The Heat are in China, where Dwyane Wade is hopeful he can return to game action for the first time since the left knee surgery that kept him out of this summer's Olympics, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel writes. Wade has extra, endorsement-based incentive to hit the court in China, where his new Li-Ning sneakers will be formally introduced this week. We've got more Tuesday notes from the Southeast Division right here:
- The signing of Rashard Lewis precluded any interest the Heat might have had in Kenyon Martin, Winderman says. Martin, who remains unsigned, is still seeking a deal worth more than the minimum, though he's said he'd make an exception for the right team. His name was mentioned in connection with the Lakers earlier today. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports Jordan Hill is expected to be healthy in time for opening night, so the team may not have as much motivation to add another big man as they would have if Hill were expected to miss time.
- Point guard Armon Johnson, on a non-guaranteed contract with the Magic, is making a case to stick around, tweets John Denton of Magic.com. Johnson faces an uphill battle to make the regular season roster, since the team has 17 players with at least a partial guarantee on their deals.
- Craig Stouffer of The Washington Examiner checks in with Martell Webster, who, along with Trevor Ariza, helps shore up a small forward position that had been a weakness for the Wizards.