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G League Assignments/Recalls: 2/22/19

February 22nd, 2019 at 6:59pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Here are Friday’s assignments and recalls from around the NBA G League:

In a rare move by an NBA veteran, Sixers big man Amir Johnson was granted a request to play for the Delaware Blue Coats on Friday in order to get some playing time, according to Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia will recall Johnson in time for its game against Portland on Saturday. Johnson was in the rotation earlier in the season but hasn’t seen the court since January 26.
The Magic assigned rookie guard Melvin Frazier Jr. to Lakeland, the team’s PR department tweets. The second-round pick appeared in Orlando’s last four games before the All-Star break but didn’t go longer than five minutes.
The Spurs assigned first-round pick Lonnie Walker IV to the Austin Spurs, according to a team press release. Walker IV has seen action in 20 games with Austin, averaging 16.2 PPG in 27.3 MPG. He’s played in six games with San Antonio.
The Hornets assigned forward Dwayne Bacon and rookie guard Devonte’ Graham to the Greensboro Swarm, according to a team press release. Bacon has played in 25 NBA games this season and 12 more with the Swarm. He’s averaging 20.4 PPG and 7.5 RPG in 32.4 MPG at the G League level. Graham has seen action in 31 games with the Hornets and eight with the Swarm. He’s averaging 21.3 PPG and 5.0 APG in 33.1 MPG for Greensboro.
The Pacers assigned rookie forward Alize Johnson to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, according to a team press release. The second-round pick has played 11 NBA games this season. He’s averaging 19.2 PPG and 13.6 RPG in 36.9 MPG over 25 games with Fort Wayne.
The Heat recalled forward Emanuel Terry from the Sioux Falls Skyforce, according to a team press release. Miami signed Terry, who has averaged 15.3 PPG and 8.9 RPG in 10 games with the Skyforce, to a 10-day contract on Wednesday.

Udonis Haslem Leaning Toward One More Season

February 22nd, 2019 at 11:09am CST by Luke Adams

While Dwyane Wade hasn’t wavered on his decision to retire at the end of the 2018/19 season, longtime Heat teammate Udonis Haslem has been less certain about his future plans. Haslem initially suggested he would likely call it a career after the season, but recently said he remains undecided. Now, according to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald, Haslem is tentatively planning to return to the Heat for 2019/20.

“I am leaning towards doing one more season,” Haslem said to Jackson. “But it’s not 100 percent. For me, physically and mentally I’m still 100 percent engaged to help these guys get where they need to go. It’s just about the time. Is it time to do something different?”

Haslem and Wade came into the NBA together, joining the Heat in 2003. Wade briefly left South Beach for ill-fated stints with the Bulls and Cavaliers in recent years, but the two veterans have otherwise been together with the Heat for their entire NBA careers. Still, Haslem tells Jackson that he doesn’t feel as if the two friends need to retire at the same time.

“I’m leaning toward [playing another season] because as I watch Dwyane go, it’s more and more clear to me that even though we came in together and want to finish together, our careers have taken different paths,” Haslem said. “That doesn’t mean we’re separated. But our careers have gone different ways. We started together and are going to finish here together, but it doesn’t mean we have to finish at the same time. That’s something that becomes more and more clear as you watch these paths go the way they’re going.”

Haslem, 38, hasn’t played major minutes for the Heat in years, having averaged no more than 8.1 minutes per game since the 2014/15 season. In 2018/19, he has played just four times, logging 15 total minutes. However, the big man’s value in the locker room and on the bench more than makes up for his limited on-court contributions, teammate Goran Dragic explained last spring.

“It’s really tough to explain to people outside what he means to this team,” Dragic said at the time. “Everybody is looking, ‘OK, he’s not playing,’ but they don’t know how much he brings to this team, especially with his experience and leadership.”

The Heat’s offseason plans are unlikely to be impacted by Haslem’s decision, since he’d simply fill out the 15-man roster on a minimum salary deal if he returns.

Heat Notes: Dragic, Jones, Wade, Terry

February 21st, 2019 at 12:13pm CST by Luke Adams

The Heat announced on Wednesday (via Twitter) that injured guards Goran Dragic and Derrick Jones were full participants in practice and traveled with the team to Philadelphia for tonight’s game against the 76ers.

