Miami Heat Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Southeast Notes: Deng, Oubre, White, Eriksson

June 29th, 2015 at 8:59am CST by Chuck Myron

It’s still unclear what Luol Deng will do with his player option, worth nearly $10.152MM, with tonight’s deadline to decide looming, but the Heat absolutely wants him back, as team president Pat Riley made clear after the draft, notes Jason Lieser of The Palm Beach Post (Twitter link). That’s in spite of Miami’s selection of small forward Justise Winslow at No. 10. While we wait to see just what Deng will do, here’s more from around the Southeast:

GM Ernie Grunfeld didn’t think the Wizards would have the chance to trade up and nab Kelly Oubre until a day before the draft, and in so doing, Washington landed a player who has a relationship with D.C. native and 2016 free agent Kevin Durant, as Benjamin Standig of The Associated Press examines.
J. Michael of CSNWashington.com looks at the options the Wizards have if Paul Pierce, who’s opting out, doesn’t re-sign.
Forward Aaron White, whom the Wizards drafted 49th overall out of Iowa, will “definitely” play overseas this coming season, as Michael hears, but Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post writes that a decision has not yet been made. “Aaron will play Summer League with the Wizards and then we will evaluate if it is best to go overseas or not this season,” White’s agent, Chris Emens, wrote in an e-mail to Castillo. “Aaron is open to doing whatever the Wizards think is best for his development.”
The pair of players the Hawks drafted in the second-round Thursday will stay overseas, tweets Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Swedish shooting guard Marcus Eriksson, the 50th pick, and Greek forward Dimitrios Agravanis, pick No. 59, remain under contract with Barcelona of Spain and Olympiacos of Greece, respectively, according to Vivlamore.
Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel breaks down the new Magic assistant coaches whose hires the team officially announced Friday: former Bulls assistant Adrian Griffin, former Mavs assistant Monte Mathis, Mario Elie, who last was an NBA assistant with the Nets in 2012/13, and former Lakers D-League coach Conner Henry.

2015/16 Roster Counts: Miami Heat

June 27th, 2015 at 12:30pm CST by Eddie Scarito

During the offseason it’s OK for teams to carry as many as 20 players, but clubs must trim their rosters down to a maximum of 15 by opening night. In the meantime, some teams will hang around that 15-man line, while others will max out their roster counts. Some clubs may actually have more than 15 contracts that are at least partially guaranteed on the books. That means they’ll end up paying players who won’t be on the regular season roster, unless they can find trade partners.

With plenty more movement still to come, here’s the latest look at the Heat’s roster size, the contract guarantee status of each player, and how each player came to be on Miami’s roster.

(Last Updated 4-12-16, 1:15pm)

Fully Guaranteed (15)

Chris Bosh (F) — 6’11″/31 years old. Acquired via sign-and-trade from Raptors.
Luol Deng (F) — 6’9″/30 years old. Free agent signing.
Goran Dragic (G) — 6’3″/29 years old. Acquired via trade from Suns.
Gerald Green (G/F) — 6’8″/29 years old. Free agent signing.
Udonis Haslem (F) — 6’8″/35 years old. Free agent signing.
Joe Johnson (F) — 6’7″/34 years old. Free agent signing.
Tyler Johnson (G) — 6’3″/23 years old. Free agent signing.
Josh McRoberts (F) — 6’10″/28 years old. Free agent signing.
Josh Richardson (G/F) — 6’6″/21 years old. Drafted with the No. 40 overall pick in 2015.
Amar’e Stoudemire (F/C) — 6’10″/32 years old. Free agent signing.
Dwyane Wade (G) — 6’4″/33 years old. Drafted with the No. 5 overall pick in 2003.
Briante Weber (G) — 6’2″/23 years old. Free agent signing.
Hassan Whiteside (C) — 7’0″/26 years old. Free agent signing.
Justise Winslow (F) — 6’6″/19 years old. Drafted with the No. 10 overall pick in 2015.
Dorell Wright (F) — 6’9″/30 years old. Free agent signing.

10-Day Contracts (0)

None

TOTAL ROSTER COUNT (15)

Latest On Dwyane Wade, Heat

June 26th, 2015 at 10:51am CST by Chuck Myron

Heat president of basketball operations Pat Riley made it plain in his postdraft press conference that he’d prefer that Dwyane Wade stayed with the team, as Jason Lieser of the Palm Beach Post recounts. Still, he hinted that Wade will indeed opt out, making a pair of references to July 1st as a starting point for talks.

“The one thing that I’ve learned about free agency is that when a player has an opportunity to be a free agent, you give him the space and the time to think about that,” Riley said. “We love Dwyane. Dwyane is a pillar. He has been part of the root structure and the foundation of this franchise for the last 12 years. … We know that on July 1, we’ll be the first ones that he’ll talk to and we’ll go from there.”

