Miami Heat Rumors | Hoops Rumors

And-Ones: Bucks, Oden, McRoberts, Nets

August 12th, 2015 at 1:29pm CST by Chuck Myron

A new arena for the Bucks moved one step closer to reality today, when Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker signed a bill that calls for $250MM of public financing, write Mary Spicuzza And Jason Stein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Walker has long backed the arena project and said when the bill emerged from the state legislature late last month that he’d sign it. The team must still arrange for a land sale with Milwaukee County and receive approval for construction from the Milwaukee Common Council, Spicuzza and Stein note, but Bucks executives have said that can take place between now and the fall. Groundbreaking must take place soon for the team to stay on schedule to meet a league-imposed deadline, lest the league seize the franchise from its owners and move it elsewhere, but today’s news indicates that the Bucks remain on track to stay in Milwaukee. Here’s more from around the league:

Former No. 1 overall pick Greg Oden will take part in a weeklong workout later this month for Jiangsu Kentier of the Chinese Basketball Association, the Altius Culture agency tweets. It’ll constitute an audition for the team, the agency indicates. He reportedly drew eyes from the Mavs, Hornets and Grizzlies early in the summer.
Josh McRoberts had a frustrating, injury-riddled year for the Heat last season after his breakout campaign for Charlotte in 2013/14, and the subtraction of his nearly $5.544MM salary would go a long way toward preventing the Heat from paying repeater tax penalties this season. Still, he’s eager to return to playing in Miami, as he tells Kyle Neddenriep of his hometown Indianapolis Star. “I feel confident and comfortable going back there,” McRoberts said. “I kind of saw how things were last year. I’m excited to be back and part of the team because when you’re hurt, you are kind of isolated on your own. You’re not practicing and playing in games with them every day. I’ve worked with the coaches throughout the summer different times and feel good about the direction we’re headed.”
Nets majority owner Mikhail Prokhorov agreed to push back today’s deadline for minority owner Bruce Ratner to pay back his company’s debts to Prokhorov’s company, reports Scott Soshnick of Bloomberg.com (Twitter links). Ratner’s group now has until September 8th to pay or let their 20% share become 8%, with Prokhorov’s group taking over the other 12%.

Heat Rumors: Chalmers, Andersen, Green, Draft

August 8th, 2015 at 10:55pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Heat would probably lack the depth needed to contend for a title if they ship out Mario Chalmers or Chris Andersen for luxury tax relief, writes Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel. Miami recently got a measure of tax relief by trading Shabazz Napier to the Magic, but rumors persist that Chalmers, Andersen or Josh McRoberts could be sent elsewhere before the season begins. Winderman argues that dealing Chalmers or Andersen for little in return would damage the Heat by leaving them without veteran backups at point guard or center.

There’s more tonight from Miami:

The Heat should wait until at least midseason before making any more luxury tax moves, Winderman argues in the same piece. He contends the team needs a strong start after missing the playoffs last season, and that is more likely with all the veteran backups still around. Because the luxury tax is based on the season-ending roster, Miami could make a tax-relief deal or two during the season if it decides to pursue that strategy. He notes that owner Micky Arison is dedicated to keeping a “sustainable business model” as well as building a successful team.
Gerald Green feels “blessed” to be in Miami, according to Joe Beguiristain of NBA.com. Green, who signed a one-year minimum deal with the Heat last month, is happy to be reuniting with Goran Dragic, who helped Green post career highs in scoring and 3-point shooting percentage during their year together in Phoenix. “I never had anybody to make me better like that,” Green said. “He [Dragic] attacks the teeth of the defense, he puts pressure on the defense and he just does a great job of drawing two [or] three defenders.”
A series of trades has left the Heat low on draft picks over the next six years, writes Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. Miami has just three first-rounders and two second-rounders remaining in that span. That could change, although the odds seem remote, if Orlando has a top-five record next year or if Boston does in 2019.

Northwest Notes: Exum, Hanlan, Donovan

August 8th, 2015 at 9:52pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Jazz have several options to replace the injured Dante Exum, according to Zach Lowe of Grantland. Exum tore the ACL in his left knee Tuesday while playing for the Australian National Team and is expected to miss the entire 2015/16 season. Utah currently has about $6.7MM in unused cap room, Lowe notes, along with four nonguaranteed contracts. By opening up some more room, the Jazz could fit Jose Calderon if the Knicks decide to dump his salary or they could make a play for Pelicans free agent Norris Cole. Another option is to target guards on teams seeking luxury tax relief, such as Miami’s Mario Chalmers or Oklahoma City’s D.J. Augustin. Lowe reported in April that Utah was hoping to trade its first-round pick for a point guard, but couldn’t find any takers.

There’s more from the Northwest Division:

The Jazz would have preferred to keep Olivier Hanlan in Idaho for this season, tweets Andy Larsen of KSL.com, but the small D-League salaries made that impractical. Hanlan, the 42nd pick in this year’s draft, signed with Zalgiris Kaunas of Lithuania.
Thunder coach Billy Donovan’s journey to the NBA began in earnest when Rick Pitino became his coach at Providence, writes Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman. Frustrated over a lack of playing time, Donovan was thinking of leaving Providence before prior to his junior year when Pitino took over as coach. As a senior, Donovan averaged more than 20 points per game and played in the Final Four, launching his career, briefly as an NBA player, and ultimately as a coach.