While Dragic and Jones have been cleared to return to action, head coach Erik Spoelstra said the duo may still need “a little more work” (Twitter link). Spoelstra is “not necessarily” planning on having both players return to the court in Philadelphia, he added today (Twitter link via Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel).

Whether or not Dragic and Jones earn minutes tonight, it’s great news for the Heat that both players are ready to return — Jones was originally expected to be sidelined until at least March. Still, after trading Tyler Johnson and Wayne Ellington at the deadline two weeks ago, Miami will once again have to sort out a crowded backcourt rotation.

Dragic and Jones will be vying for minutes with Josh Richardson, Justise Winslow, Dion Waiters, Rodney McGruder, and Dwyane Wade. Winslow has been effective as the Heat’s de facto point guard in Dragic’s absence, and Dragic indicated that he’d be happy to play off the ball if the club wants to keep the ball in Winslow’s hands, writes Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald.

Here’s more on the Heat:

Over the All-Star break, Barry Jackson spoke to a pair of veteran NBA scouts who are both bearish on the Heat’s long-term outlook. “They have really screwed it up,” a Western Conference scout said. “They are in this mess by themselves, have only themselves to blame. They got deluded by one year of performance, fell much too in love with their own players. They have five bad contracts – James Johnson, (Hassan) Whiteside, Waiters, Kelly Olynyk and now Ryan Anderson. Their whole team is just a bunch of other guys. They have too many mediocre players.”
Appearing at his final All-Star Game in Charlotte this past weekend, Dwyane Wade noted one reason why he’s not regretting his decision to retire at season’s end, as Nick Friedell of ESPN.com details. “The game is in good hands,” Wade said. “So it’s easy to walk away right now.”
Rookie forward Emanuel Terry was working out at the University of Miami this week as part of Team USA’s training camp when he found out that the Heat wanted to sign him to a 10-day contract, per Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. “Very last drill I did … I was walking back to my chair and (Heat assistant GM) Adam (Simon) stopped me,” said Terry, who had been prepared to participate in this week’s World Cup qualifiers. “He asked me how I was doing, I told him, ‘Well.’ I asked him how he was doing and he said, ‘We called you up.’ I couldn’t stop smiling, really for at least 10 minutes, and then I kind of told everyone, well, everyone approached me, and I kind of went on about my day.”

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 2/20/19

February 20th, 2019 at 9:48pm CST by Arthur Hill

Here are Wednesday’s assignments and recalls from around the NBA G League:

The Rockets assigned Isaiah Hartenstein to their Rio Grande Valley affiliate, tweets Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. Clint Capela‘s expected return from injury tomorrow night reduces the need to have Hartenstein with the NBA team.
The Kings sent Caleb Swanigan to their affiliate in Stockton, tweets James Ham of NBC Sports Bay Area. Swanigan was acquired from the Trail Blazers at the trade deadline and hasn’t played yet for Sacramento.
The Suns assigned rookie guard De’Anthony Melton to Northern Arizona, the team announced on its website. This is the fourth G League assignment for Melton, who has been sidelined since January 24 with a sprained right ankle.
The Heat shipped newly signed Emanuel Terry to their Sioux Falls affiliate, according to a press release from the team. Terry inked a 10-day contract with Miami earlier today.

Heat Sign Emanuel Terry To 10-Day Contract

February 20th, 2019 at 10:50am CST by Luke Adams

The Heat have made a roster move, announcing today in a press release that rookie forward Emanuel Terry has signed a 10-day contract with the club. The move brings Miami’s roster count to 14 players, not including players on two-way deals.

Terry, 23, joined the Nuggets for training camp last fall after going undrafted out of Lincoln Memorial. Waived by Denver during the preseason, he has spent most of his rookie year with the Canton Charge and Sioux Falls Skyforce in the G League. In 29 NBAGL games (24.5 MPG) this season, Terry has averaged 10.7 PPG and 7.2 RPG with 1.6 BPG.

Terry’s G League play earned him an NBA shot last month, as he inked a 10-day deal with Phoenix last month, appearing in a pair of NBA games for the team. When the Suns didn’t re-sign him, he returned to Sioux Falls.