The Heat exec also said that he and Wade haven’t had any “real discussions,” adding that such talks couldn’t take place until July 1st, Lieser notes via Twitter. Riley expressed that he would be comfortable if the 33-year-old turned down his $16.125MM option for next season, if he indeed does so, adding that he’s “not a pessimist” about the prospect of re-signing him, according to Lieser. A lack of pessimism doesn’t necessarily mean optimism, observes Joseph Goodman of the Miami Herald. Wade reportedly feels as though the Heat have damaged the trust in their relationship, but Riley said Wade hasn’t told him he feels disrespected, Lieser conveys.

Wade is reportedly open to leaving the Heat and would welcome $20MM salaries on a new three-year deal, while the Heat would prefer that he opt in this summer and sign for $10MM salaries beginning in 2016/17, as Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reported. The Lakers, who have the cap room necessary to pay Wade what he’s looking for, reportedly have mutual interest, though it’s unclear if the Lakers are willing to go quite as high with an offer as Wade would like. The Heat would pay repeat-offender tax penalties if they finish the coming season above the projected $81.6MM tax threshold, a likelihood if they re-sign all of their own free agents and don’t make salary-clearing moves.

Heat Shop Mario Chalmers, Chris Andersen?

June 25th, 2015 at 11:20pm CST by Chuck Myron

THURSDAY, 11:20pm: Heat president Pat Riley says that there is no truth to the reports that the team is shopping Andersen and Chalmers, Jason Lieser of The Palm Beach Post tweets.

8:34pm: Wade and the Heat do not have a meeting scheduled, a source told Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel, contradicting the previous report. Any meeting with Wade would like come after the start of free agency on July 1 when the Heat could discuss contract parameters with him, the same source informed Winderman.

2:58pm: Wade is angry at the Heat as they draw a hard financial line, and he doesn’t feel like the team regards him as a priority, a friend of his tells Jackson. Associates say the Heat have damaged Wade’s trust in the organization, Jackson also hears.

MONDAY, 12:49pm: The Heat are shopping Mario Chalmers and Chris Andersen in an attempt to clear salary that they could use on a new contract for Dwyane Wade, report Ramona Shelburne and Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com. They’ll meet with Wade within the next week as the June 29th deadline for him to formally decide on his $16.125MM player option looms, Shelburne and Windhorst write. Wade, in addition to apparent mutual interest in the Lakers, is interested in the Clippers, too, and LeBron James has expressed interest in Wade joining the Cavs, but both are extreme long shots to land the shooting guard given their cap constraints, as the ESPN scribes explain.

Anderson is set to make $5MM next season and Chalmers $4.3MM as each enters the final year of his respective contract. Clearing their salaries would help the team afford to keep its starting lineup intact without going over the projected $81.6MM tax line, note Shelburne and Windhorst. Doing so would set up the Heat to pay the stiffer repeat-offender tax penalties at the end of next season if they remain over the tax line come the final day of the regular season. Miami isn’t a taxpayer this season, but repeater penalties come into play when a team pays the tax three out of four seasons.

The Heat and Wade had been discussing a new contract for $10MM for as many as three seasons beyond his current deal, sources told the ESPN scribes. A friend of Wade’s told Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald recently that the Heat would like Wade to opt in and sign a deal next summer for $10MM each year for two more seasons. Wade instead prefers to opt out and would welcome $20MM salaries on a new three-year deal, as Jackson also reported.

Wade’s preference remains to stay in Miami, according to Shelburne and Windhorst. That was the case last month when Jackson broke the story that Wade is nonetheless open to leaving the only NBA franchise he’s ever played for. Many league execs believe Wade and the Heat will ultimately resolve their differences, Shelburne and Windhorst write. The Lakers have the cap space to give Wade $20MM a year, but the Heat have Bird rights that would allow them to do so, too. Miami is reportedly planning an offer of less than the max to Goran Dragic, one that would further help the team avoid the tax, or at least pay less of it. Clippers coach/executive Doc Rivers and Cavs GM David Griffin have expressed they’re prioritizing new deals with their own marquee free agents, and thus wouldn’t have the cap space necessary to sign Wade for the sort of salary he’d apparently like.

Nuggets, Heat Pursuing Kings’ Eric Moreland

June 25th, 2015 at 12:52pm CST by Zachary Links

The Nuggets and Heat have discussed deals with the Kings involving forward Eric Moreland, league sources told Shams Charania of RealGM. Moreland underwent surgery to repair a labral tear in his left shoulder back in January, shutting him down for the season.

The talks involving Moreland are expected to be a part of larger trade possibilities. Moreland had a strong summer league showing for the Kings a year ago but appeared in just three regular-season games before his January surgery. Moreland, who went undrafted one year ago, played his college basketball at Oregon State. Later that summer, the Kings inked the 6’10” shot blocker to a multi-year pact.

