Miami Heat Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Southeast Notes: Whiteside, Dragic, Craig

May 29th, 2016 at 11:23am CST by ChrisCrouse

Hassan Whiteside has a real chance of receiving a max contract this summer, as one scout told Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel. Whiteside’s offensive ability is a major reason why he will be able to command such a deal. “He is a much better version than [Bismack] Biyombo. He can score. You’re not playing four on five,” the scout told Winderman.

Here’s more from the Southeast Division:

If the Heat are going to trade Goran Dragic, the team will likely need at least one first-round pick in return, Winderman speculates in the same piece. Miami gave up two future first-rounders in order to obtain Dragic last season.
Dan Craig, who previously served as the coach of the Heat’s D-League affiliate, will join Erik Spoelstra’s staff as an assistant coach, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald passes along.
The Wizards need to find a third big man who can play with both Marcin Gortat and Markieff Morris, Ben Standig of CSN Mid-Atlantic writes. Standig names Ersan Ilyasova and Mirza Teletovic as low cost options.

Winderman On Why Conley, Chalmers May Not Fit Heat

May 27th, 2016 at 9:00am CST by Luke Adams

In his latest mailbag, Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel explains why he doesn’t see Mike Conley as a great fit for the Heat, and why Mario Chalmers probably isn’t all that likely to return to Miami.

Marks Previews Heat Offseason

May 25th, 2016 at 11:01am CST by Luke Adams

Bobby Marks of The Vertical previews the offseason for the Heat, who will need to find talent outside of the draft this year since they don’t have either of their two picks.

David Fizdale Gets Second Interview With Grizzlies

May 25th, 2016 at 7:47am CST by Luke Adams

Heat assistant David Fizdale, who interviewed last week for the Grizzlies’ head coaching job, has progressed to a second meeting with the team, sources tells Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). According to Stein, team owner Robert Pera will be involved in the second sit-down with Fizdale.

Fizdale, who turns 42 next month, has been a part of the Heat’s coaching staff since 2008, with the club earning two NBA Championship teams during his tenure. Fizdale previously served as an assistant coach for the Warriors (2003/04) and the Hawks (2004-2008).

Fizdale is one of several candidates who have reportedly spoken to the Grizzlies, with Spurs assistants James Borrego and Ettore Messina, Hornets assistant Patrick Ewing, and Trail Blazers assistant Nate Tibbetts also believed to be under consideration. However, there have been no indications that any of those interviewees have met with Memphis more than once, or that their interviews have involved Pera.

One candidate that did meet with Pera was Frank Vogel, who ultimately landed in Orlando, tweets Stein. Based on Stein’s report, it’s not clear whether the Magic’s new coach interviewed with Memphis twice, or whether the Grizzlies owner was present for the first interview. Either way though, Vogel had been considered the frontrunner for the Grizzlies’ job before he accepted Orlando’s offer, so the fact that Pera is now meeting with Fizdale looks like a positive development for the Miami assistant.

Dragic Ready To Re-Sign With Suns Before Trade To Heat?

May 24th, 2016 at 2:14pm CST by Luke Adams

In the wake of Jeff Hornacek‘s offer from the Knicks, who are expected to formally hire him as their head coach soon, Ken Berger of CBSSports.com revisits Hornacek’s time in Phoenix and provides an interesting tidbit related to a former Suns player. According to Berger, Hornacek spoke to Goran Dragic and secured a commitment from the point guard, who said he’d re-sign with the Suns when his contract expired — days later, Phoenix traded him to the Heat.

Heat Notes: Durant, Deng, Johnson

May 23rd, 2016 at 9:17am CST by Dana Gauruder

Oklahoma City’s surprising playoff run means there’s virtually no chance that Kevin Durant will land with the Heat as a free agent, Dave Hyde of the Sun Sentinel opines. Unless he’s desperate to get out of Oklahoma City, Durant has no real incentive to leave a team that can win championships, Hyde continues. While the Heat still must make an effort to contact Durant during free agency, it’s now clearcut that re-signing center Hassan Whiteside is their biggest offseason priority, Hyde adds.

In other news regarding the Heat:

Retaining free agent small forward Luol Deng will be difficult if the Heat manage to retain Whiteside, according to Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel. It will be tough to make the salary-cap math work in that scenario, as Deng likely will have suitors willing to immediately pay a number the Heat would hesitate to match while wooing Whiteside, Winderman continues. Starting point guard Goran Dragic could be traded to free up cap space, while Dwyane Wade is likely to finish his career in Miami, Winderman adds while examining the roster.
Restricted free agent Tyler Johnson might interest the point-guard starved Knicks, Marc Berman of the New York Post speculates. Johnson is quite versatile and would be a good fit if New York continues to run the triangle offense under new coach Jeff Hornacek.
Continuity under team president Pat Riley and a stable coaching staff are the Heat’s greatest assets, Hyde writes in a separate piece. The belief that the Heat will regain their status as a prime title contender starts with Riley, according to Hyde, adding that Riley’s biggest decision this summer is whether the team should splurge on an outside free agent or wait until next year.