Terry had been set to participate in this week’s World Cup qualifiers for Team USA, having been named to the squad’s latest 12-man roster. However, he was replaced on Team USA’s roster when an opportunity in Miami emerged, and he’ll spend at least the next 10 days with the Heat.

The Heat are now in compliance with NBA roster rules after having carried 13 players for the last two weeks. Terry’s 10-day contract will count against their cap for approximately $47K.

Pat Riley Talks Heat, Retirement, LeBron James

February 19th, 2019 at 5:23pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Pat Riley has served as team president of the Heat since 1995. The 73-year-old executive brought Miami three titles—one while also serving as a coach—but remains hungry to oversee another championship team.

“Maybe that’s why I’m not going to retire. I ain’t going out this way until we win another title,” Riley said with a smile to ESPN’s Dan Le Batard (h/t Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel).

Riley added while he would love to have “one of those golden consulting jobs,” he wants to remain a hands-on participant in the franchise

“There’s a few guys around the league that have those jobs. But I say that in jest, because all the men who do that I’m sure they provide a good service. But I’m an active participant, and I want to stay that way,” Riley said.

Riley also touched upon LeBron James‘ tenure with the club and LBJ’s departure in 2014. The executive said he “saw a dynasty fly out the window” when James decided to return to Cleveland.

“I didn’t blame him [for leaving],” Riley said. “But I knew that was a 10-year team. It was just a sad day for me and for our franchise because I wanted that dynasty. I wanted this city and this team to go 10 years and maybe be in the Finals eight times.

“I don’t know how many championships we would have won. But I don’t have any rancor toward him at all.”

Olynyk Likely To Lose Playing Time Bonus

February 18th, 2019 at 5:30pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Heat big man Kelly Olynyk will likely lose the $1MM bonus in his contract because he’s not on pace to reach 1,700 minutes. However, Olynyk is not fretting over it, according to Jackson. “It’s not something you can control,” Olynyk said.

Southeast Notes: Dragic, Ariza, Fultz, Beal

February 15th, 2019 at 7:34pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Heat have dealt with rotation issues all season and they’ll have another dilemma when they return from the All-Star break. Point guard Goran Dragic is expected to return after recovering from arthroscopic surgery to his right knee. That will impact Justise Winslow, whose role as a playmaker and ballhandler has expanded in Dragic’s absence. Winslow enjoys playing with Dragic but doesn’t want to lose his starting spot.

“I’m going to think about that and let my curiosity go crazy during the All-Star break,” Winslow told Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. “That’s something that is out of my control. I can say what I would want, but it’s up to the coaches and I am ready to execute whatever role they give me.”

We have more from the Southeast Division:

Trevor Ariza was glad he was traded to the Wizards because of his familiarity with the organization and some of their players, Kimberly Cataudella of NBC Sports Washington relays. Ariza even implied he had some input on the trade made with the Suns, with whom he signed a one-year contract last summer. “If I [were] to leave [Phoenix], for me, it would be home or a place that I’m familiar with, and the opportunity came to come to Washington, and I chose Washington over everything,” he said. Ariza is averaging 15.4 PPG, 5.6 RPG and 4.3 APG in 28 starts since the trade.
Not only do the Magic have big plans for Markelle Fultz, they’re already envisioning what he could do for them if they reach the postseason in upcoming years, Roy Parry of the Orlando Sentinel reports. The No. pick in the 2017 draft was dealt by Philadelphia to Orlando earlier this month. “Watching film of him in Philly and then also of him in college … I’m not sure there’s an aspect of the game he can’t excel at,” coach Steve Clifford said. “Particularly in playoff series, you’ve got to have guys that can play both ways.”
Wizards guard Bradley Beal may have irritated some Celtics and Sixers fans with a comment he made during an All-Star event, as Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington tweets. Asked which team he believed would win the Eastern Conference championship, Beal replied: “I think it’s going to be Toronto or Milwaukee.”

Udonis Haslem Undecided On Retirement

February 14th, 2019 at 4:49pm CST by JD Shaw

Despite originally declaring his plans to retire at the end of the season, veteran Heat forward Udonis Haslem is now undecided on his future, according to Shandel Richardson of The Athletic.

