Miami Heat Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Southeast Notes: Wizards, Harris, Heat

August 29th, 2015 at 8:14pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Lang Greene of Basketball Insiders wonders if this is the year that the Wizards reach the Eastern Conference finals and take their seat among the conference elites. Greene believes Otto Porter’s development will be crucial for the success of the team this season. Washington failed to sign Paul Pierce, who opted to sign a three year deal worth approximately $10MM with the Clippers, leaving Porter to take on a bigger role with the team. New acquisition Jared Dudley should help to ease the burden, but the 30-year-old is recovering from offseason back surgery and is expected to miss nearly a month of the regular season. The Wizards also added Alan Anderson and Gary Neal via free agency and the duo should help boost the team’s bench unit.

Here’s more from the Southeast Division:

The Magic’s new four-year, $64MM deal with Tobias Harris makes him the team’s highest-paid player, and the team will call upon him to score in the clutch, putting him under the microscope like never before, writes Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel. Harris, who cares about the way others perceive him, will have to deal with plenty of criticism based on how he performs, Schmitz adds.
The Heat shouldn’t need as much from Dwyane Wade on the offensive end as they have in past seasons because of the team’s offseason moves, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sentinel writes in his weekly mailbag. Miami re-signed starting point guard Goran Dragic to a five-year deal worth $85MM. The team also added Gerald Green and Amar’e Stoudemire in free agency.

Eddie Scarito contributed to this post.

Carlos Boozer Unlikely To Sign Before Season Starts

August 28th, 2015 at 1:40pm CST by Chuck Myron

Carlos Boozer is likely to remain unsigned for the rest of the offseason and instead seek a deal with a playoff contender after the season starts, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). Thus, it appears as though the 13-year veteran simply isn’t seeing an offer that he likes for now, though it casts doubt on the idea that he would bite on apparent interest from the Chinese league, an option that had reportedly intrigued him earlier this month.

Boozer, who turns 34 in November, made $16.8MM combined last season from the Bulls, who waived him via the amnesty clause in July 2014, and the Lakers, who submitted a partial claim of $3.251MM to snag him off waivers. He’d be hard-pressed to make even the amount of that amnesty claim on an NBA contract this season, simply because most teams have no more than the $2.814MM room exception to spend. The Mavericks, one of the latest three NBA teams reported to have interest in him, have only the room exception to use, while the Knicks, another of those interested parties, are limited to the minimum. The Rockets have more than $2.274MM left of their mid-level exception, but using it would impose a hard cap on them, and they still have yet to sign No. 32 overall pick Montrezl Harrell. The Spurs, Raptors, Pelicans, Nuggets, Nets, Lakers and Heat were reportedly interested in the Rob Pelinka client earlier this summer, but none of them have the capacity to give him as much as the Lakers paid for him last year. The Lakers renounced their Bird rights to him last month.

The two-time All-Star put up 16.2 points and 9.8 rebounds per game in 2012/13, but his numbers have declined in each of the two seasons since, and his 6.8 boards and 23.8 minutes per contest last season were career lows. Former Nets executive Bobby Marks wouldn’t be surprised if Boozer waited until Christmas to sign (Twitter link). I’d speculate that a decent chance exists that he stays on the market even longer. Ray Allen and Jermaine O’Neal, two other aging former All-Stars, chose to carry on as free agents into the season last year but never wound up signing.

What do you think Boozer will end up doing? Leave a comment to share your thoughts.

And-Ones: Thunder, Batum, 2016 Draft

August 27th, 2015 at 9:59am CST by Eddie Scarito

The ESPN Summer Forecast panel tabs the Thunder as the team most likely to vault in the standings this year, which is no surprise given the return of Kevin Durant and the team’s decision to match the Blazers’ offer sheet for high-scoring big man Enes Kanter . The Heat, who re-signed Dwyane Wade and Goran Dragic and get Chris Bosh from his blood clot ailment, and the Jazz, who surged late last season, also appear in the top three.