Southeast Notes: Richardson, Williams, Gordon

August 5th, 2015 at 8:58am CST by Chuck Myron

Heat trade candidate Mario Chalmers and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, who’s eligible for an extension from the Hornets until October 31st, are among the five players Jessica Camerato of Basketball Insiders believes must show improvement this coming season. Chalmers will have motivation to bounce back after a poor shooting year that featured his career-worst 29.4% three-point percentage with his contract set to expire at season’s end, while Kidd-Gilchrist has to contend with trade acquisition Nicolas Batum at his position. While we wait to find out whether either of them will break through this coming season, see more from the Southeast Division here:

The deal that No. 40 pick Josh Richardson signed with the Heat features minimum salaries for all three seasons and no guaranteed money beyond this season’s fully guaranteed salary, as Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders shows (Twitter link). His 2016/17 salary becomes guaranteed if he sticks through August 1st, 2016, Pincus adds.
Elliot Williams received two years at the minimum salary with an $80K partial guarantee for this season and no guaranteed money for 2016/17 in his camp deal with the Hornets, Pincus also reports (Twitter link).
Aaron Gordon is among the players from the 2014 draft class who appear on the verge of a breakout, according to Sean Deveney of The Sporting News. A fractured bone in Gordon’s left foot helped limit him to 47 games last season and made it tough to see why the Magic invested the No. 4 overall pick in the combo forward.

Heat Sign Josh Richardson

August 3rd, 2015 at 1:44pm CST by ChrisCrouse

AUGUST 3RD, 1:44pm: The deal is official, the team announced.

11:59pm: Richardson will make the minimum salary in at least the first two seasons of the deal, while the sides are still hammering out the terms of year three, according to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald.

JULY 28TH, 5:34pm: The Heat and Josh Richardson have agreed to terms on a three-year $2.5MM deal, Shams Charania of RealGM reports. The deal is fully guaranteed for the first season and partially guaranteed for the second year, Charania adds.

Miami could offer Richardson a contract of three years because the team still possesses the taxpayer mid-level exception, former Nets executive Bobby Marks notes on Twitter. Had the Heat signed someone using that exception, they would only be able to offer a two-year pact.

Richardson was the 40th overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft. The 21-year-old averaged 16 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.6 per game last season for the University of Tennessee. The 6’6″ guard likely won’t carry a heavy burden on offense for Miami. If he sees significant minutes, it will most likely be because of his impact on the defensive end.

Eastern Notes: Whiteside, Copeland, Thomas

August 2nd, 2015 at 10:30pm CST by Chuck Myron

Here’s a look at the latest contract news from the Eastern Conference:

The $981,348 contract for this upcoming season for Heat center Hassan Whiteside, who will hit free agency next summer, becomes guaranteed on Dec. 1st, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders points out. The deal is already partially guaranteed for $245,337, and that partial guarantee escalates to $490,674 if he makes it to opening night.
Chris Copeland‘s one-year deal with the Bucks is worth precisely $1.15MM, as Pincus shows (Twitter link). That means Milwaukee has $1.664MM left on its $2.814MM room exception, Pincus also notes.
Jorge Gutierrez‘s non-guaranteed minimum salary with the Bucks becomes partially guaranteed for $250K on December 1st, Pincus adds on the same page.
The deal between Adonis Thomas and the Pistons is a two-year pact for the minimum salary, according to Pincus (Twitter link).

Will Joseph contributed to this post.

Eastern Notes: Jerebko, McRae, Dedmon, Hornets

August 2nd, 2015 at 12:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

Jonas Jerebko said he got several free agency phone calls after the clock struck midnight on July 1st, but he was glad that one of them came from Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge, according to Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. Jerebko, who inked a two-year, $10MM contract with the Celtics, wanted to stay in Boston after being acquired from the Pistons in a February trade. “It was like proof that you had a good year,” Jerebko said of the calls from other organizations. “I had other teams interested, but after talking to Danny and the way we worked stuff out, this is where I wanted to be and we worked it out.” Jerebko averaged 7.1 points and 4.8 rebounds per game after the deal, both up from his numbers in Detroit.

There’s more from the Eastern Conference:

The Sixers will have Jordan McRae for training camp, tweets Jake Pavorsky of Liberty Ballers. He cites an unidentified league source and says no formal deal has been reached yet.
Dewayne Dedmon had his non-guaranteed minimum salary become fully guaranteed when the Magic elected not to waive him by Saturday’s deadline, as the schedule of salary guarantee dates shows. Jordan Clarkson, Erick Green and Tyler Johnson all had their guarantees of varying amounts picked up, too, as had been expected.
Tyler Hansbrough‘s deal with the Hornets is fully guaranteed for one year at the minimum salary, according to Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). The camp deal between the Hornets and Elliot Williams covers two seasons at the minimum salary, as Pincus shows (Twitter link).