Draft Rumors: Hornets, Lakers, Russell

June 25th, 2015 at 9:47am CST by Zachary Links

The Hornets have been extremely active this week and sources have indicated to Sean Deveney of the Sporting News that they’re probably not done. The Celtics and Suns, according to a source, have been the most ardent suitors of Charlotte’s No. 9 pick. The Suns have the No. 13 pick but want to move up to draft Frank Kaminsky, who they fear could be a target of the Heat at No. 10 or the Pacers at No. 11. The Celtics, meanwhile, have interest in Willie Cauley-Stein. If the Hornets stay at No. 9, Deveney believes they will want to add shooting, which could lead them to Kentucky guard Devin Booker.

Jahlil Okafor did not perform well in his second pre-draft workout with the Lakers, according to Kevin Ding of Bleacher Report. While Okafor had a drop-off from his first showing in Los Angeles, D’Angelo Russell flourished and knocked down his shots. Ding expects the Lakers to target Russell at No. 2 in Thursday night’s draft.
Oregon guard Joseph Young does not have a first round promise from the Lakers or anyone else, Sean Deveney of the Sporting News tweets. Young’s foot injury remains a concern and he’ll be reevaluated to see if he needs surgery.
The Lakers, Sixers, Knicks, Magic, Kings, Hornets, Pacers are all talking trades and could shake up the draft order, Chad Ford of ESPN.com tweets.
Richaun Holmes is drawing consideration from several teams picking in the 20s, league sources tell Jake Fischer of Sports Illustrated (on Twitter). Holmes spoke with Hoops Rumors recently as a part of our Draft Prospect Q&A series.

Latest On Heat’s Offer To Goran Dragic

June 24th, 2015 at 8:48am CST by Chuck Myron

WEDNESDAY, 8:48am: Miami’s five-year offer to Dragic is expected to be for between $90MM and $100MM, Jackson reports. That would still likely be less than the max. The max won’t be known until the end of the July Moratorium, but based on an estimated starting salary of $18.96MM, the most Miami could give him over five years would be $109.02MM.

SATURDAY, 11:57pm: The Heat plan to make a five-year offer of more than $80MM to retain Goran Dragic, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com, though an amount in the vicinity of $80MM would be less than the max. The expectation in the immediate wake of Miami’s trade deadline acquisition of the former All-NBA Third Team guard was that the team would offer him the max to stay, as Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com wrote at the time, but Stein points to concerns over Dwyane Wade‘s potential free agency as one reason they’d offer somewhat less. The chances of Dragic leaving the Heat increase if Wade does, as Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reported last month.

Dragic has a $7.5MM player option for next season that he’s said he’ll turn down to instead hit free agency. Miami is the only team capable of offering Dragic a five-year deal, since it has his Bird rights. Dragic can make as much as $85MM on a four-year offer from another team while a max offer from the Heat would top $100MM, Stein estimates. The precise figures won’t be known until the league sets its maximum salaries after the July Moratorium. It nonetheless appears as though the Heat are banking on Dragic’s affection for the Heat and the city of Miami as they seek to take advantage of the ability to spread a similar amount of money over an extra year.

Wade reportedly would welcome $20MM salaries if he is to turn down his $16.125MM player option, and he’s apparently open to leaving the Heat if necessary. The Heat would prefer that Wade opt in, according to Jackson, but a less lucrative offer to Dragic would offset all or part of the extra money the Heat would spend should Wade opt out and re-sign on a deal that pays $20MM next season. That savings would be particularly important with the Heat poised not only to pay the tax next season if they retain their existing players at market value, but also incur repeat-offender tax penalties for having been a tax team three out of four years.

The Lakers, whom Dragic reportedly saw as a “perfect fit” earlier this season, loom as likely suitors, as do the Knicks, Pelicans, Kings and Bucks, as Jackson reported. The Lakers, Knicks and Bucks all have the flexibility necessary under a projected $67.1MM cap to offer a four-year max contract to the client of Bill Duffy and Rade Filipovich.

Southeast Notes: Ferry, Elie, Heat

June 23rd, 2015 at 10:00pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Former Hawks GM Danny Ferry is relieved at this weekend’s release of the findings of a team-commissioned investigation that found no wrongdoing on his part, though he indicates that the team held onto the results for months, despite his request that they make them public, as he tells Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Indeed, the team knew the results of the investigation in September, reports Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com, a couple of days before Ferry took his leave of absense, and the public release was one of the terms of his buyout, according to Shelburne.