Heat Notes: Durant, Whiteside, McRoberts, Johnson

May 22nd, 2016 at 6:10pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Heat are treating Kevin Durant like a long shot and concentrating their free agency efforts on keeping Hassan Whiteside, according to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. Miami intends to make an offer to Durant, but Jackson says the team’s intentions were clear when president Pat Riley called Whiteside the priority this week.

Miami might have a better shot at signing an outside free agent next summer, Jackson writes, even if Whiteside returns at a max or near-max contract. Dwyane Wade can free up some money if he agrees to another one-year contract or a two-year deal with an opt out after one season. Even if Chris Bosh is able to keep playing and his $25.3MM counts against the Heat’s cap, the franchise could have about $26MM to use next summer, possibly closer to $32MM if it can find a taker for Josh McRoberts. That would be enough to re-sign Wade and add a player such as Zach Randolph, Rudy Gay, Danilo Gallinari, Taj Gibson, Andre Iguodala, Tony Allen or J.J. Redick.

There’s more out of Miami:

The Heat will gauge the trade market for McRoberts, but the front office recognizes his value in case Bosh can’t play, Jackson writes in the same story. Miami might prefer to keep Luol Deng, who filled in for Bosh this season, but the offers he will get in free agency might be more than Miami can afford. “When you watch players play with [McRoberts], who know how to play with him, they’re very effective,” Riley said. “… We’re still high on him. We’re praying all the time he stays healthy.”
Joe Johnson may not stay with the Heat if he wants a quick decision in free agency, writes Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. Winderman expects many variables to play out, including whether coach Erik Spoelstra wants to make Justise Winslow his starting small forward. If that happens, the Heat would prefer to add another shooter to the starting lineup, a role Bosh can fill if he’s healthy. The Heat may want to fill their salary cap with other players first and then offer Johnson its $2.9MM “room” mid-level exception. However, he could get a better offer from another team before that happens.
After passing on Devin Booker to draft Winslow last year, the Heat need to concentrate on finding shooters this summer, Winderman contends in a separate piece. Their 7-for-25 performance from 3-point range in Game 7 against the Raptors underlined the need for improvement, but Spoestra said the team won’t be searching for just one skill. “Teams are built differently; teams can win in different ways,” he said. “… The most important thing is finding the best fits around the players you currently have, and can players bring out the best in each other?”

Heat Notes: Bosh, Dragic, Wade, Deng

May 20th, 2016 at 9:59am CST by Arthur Hill

The Heat are expecting Chris Bosh to be available next season, according to Dan Le Batard of ESPN. The 13-year veteran hasn’t played since the All-Star break when doctors discovered blood clots in his left calf, but Le Batard said on his radio show that both sides are optimistic. “I just got a text saying that Bosh should be able to play next season,” the host said. “So the Heat expect Bosh to be able to play next season. … What I’m telling you is that Bosh is committed to getting back, and the Heat are hopeful that that can be so.” Dan Feldman of NBCSports.com notes that the text came after Le Batard talked about the possibility of Bosh being forced into retirement, so Feldman speculates it came from someone with inside knowledge of the situation.

There’s more news out of Miami:

The Heat are limited in making deals for draft picks because they have used all their tradable cash for this season, writes Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. Not only can they not buy a pick, but Winderman points out that 60 percent of their roster is headed toward free agency, so none of those players can be traded. He says Miami’s best shot is to find a team that is interested in trading a pick for Josh McRoberts and that has the cap space or exception to fit him on its roster. McRoberts will make $5,782,450 next season.
Goran Dragic says Heat players will try to convince free agent center Hassan Whiteside to stay in Miami, tweets Jason Lieser of The Palm Beach Post. “We all want him here,” Dragic said. .. “Hopefully he sees that.”
Dwyane Wade is hoping for a “quick and easy” experience in free agency this summer, Lieser tweets. Wade, who signed a one-year, $20MM deal last offseason, said he wants a “smooth” negotiating process.
With only about $40MM to spend and Whiteside and Wade as top priorities, the Heat may not be able to afford free agent combo forward Luol Deng, writes Manny Navarro of The Miami Herald. At a little more than $10.15MM, Deng turned out to be a bargain for Miami as he assumed a greater role after Bosh was sidelined. “Going forward obviously I would love to be here,” Deng said. “It’s something that we will sit down and discuss. I can’t really say one bad thing about being here. I enjoyed my time. The one thing that I know about here is that it’s an organization that wants to win and an organization that will support the players and what they do, whether it’s on the court or off the court.”

