will have a worthwhile effect on New York’s ability to squeeze more talent onto its roster, but he’s not the only name free agent taking a cut rate this summer.

Dwyane Wade gave up more than $41.8MM over two seasons when he opted out of his deal this June, and while he isn’t recouping all of that on his new two-year contract with Miami, he nonetheless received a rare no-trade clause for his trouble, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. He’ll make $15MM for this coming season and the salary in his player option year would be $16.125MM as part of his latest deal with the Heat, reports Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
Fellow Heat signee Luol Deng will make $9.71MM for this coming season, and his player option for 2015/16 will be worth $10.15MM, according to Windhorst (on Twitter).
Boris Diaw‘s contract with the Spurs is for four years and $28MM, with only $17.5MM of it guaranteed, Stein reveals (Twitter link). The original report indicated it was a three-year, $22.5MM deal.

Heat Re-Sign Dwyane Wade

July 15th, 2014 at 3:39pm CST by Chuck Myron

3:39pm: The deal is official, the Heat announced via press release.

“Dwyane has been the franchise cornerstone for this team since the day he arrived 11 years ago,” team president Pat Riley said in the club’s statement. “He has shown his commitment to the Heat many times over the course of his career and has always been willing to sacrifice in order to help build this team into a champion. This time is no different. I am ecstatic to have him back in the fold and I am confident that Dwyane, as always, will be leading this team as we look to contend for NBA Championships.”

1:54pm: It’s a two-year deal with player option in the final season, sources tell Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press, who expects Wade’s salary for this season to come in between $16-17MM (Twitter link).

1:08pm: Dwyane Wade is indeed set to re-sign with the Heat, reports Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today (on Twitter), confiming Wade’s Instagram post suggesting that a deal is done. There was little doubt that Miami and the Henry Thomas client would strike an agreement, and the Heat made a strong push to retain its longtime star in the hours after LeBron James returned to Cleveland.

Wade opted out of the final two years and $41.819MM remaining on his deal last month in an apparent effort to squeeze more talent on the roster and convince James to re-sign, but it’s unclear just how much Wade will receive on his new contract. Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com estimated that he’d receive a salary of $15MM for the coming season.

Wade, 32, appeared in only 54 games during the regular season this year as knee injuries took a larger toll. He was still an all-around force when on the court, averaging 19.0 points, 4.7 assists and 4.5 rebounds and compiling a 22.0 PER. He was seventh in the latest edition of the Hoops Rumors Free Agent Power Rankings.

The Bulls reportedly gauged Wade’s interest in a deal that would allow him to play in his native Chicago, but he rebuffed them. Miami has become in many ways a second home for the perennial All-Star who’s played only for the Heat during his 11-year NBA career.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Heat Close To Signing Wade, Haslem

July 12th, 2014 at 6:45pm CST by Chuck Myron

SATURDAY, 6:45pm: The agent that represents both Wade and Haslem tells Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel that he is working to complete deals for both of his clients in Miami. Presumably, that’s Henry Thomas of the Creative Artists Agency.

FRIDAY, 4:52pm: The Heat are making a strong pursuit of Dwyane Wade now that Chris Bosh has committed to return, and they’re trying to complete short-term contracts with both Wade and Udonis Haslem, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter links).

Wade opted out of about $42MM over two years last month in an apparent attempt to help the Heat retain LeBron James, who agreed today to sign with the Cavs. Haslem opted out of $4.62MM for next season, but he, like Wade, would be hard-pressed to find comparable salaries on the market, given their declining abilities. Both have played exclusively for the Heat during their NBA careers, but it’s not clear whether the Heat will approach the money they passed up when they declined their options.

The 32-year-old Wade still seems capable of commanding eight-figure salaries, since he still averaged 9.0 points, 4.7 assists and 4.5 rebounds even given his knee trouble. The Bulls gauged Wade’s interest in signing a deal that would bring him back to his native Chicago, but Wade reportedly wouldn’t go for that.

Haslem, who was in and out of the Heat’s rotation this past year, has a market value that probably no more than the minimum salary at this point. Still, I wouldn’t be surprised if Haslem, a client of Henry Thomas, just like Wade, winds up with a deal for somewhat more than that from the Heat, even if it doesn’t come close to the $4.62MM he passed up.

Southeast Rumors: Stephenson, Deng, Wade

July 12th, 2014 at 5:42pm CST by Charlie Adams

Lance Stephenson will be targeted by multiple teams in the coming days, reports Sean Deveney of The Sporting News. The Hornets had their offer sheet for Gordon Hayward matched by the Jazz, and a league source tells Deveney that Charlotte’s secondary plans of upgrading their roster will bring a Stephenson pursuit to the forefront of the free agency landscape. Here’s more out of the Southeast..

The Heat are making progress in their pursuit of Luol Deng, writes Marc Stein of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Deng doesn’t have an offer from Miami yet but expects to talk with the team today, tweets Sam Amick of USA Today.
Meanwhile, the Hawks, who were rumored to have interest in Deng, likely won’t be making a deal with the small forward, since the two sides are a ways apart on the dollar amount of a potential contract, reveals Amick (on Twitter)
Both Dwyane Wade and Udonis Haslem are negotiating the length and salary of deals to return to the Heat, tweets Ethan J. Skolnick of Bleacher Report. The pair are expected to remain in Miami on multi-year contracts after opting out to restructure around LeBron James, who left for Cleveland.
The Hornets pursuit of Marvin Williams was put on hold while Charlotte waited for the Jazz to officially match their offer sheet for Hayward, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Presumably, those negotiations will resume now that Utah has matched the Hayward deal.

Cray Allred contributed to this post.

Bulls Pursuing Dwyane Wade

July 11th, 2014 at 4:31pm CST by Chuck Myron

4:31pm: A person close to Wade tells ESPN’s Mark Jones that the shooting guard has no interest in playing for the Bulls, adding that Wade recently sold the house he had there (Twitter link).

3:20pm: The Bulls are “gauging interest” with Dwyane Wade, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). It’s not clear whether Wade, a Chicago native, would be receptive to a homecoming, given his longstanding ties to the Heat, for whom he’s played his entire NBA career. Wade spent Thursday with LeBron James in an apparent attempt to recruit him back to the Heat, but with James off to the Cavs and Chris Bosh nearing a commitment to the Rockets, the Bulls want to see whether a third member of Miami’s star trio is also willing to leave South Beach.

Wade, 32, has seen his game decline in recent years as trouble with his knees has arisen. Still, he remains a dangerous force, having averaged 19.0 points, 4.7 assists and 4.5 rebounds this past season. He’s No. 7 in the Hoops Rumors Free Agent Power Rankings.

The Bulls are one of two teams that Carmelo Anthony, who’s No. 2 on that free agent list, is reportedly deciding between as he makes his choice of where to sign. The Bulls have also been in hot pursuit of Pau Gasol, and are a favorite for him, too.

Wade passed up two years and about $42MM left on his deal when he opted out in June, ostensibly to help the Heat re-sign James. He’ll have a tough time finding a deal with salaries anywhere close to what he would have made.