Ferry admitted to Shelburne that he made a mistake when he read racially charged comments about Luol Deng from a scouting report that an outside service had prepared, and while he considered ending his leave at points during the season, he ultimately decided that doing so would have been too much of a distraction. He also told Vivlamore that even as Hawks higher-ups acknowledged the situation was unfair, they pressured him to quit in the immediate wake of the crisis. “They didn’t see a way I could survive this,” Ferry said. “That was hard to take. Fortunately, Wayne Embry, the Rev. Toussaint Hill, Lance Blanks and others were telling me, ‘You can’t quit. If you quit now, you’re admitting you are a racist and you are not a racist.’ Those are people who have experienced racism. My father also was a good voice for me through all of this. I am glad I followed their advice and I am so grateful for the support from them and many others.”

Here’s more out of the Southeast Division:

The Magic, who own the No. 5 overall pick in this year’s NBA Draft, are considering trading down for a lower first-rounder and a veteran to add to their young core, Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel writes. “I would say we’ve talked to at least a half-dozen teams about it,” Orlando GM Rob Hennigan told Robbins. “So it’s something we’re definitely considering and weighing sincerely: potentially moving back.” You can view Hennigan’s complete draft history as an executive here.
The tense contract relations the Heat organization is currently experiencing with star Dwyane Wade will influence the team’s approach to the NBA Draft, Jason Lieser of The Palm Beach Post writes.
Mario Elie is a strong frontrunner to be hired as an assistant on coach Scott Skiles‘ staff with the Magic, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports (Twitter link). Elie has previously been an assistant for the Mavs, Kings, and Nets.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Goran Dragic Formally Opts Out From Heat

June 22nd, 2015 at 1:40pm CST by Chuck Myron

Goran Dragic has turned down his $7.5MM player option for next season, reports Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). The team has yet to make an official announcement, but since player options don’t require players to say when they’re opting out, only when they’re opting in, there may well be no formal acknowledgement of the move from the team. Dragic’s decision has been thoroughly expected, as he said in April that he would opt out, as he had long planned to do. The Heat are preparing a five-year offer in excess of $80MM for him to return, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com reported this weekend, but an offer in the neighborhood of $80MM would still be significantly less than the max.

The expectation when Miami acquired Dragic from the Suns in exchange for a package that included two first-round picks was that the Heat would make him a max offer this summer, as Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com reported at the time. However, the team is apparently in salary-clearing mode with Dwyane Wade angling for more money amid his openness to leave Miami, so perhaps that’s led the Heat to try to see if they can save on Dragic, a client of Bill Duffy and Rade Filipovich.

A five-year deal worth somewhat more than $80MM would still be roughly in line with what other teams can offer in terms of total money, since competitors are limited to handing out only four-year contracts. Dragic has been insistent that he’s high on Miami, but he apparently nonetheless saw the Lakers as a “perfect fit” at the trade deadline, and that team is reportedly a likely suitor, as are the Knicks, Pelicans, Kings and Bucks.

Draft Notes: Lakers, Johnson, Berzins, Payne

June 21st, 2015 at 9:20pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Lakers would prefer Karl-Anthony Towns to Jahlil Okafor, but Towns appears to be the player that the Timberwolves are targeting with the top pick, as Chris Mannix of SI.com hears (Twitter link). L.A. has swung and missed on attempts to have Towns in for a workout, while Mark Heisler of Forbes.com heard recently that Wolves coach/executive Flip Saunders has become enamored with the Kentucky big man. The Lakers have zeroed in on Okafor if Towns is off the board, as Mannix reported earlier. Here’s more on the rapidly approaching draft:

Stanley Johnson is refusing to work out with the Hornets, who pick ninth, in hopes that either the Pistons, at No. 8, or the Heat, with the 10th pick, will draft him, tweets Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.
Latvian small forward Janis Berzins is working out for the Spurs and Celtics in addition to his audition with the Jazz this past Friday, as VEF Riga, his Latvian team, revealed via Twitter (translation via HoopsHype).
Cameron Payne has worked out for the Lakers, Kings, Nuggets, Pacers and Thunder, writes Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports. In addition, Payne held a meeting with the Celtics.
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson said earlier this week that he has workouts left with the Jazz, Kings and Hawks, tweets Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post.
Justin Anderson recently completed his eighth workout, Castillo tweets. He has the Cavaliers and Thunder remaining.
Larry Nance Jr. tells the Associated Press he has worked out for “about a dozen” teams, including the Spurs, Sixers, Celtics, Suns, Heat, Pacers and Knicks. The last workout on his schedule will be Wednesday with the Cavaliers.
Pat Connaughton has managed to fit more than a dozen teams into his workout schedule, according to Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe. The Notre Dame product has received positive reviews at most of the workouts and has a chance to be a second round pick, Himmelsbach writes.
Kevon Looney has worked out for “nine or 10 teams,” tweets A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com. One of those sessions was with the Celtics on June 17th, writes Josh Slavin of WEEI.com.

Arthur Hill contributed to this post.