2015/16 D-League Usage Report: Heat

May 19th, 2016 at 4:58pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The NBA’s relationship with the D-League continues to grow, and this season a total of 19 NBA teams had one-to-one affiliations with D-League clubs. Those NBA organizations without their own affiliates were required to assign players to D-League clubs associated with other NBA franchises. D-League teams could volunteer to take on the assigned players, and if no volunteers emerged, the players were assigned at random.

This significant change from the 2014/15 season came about after the Pacers purchased the Fort Wayne Mad Ants and turned them into their one-to-one partner for the 2015/16 campaign. Other NBA teams have interest in following suit in the years ahead, and the NBA’s ultimate goal for the D-League is for all 30 NBA franchises to have their own D-League squads. You can view the complete list of D-League affiliates here.

We at Hoops Rumors are recapping the D-League-related activity for the 2015/16 campaign for each team and we’ll continue with the Miami Heat, whose D-League affiliate is the Sioux Falls Skyforce:

The Heat made 8 assignments for the 2015/16 season, sending two players to the D-League for a total of 55 days. Listed below are all the assignments and recalls made by Miami for the 2015/16 campaign:

November 25th: Assigned Jarnell Stokes (1st) — Recalled November 29th
December 3rd: Assigned Jarnell Stokes (2nd) — Recalled December 15th
December 25th: Assigned Jarnell Stokes (3rd) — Recalled January 3rd
December 30th: Assigned Josh Richardson (1st) — Recalled January 3rd
January 5th: Assigned Jarnell Stokes (4th) — Recalled January 16th
January 5th: Assigned Josh Richardson (2nd) — Recalled January 11th
February 4th: Assigned Jarnell Stokes (5th) — Recalled February 7th
February 10th: Assigned Jarnell Stokes (6th) — Recalled February 15th

Here’s how Miami’s players performed while on assignment to the D-League this season:

Josh Richardson: In four appearances Richardson averaged 23.3 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.8 assists in 38.2 minutes per contest. His shooting numbers were .473/.393/.706.
Jarnell Stokes: In 28 appearances Stokes averaged 20.6 points, 9.3 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 30.7 minutes per outing. His shooting line was.665/.444/.667.

Pat Riley Addresses Bosh, Heat Free Agents

May 18th, 2016 at 6:18pm CST by Arthur Hill

Heat president Pat Riley offered insight into the Chris Bosh situation and several other topics during a 46-minute news conference this afternoon, relays Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. Among the highlights:

Bosh’s future remains uncertain after being sidelined since the All-Star break when blood clots were reportedly discovered in his left calf. Riley said doctors will work with Bosh over the summer to develop a program with the goal of getting him back on the court. “That’s always been our objective,” Riley said. “We’re in this together. It’s an X factor when it comes to everything we plan on doing this summer.”
Riley called center Hassan Whiteside “our No. 1 priority, period” when it comes to free agency. The 26-year-old is coming off the best season of his career, averaging 14.2 points and 11.8 rebounds per game and leading the league with 3.7 blocks per night. Whiteside will be an unrestricted free agent and the Heat don’t own his Bird rights because he signed just a two-year contract in 2014 after being out of the NBA for two seasons. “I don’t think he’s even reached his real ceiling in a couple areas of the game that I think that now he will be more comfortable with once his situation ends,” Riley said. “… He has shown all of us he can be 15 and 15 and four blocked shots and 70% field goal guy. There are other layers to his game I think he can even be better at. He’s very, very, very high on our priority list.” Riley promised the Heat will contact Whiteside at 12:01 a.m. July 1, the official start of free agency.
Another Heat decision will involve whether to again sign Dwyane Wade to a one-year contract or to hammer out a longer agreement. Riley called Wade a “lifer” in Miami and promised to “do the right thing” for the future Hall of Famer. “Compensation to a player is not just a way to get paid and live your life,” Riley said. “Compensation to a player is about recognition and respect.”
Free agent power forward Udonis Haslem may have a future with the Heat even though he’s about to turn 36 next month. Riley likes the way Haslem became a mentor to young players and contributed on the court when needed. “He said he learned more than ever about leadership this year in thinking about what he had to bring to the team that day because he wanted to talk to Hassan or Justise [Winslow] or Gerald [Green] or somebody,” Riley said. “… What he got was a great result.”
Riley said he understands that Goran Dragic had a hectic year that involved a lot more than just his trade from the Suns. But he added that the “unsettled” excuse is in the past, and the organization expects a lot more from Dragic next season. “He’s got to be a player than can create and score when there is no space,” Riley said. “That’s part of the game also, because when teams start to take things away from you and the offense that the coach creates, what are you going to do?”