Ronny Turiaf will not exercise his option to remain with the Heat, choosing instead to become an unrestricted free agent, agent Mark Bartelstein tells Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Had Turiaf picked up his option, he would have been under contract for another year at $1.2MM.
Turiaf was traded from the Wizards to the Nuggets at the deadline for salary-matching purposes in the JaVale McGee/Nene deal. After Denver released him, the 29-year-old signed with Miami for the team's playoff run, inking a contract that included a player option as an "insurance policy." While Turiaf wasn't overly productive in the regular season or playoffs with Miami, he at least showed he was healthy, which should earn him more than a $1.2MM guarantee on the open market.
Awwww……our best cheerleader is gone
Good bye, good riddance.