Heat Rumors: Boozer, Ennis, D-League

August 2nd, 2015 at 9:00am CST by Arthur Hill

Miami could have interest in free agent Carlos Boozer if the Heat deal one of their big men for luxury tax relief, writes Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel. The Heat cut their tax bill with last week’s trade that sent Shabazz Napier to the Magic, but Chris Andersen and Josh McRoberts remain candidates to be moved to slash the potential payment even further. If that happens, Miami may pursue Boozer on a veteran’s minimum salary to be a replacement, although Winderman isn’t sure how much the veteran free agent has left to offer. Boozer, 34, averaged 11.8 points and 6.8 rebounds in 71 games with the Lakers last season.

There’s more this morning from South Florida:

Another team may pounce on James Ennis if he doesn’t make the Heat’s 15-man roster, Winderman speculates in the same piece. The 25-year-old guard got into 62 games with Miami last season, averaging 5.0 points in 17 minutes of playing time. Even with Napier and Zoran Dragic (traded to the Celtics) gone, Ennis faces a crowded backcourt situation. Winderman contends the Heat should carry the maximum of 15 players on their roster to keep as much talent as possible on hand.
The Heat have done a good job of taking of advantage of the league rule that lets teams retain the D-League rights to as many as four players cut in training camp, Winderman notes in a separate story. That applies only to players who clear waivers and have agreed to play in the D-League. Last season, Miami offered partial guarantees to Tyler Johnson, Khem Birch and Larry Drew II to get them into camp and establish an affiliation. They later added Andre Dawkins to the list. Players who end up in the D-League in this manner can be signed by other NBA teams during the season, as Drew (Sixers) and Dawkins (Celtics) were last year.
Napier was the first player involved in a trade between the Heat and Magic during their 28-year rivalry, Winderman points out in the same story. The teams’ only previous deal sent coach Stan Van Gundy from Miami to Orlando in 2007 for a second-round pick.

And-Ones: Faried, Deng, DeRozan

July 31st, 2015 at 10:35pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The growing sense around the Nuggets is that the team wants to see if Michael Malone can mentor Kenneth Faried the way he reached DeMarcus Cousins with the Kings, and it seems highly unlikely that Denver will trade the power forward before the start of the season, writes Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders.

Here’s more from around the league:

The Heat want to hold on to Luol Deng and see how well the team can play, sources close to the organization tell Kyler, but if Miami underwhelms, Kyler believes Miami would put Deng on the block.
The Raptors are not entertaining trades for DeMar DeRozan, sources close to the team informed Kyler.
The additions that the Clippers made this offseason to bolster their bench have made them the NBA’s most improved team heading into the 2015/16 campaign, opines Bradford Doolittle of ESPN.com (Insider subscription required). Doolittle also calls out the Hornets and Mavericks as teams that have made positive strides this Summer, while listing the Nets, Sixers, and Suns as franchises that have taken a step back this offseason.
With the NBA’s salary cap expected to increase dramatically next Summer there are a number of pending free agents who stand to benefit from the windfall, Kevin Pelton of ESPN.com (Insider subscription required) writes. Some under-the-radar players who can expect significant pay increases on their next contracts include Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (Hornets), Harrison Barnes (Warriors), Langston Galloway (Knicks), and Jordan Clarkson (Lakers), Pelton opines.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Southeast Notes: Scott, Ennis, Napier

July 30th, 2015 at 9:51pm CST by Chuck Myron

Hawks power forward Mike Scott is facing felony drug charges following an arrest this morning, reports Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Police say they found Scott and his brother in possession of marijuana and MDMA, aka ecstasy or Molly. Scott’s salary of more than $3.333MM is fully guaranteed for this season, with a similar figure non-guaranteed for 2016/17. Here’s more from around the Southeast Division:

James Ennis feels confident that he’ll earn his way onto the Heat‘s regular season roster, agent Scott Nichols told Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald, explaining why he and the Heat decided to nix the clause in Ennis’ contract that would have triggered a 50% partial guarantee on his minimum salary if he remained on the team through Saturday. The move keeps the Heat from having to decide on a $422,530 chunk of salary this weekend, a prospect that may well have spurred the team to cut him, and it also moves up the date on which Ennis’ salary becomes fully guaranteed from December 1st to opening night, Jackson notes.
Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel still doesn’t see Miami’s 2014 draft-night acquisition of Shabazz Napier as a mistake, even after the Heat traded Napier to the Magic following a so-so rookie year, as Winderman writes in his mailbag column. He heard from one scout that Napier nearly was one of the first 15 picks in the draft. This summer, the Heat had luxury tax concerns and better options at point guard, and that’s what led to the trade with Orlando, Winderman argues. That casts a different light on Napier than that from when an NBA GM told Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald that the Heat had simply concluded prior to the trade that the point guard “was not good enough”
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist leads a list of intriguing second-tier 2016 free agents that Kevin Pelton of ESPN.com compiles in an Insider-only piece. The elite defense of the 21-year-old Hornets small forward makes it such that he’ll be a valuable starter for years to come if he can merely become an average offensive player, Pelton argues.