There’s more on Oklahoma City amid other NBA-related news:

The Thunder allowed a trade exception that had been worth $1.25MM to expire when they didn’t make a move by Wednesday’s deadline to use it. It was a vestige of the trade that sent Hasheem Thabeet to Philadelphia. Oklahoma City still has other trade exceptions, the largest of which is worth $2.75MM thanks to the last of this summer’s many deals involving Luke Ridnour.
Hornets coach Steve Clifford says that he envisions Nicolas Batum having a more prominent offensive role in Charlotte than he did with the Blazers last season, as Adi Joseph of The Sporting News relays (via Twitter). Charlotte acquired Batum, 26, from the Blazers in June as part of the trade that shipped Noah Vonleh and Gerald Henderson to Portland.
ESPN’s Chad Ford (Insider subscription required) released his initial mock draft for 2016, and snagging the top spot is LSU freshman small forward Ben Simmons, followed by Kentucky big man Skal Labissiere and California swingman Jaylen Brown.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Latest On Potential Heat Trades, Mario Chalmers

August 26th, 2015 at 8:59am CST by Chuck Myron

The Heat expect to keep Mario Chalmers until at least the start of training camp, and owner Micky Arison has made no demand that the team shed salary, reports Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. The prospect of trading for Jamal Crawford, an idea the Heat reportedly raised in talks with the Clippers nearly two months ago, “can’t be ruled out,” but Miami is satisfied with its depth on the perimeter, Jackson writes. The Heat are still willing to trade Chris Andersen, but the market for him has been soft, Jackson hears from a higher-up who’s been in contact with the Heat, and no evidence suggests the Clippers are interested in him as part of a swap involving Crawford, Jackson adds.

The Heat would still prefer to offload salary and haven’t ruled out trading Chalmers, set to make a guaranteed $4.3MM in the final season of his contract this year, as soon as October, according to Jackson. The point guard hasn’t given indications that he’s expecting to be traded, and team president Pat Riley denied reports around draft time indicating that the team was shopping Chalmers and Andersen. Grantland’s Zach Lowe nonetheless heard a couple of weeks later that Chalmers and Andersen were available “for nothing.” Andersen didn’t seem concerned about the rumors when he made a public appearance earlier this week, as Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel chronicles.

An opposing GM told Jackson in mid-July that Chalmers and Shabazz Napier were the players the Heat were shopping the most aggressively, and Miami dealt Napier to the Magic later that month for no salary in return. That, plus the swap that sent Zoran Dragic to the Celtics with no other salary involved, helped Miami lower its payroll, though the Heat still have about $90.4MM in guaranteed salary, which puts them about $5.66MM above the $84.74MM luxury tax threshold. The Heat would have to pay repeat-offender tax penalties if they’re still above the tax line on the final day of the regular season. Miami only has 12 players on fully guaranteed deals, and if they keep Hassan Whiteside on his partially guaranteed contract but get rid of everyone else, they’d have a tax bill of roughly $16.3MM. Jackson estimates the tax bill at around $23MM, though that appears to include some of the non-guaranteed contracts.

Do you think the Heat will move below the luxury tax line this season? If so, how do you think they’ll manage to do it? Leave a comment to tell us.

Heat Sign Keith Benson For Camp

August 25th, 2015 at 3:58pm CST by Eddie Scarito

AUGUST 25TH, 3:58pm: The deal is official, the team announced.

AUGUST 19TH, 2:44pm: Benson is getting a one-year deal for the minimum salary without any guaranteed money, according to Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). It has limited injury protection, Pincus adds, so it appears it’s an Exhibit 9 contract.

AUGUST 14TH, 6:33pm: Unrestricted free agent center Keith Benson has agreed to a deal with the Heat, Shams Charania of RealGM reports (Twitter link). The length and terms of the agreement are not yet known, but Charania describes it as a training camp deal, which means that it is likely for the minimum salary and may contain a small partial guarantee, though that is merely my speculation.

The 6’11”, 27-year-old, was a second round pick of the Hawks back in the 2011 NBA Draft. His only NBA regular season action came during the 2011/12 campaign when he went scoreless in three appearances for the Warriors. Benson played his college ball at the University of Oakland, notching career averages of 14.1 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 0.7 assists, and owning a slash line of .558/.379/.679. The big man spent last season playing overseas for both Neptūnas of Lithuania and the Estonian club BC Kalev/Cramo.