“I’m not 100 percent sure I’m done,” Haslem said. “I know I said I had nothing else to prove. It’s coming close but, man, I still have so much to give. … We’ll see. I’m going to talk to [Heat CEO] Nick Arison and talk to the guys and just weigh my options. I’ve still got the fire to burn. I’ve still got something to contribute.”

Haslem has only played in four games with the Heat this season, logging 15 minutes in total. He has spent his entire 16-season career with the organization, dating back to his first contract in the summer of 2003.

Haslem previously claimed he had “nothing left to do” in an interview with Basketball Insiders’ David Yapkowitz last month, making clear his intentions to retire with longtime teammate Dwyane Wade once the season ends.

“They [Wade and Haslem] don’t have to make their decisions together,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “UD means so much to our culture, particularly when he’s in uniform, and that’s not dependent on how many minutes he’s playing in a game. I would love for him to come back. If that means we have to let everything just kind of settle after the season, give him a little bit of time and then we can put on our recruiting hats again. When free agency starts, he’ll be No. 1 on my list.”

Haslem is expected to discuss a possible return with the Heat this summer once the team chooses a direction in free agency, according to Richardson, who adds that the team would welcome him back for another season.

Haslem, 38, holds career-averages of 7.7 points, 6.7 rebounds and 25.3 minutes as the Heat’s all-time leading rebounder with 5,717 boards. He won NBA championships with the team in 2006, 2012 and 2013.

LeBron, Wade Interested In Eventually Owning NBA Teams

February 14th, 2019 at 2:18pm CST by Luke Adams

Michael Jordan is the only former NBA great who currently serves as the majority owner of one of the league’s 30 teams. However, LeBron James – who is often mentioned alongside Jordan in discussions on the league’s all-time best players – would like to join the former Bulls great in the ownership ranks someday. And, as Joe Vardon explains in an interesting piece for The Athletic, James is uniquely positioned to actually make it happen.

According to Vardon, if James were to retire today and an NBA franchise went up for sale tomorrow, the four-time MVP would be in position to place a bid, given his net worth, his connections, and the cache he has built up around the league.

“Ain’t no maybe about it, I’m going to do that s–t,” James told Vardon, referring to eventually owning an NBA franchise.

As Vardon outlines, James doesn’t have “Steve Ballmer money” and couldn’t just write a check to purchase an NBA franchise outright, but a majority owner is only required to purchase 15% of a team’s shares. While LeBron’s estimated net worth is $450MM, per Forbes, that estimate likely undershoots the actual figure, according to Vardon, who notes that James has made a number of private investments and maneuvers in recent years that would push the number higher.

With the right group of investors and partners, James would easily be able to put together a group capable of making a strong bid for any franchise that goes up for sale, as LeBron’s business associate Paul Wachter tells Vardon.

“I would say it would take about five calls to find partners if LeBron wanted to pull together an ownership group,” Wachter said. “If LeBron sat down with his team to discuss it, it would take maybe two or three calls apiece. I could tell you people I’d call to be involved now, but of course LeBron has his own ideas and Maverick [Carter] has his ideas.”

This is, of course, unlikely to happen anytime soon, as James is in the first season of a four-year contract with the Lakers and is planning to continue playing beyond that deal, per Vardon. However, when the time comes, it sounds like LeBron will be ready, as ESPN’s Brian Windhorst wrote in his own story on the subject earlier this week.

Meanwhile, James’ good friend Dwyane Wade is headed for retirement at season’s end, and while Wade isn’t necessarily as well positioned to purchase a franchise, the idea of owning a team intrigues him too, writes Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. Wade has previously mentioned the appeal of becoming part of an ownership group that would bring the NBA back to Seattle, but told reporters this week that he’s not solely focused on one city.

“I love Seattle,” Wade said. “It’s great, Unfortunately it’s not a part of the NBA. When a question was asked what franchise you want to see back, Seattle was one for me. And we talking about who I want to be ownership of, Miami has first dibs and then I go from there. … Obviously, this organization (the Heat) is the first one I would love to talk about that when the time is right.”

As Jackson observes, Heat majority owner Micky Arison hasn’t shown any interest in selling the club, but he might – hypothetically – be open to selling a small share of the franchise to Wade, who could serve as a minority stakeholder after he retires as a player. As with LeBron though, that’s likely a discussion to be had down the road.