The addition of Benson will give the Heat a roster count of 16 players, 12 of whom possess fully guaranteed contracts.

Southeast Notes: Kidd-Gilchrist, Horford, Deng

August 25th, 2015 at 10:07am CST by Chuck Myron

People around the league applaud what the Hornets are getting out of the extension deal Charlotte has reportedly struck with Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, as Grantland’s Zach Lowe hears (All six Twitter links right here). The starting salary should be roughly in line with his cap hold for next summer, which would have been $12,662,808, so the Hornets aren’t truly compromising their cap flexibility, Lowe points out. The deal is not without its potential pitfalls, given his lack of outside shooting and elite ball-handling, so it will challenge the Hornets to surround him with others who can fill in the gaps, but it’s nonetheless a risk worth taking, given the work ethic of the former No. 2 overall pick. He’s capable of moving to power forward, giving him more versatility than Tony Allen, a player to whom Kidd-Gilchrist is often compared, Lowe adds. See more from around the Southeast Division:

The Hawks arguably took a step back this summer, having lost DeMarre Carroll to the Raptors, but Al Horford, set for free agency next summer, is pleased with the team’s offseason, especially the trade acquisition of Tiago Splitter, as Horford tells Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “And also guys like Tim Hardaway. I feel like he has a lot of potential,” Horford said. “Once he figures everything out, I think he is going to be really good for us. It’s excited to have those guys. And even some of the younger guys. Justin Holiday and Edy Tavares, I’m excited to have both of them too. We know they will have to work but I’m sure they’ll have an opportunity to play at some point. I’m excited. Obviously with DeMarre being gone, we are going to need some other guys to step in and try to help alleviate everything that DeMarre did for us.”
The Heat clearly like No. 10 overall pick Justise Winslow, but he probably won’t perform well enough as a rookie to make Luol Deng expendable between now and the trade deadline, as Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel argues in a mailbag column.
We rounded up plenty more on the Heat right here.

Heat Notes: Stoudemire, Whiteside, D-League

August 24th, 2015 at 5:32pm CST by Chuck Myron

Two months ago, it seemed like the Heat might be on the verge of major changes, with Dwyane Wade pushing for a more lucrative deal than the Heat planned for him and uncertainty surrounding Luol Deng and his player option. Deng ultimately opted in, and while Wade opted out, he re-signed with the Heat on a one-year, $20MM deal. Miami also re-signed Goran Dragic and boosted its depth with the additions of Amar’e Stoudemire and Gerald Green. There’s news on Stoudemire amid the latest from South Beach:

Stoudemire already feels comfortable with the Heat and said today that while he’ll accept whatever his role with the team might be, he feels he’s capable of playing like an All-Star again, writes Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press. “From playing against Miami, the thing that you learn is that they always have a competitive spirit,” Stoudemire said. “There’s an aura around here that everyone works hard, that you have to be in top shape which is great because I want to be in the best shape of my life going into this season. I want to surprise the world and have a very, very productive year.”
Hassan Whiteside, who figures to be a hot commodity among free agents in 2016, will likely see only 20-25 minutes per game most nights this season for the Heat, assistant coach Dan Craig tells Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. However, Whiteside probably wants to have an expanded role in a contract year this season, as Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel writes in a mailbag column. While Craig cited small ball as a reason to keep the big man’s minutes low, the coach also said Whiteside has made progress toward becoming a better small ball player this summer.
The Heat and the D-League’s Sioux Falls Skyforce formally extended their one-to-one affiliation deal, the Heat announced. The Skyforce have been Miami’s exclusive D-League partner for the past two seasons even though Miami and Sioux Falls are separated by about 1,800 miles.

Heat Rumors: Chalmers, Hawkins, Winslow

August 22nd, 2015 at 9:46pm CST by Arthur Hill

Amid rumors that he might be the next player traded to lessen the team’s luxury tax penalty, Mario Chalmers is preparing like he’s staying in Miami, writes Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel. Chalmers has been holding regular workouts with new teammate Amar’e Stoudemire, who signed with the Heat as a free agent last month. “We’re just getting that feel for each other, becoming friends, just to form a relationship with him,” Chalmers said, adding that he believes the Heat are in position to be contenders again.

There’s more tonight from Miami:

An unidentified NBA scout said the Heat did very well with their offseason moves, Winderman writes in the same story. The scout calls Gerald Green a “gunslinger” who provides athleticism and can make difficult shots, and says of Stoudemire, “He’s still got some punch left in him.”
The Heat are hoping to keep Corey Hawkins for their D-League team if he fails to make the opening-night roster, according to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. Miami signed Hawkins, the son of former NBA player Hersey Hawkins, on Friday. The 6’3″ guard went undrafted out of Cal-Davis after earning Player of the Year honors in the Big West Conference. Teams are permitted to designate as many as four “affiliate players” for their D-League roster once they clear waivers.
Rookie Justise Winslow is confident that he is coming to a successful organization in Miami, writes Michael Lee of The Washington Post. Although the Heat missed the playoffs last year, team president Pat Riley has a record of rebuilding quickly, and Winslow, the 10th overall pick, is happy to be part of that effort. “I’m looking forward to going out there and winning, winning championships,” he said. “That’s what the Heat organization is about.”

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Western Notes: Crawford, Dejean-Jones, Prince

August 22nd, 2015 at 3:00pm CST by Eddie Scarito

There are reportedly multiple teams, including the Knicks, Heat, and Cavaliers, that are interested in swinging a deal with the Clippers to acquire sixth man Jamal Crawford. But Los Angeles isn’t currently motivated to give up Crawford without garnering a useful return, Dan Woike of The Orange County Register relays in a series of tweets. It wouldn’t be a wise move to deal Crawford, who is extremely valuable as a bench piece, for a backup caliber point guard or center, Woike opines. The Orange County Register scribe believes that the smarter move for the Clippers would be to hold onto Crawford and see how the team’s roster shakes out in training camp to better assess what the team’s needs are before making a decision.

Here’s what else is happening around the Western Conference:

The Pelicans dipped into their mid-level exception to sign undrafted shooting guard Bryce Dejean-Jones, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets. The pact includes a partial guarantee of $50K for the 2015/16 campaign, while the other two seasons of the deal are non-guaranteed, Pincus adds.
According to league sources, the Jazz have yet to contact other teams or free agents regarding adding another point guard in the wake of Dante Exum‘s season-ending knee injury, Andy Larsen of KSL.com relays (Twitter links). Utah appears content to begin the season with Trey Burke, Bryce Cotton, and Raul Neto, and will potentially look to acquire additional help later in the season if needed, Larsen adds. There were reports that the Jazz had interest in acquiring Garrett Temple from the Wizards, but Washington reportedly isn’t anxious to to move Temple, and he wouldn’t come cheaply if they were so inclined.
Tayshaun Prince‘s minimum salary arrangement with the Timberwolves for the 2015/16 season is fully guaranteed, Pincus tweets. The addition of Prince gives Minnesota 16 fully guaranteed pacts, according to our roster count for the team.

Heat Sign Corey Hawkins

August 21st, 2015 at 3:53pm CST by Chuck Myron

3:53pm: The deal is official, the Heat announced.

3:35pm: The Heat are poised to sign undrafted shooting guard Corey Hawkins, reports Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel (Twitter links). The 24-year-old son of former NBA player Hersey Hawkins averaged more than 20 points per game two out of his last three seasons at UC Davis and won this year’s Big West Player of the Year award, as Winderman notes. The terms of Hawkins’ deal are the same as Keith Benson‘s, who inked a non-guaranteed training camp pact with Miami earlier this month, Winderman tweets.

Hawkins will compete for one of ostensibly two open spots on the regular season roster for Miami, which is carrying 12 fully guaranteed salaries plus Hassan Whiteside‘s partially guaranteed deal, one that the Heat will almost certain keep.

The 6’3″ guard spent his freshman season at Arizona State, then transferred to UC-Davis, where he spent his remaining three collegiate campaigns. Hawkins’ career averages are 15.8 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 2.7 assists to go along with a shooting line of .468/.406/.802.