Miami Heat Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Heat Sign Michael Beasley To 10-Day Contract

February 26th, 2015 at 11:49am CST by Chuck Myron

The Heat have signed Michael Beasley to a 10-day contract, the team announced. The former No. 2 overall pick had recently been working out at the Heat’s American AirlinesArena, as Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel noted. The 26-year-old had spent most of the season playing for Shanghai Dongfang in China after asking the Grizzlies to cut him loose from training camp to accommodate the deal. He becomes the 15th player on the Heat’s roster, joining fellow 10-day signee Henry Walker.

Beasley spent last season with the Heat after making the team on a non-guaranteed invitation to camp. The team didn’t offer him a chance to return this summer amid reported concerns about his defense and maturity. The Jared Karnes client instead went through a pair of workouts with the Lakers and auditioned for the Spurs before inking his camp deal with Memphis.

It’s the third stint with the Heat for Beasley, who first joined Miami when the team drafted him in 2008. Miami traded him in part to clear the way for LeBron James and Chris Bosh in 2010, but off-the-court trouble dogged him in subsequent NBA stops with the Timberwolves and the Suns before the Heat gave him a second chance last season. Defensive concerns aside, the 6’9″ combo forward performed capably in 15.1 minutes per game during the regular season, averaging 7.9 points and shooting 38.9% from behind the three-point line. He made it into only four playoff games last spring before bouncing back once more in China, winning the league’s All-Star Game MVP award and averaging 28.7 points and 10.4 rebounds per game across 37 appearances. Shanghai’s season is already over, allowing Beasley to return stateside.

And-Ones: Rondo, Towns, Rivers

February 25th, 2015 at 10:23pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Rajon Rondo was suspended for one game by the Mavs for conduct detrimental to the team, Marc Stein of ESPN.com tweets. The point guard and coach Rick Carlisle had a verbal altercation on the court that led to Rondo being benched in Dallas’ game against Toronto on Tuesday. The argument continued inside the Mavs’ locker room after that game, according to Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com (Twitter link). Rondo becomes an unrestricted free agent this summer and it’s unknown if his friction with Carlisle will impact the veteran’s decision on possibly re-signing with Dallas.

In other news around the league:

University of Kentucky forward Karl-Anthony Towns is threatening to surpass Duke big man Jahlil Okafor as the No. 1 pick in the June draft, according to draft expert Chad Ford of ESPN.com (Insider subscription required). Towns is more athletic, a better defender and a superior shot-blocker compared to Okafor, in Ford’s evaluation, and some NBA GMs that Ford interviewed believe that Towns is the better long-term prospect.
Doc Rivers, who is the Clippers’ president of basketball operations, has been a failure as an executive, according to Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times. Rivers has not found an adequate backup at small forward behind Matt Barnes, secured a rotation player in the draft or fortified his bench, Bolch contends. Rivers’ inability to re-sign Darren Collison and his commitment to Spencer Hawes, whom he signed to a four-year contract during the off-season, are examples of his shortcomings as an executive, Bolch adds. Hawes is averaging 6.5 points and 3.8 rebounds this season, a reflection of his minimal impact.
The Heat sent $369K to the Pelicans to complete the Norris Cole side of the deal which brought Goran Dragic to Miami, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets. The Heat also gave the Suns $2.2MM in that same trade.
Victor Claver could wind up with Spanish power Real Madrid, David Pick of Eurobasket.com reports (Twitter link). Any Liga ACB team seeking his services must negotiate with Valencia, which owns his rights, Pick added in a separate tweet. The 26-year-old forward played in 10 games with the Trail Blazers this season before he was acquired by the Nuggets last week. Claver was subsequently waived by Denver.

And-Ones: Daniels, Shved, Towns

February 24th, 2015 at 11:00pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The amount of cash the Thunder sent the Pelicans in the Ish Smith trade is $801K, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders reports (Twitter link). The 2015 second-round pick headed from Oklahoma City to New Orleans is Philly’s top-55 protected pick, as Pincus shows on his Pelicans salary page. The 2016 second-rounder headed to the Thunder is the less favorable of Sacramento’s top-55 protected pick and the Pelicans’ pick, according to RealGM.

Here’s more from around the league:

The Hornets gave up Gary Neal two weeks ago in the trade that netted Mo Williams and Troy Daniels, but Steve Clifford can envision Daniels developing into the sort of role Neal has played in the NBA, notes Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer. Bonnell’s piece examines just what the Hornets have in Daniels, who has a fully guaranteed minimum salary for next season.
The Heat sent the Suns $2.2MM in cash in the Goran Dragic trade, according to Pincus (Twitter link).
The Knicks did indeed take Alexey Shved‘s $3,282,057 salary into their $3,637,073 Raymond Felton trade exception as part of their trade with the Rockets, reducing that exception to $355,016, as Pincus tweets. The move allowed New York to create a new $1,662,961 trade exception worth the equivalent of Pablo Prigioni‘s salary, Pincus adds.
A number of NBA GMs and scouts are beginning to view Karl-Anthony Towns as having greater long-term potential than Jahlil Okafor, and the freshman could play his way into being drafted No. 1 overall this June, Chad Ford of ESPN.com (Insider subscription required) writes.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Suns Notes: Knight, Granger, Len

February 24th, 2015 at 9:36pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Brandon Knight acknowledged that remaining with the Suns beyond this season is an attractive option for him, Matt Petersen of NBA.com writes. “They’ve got a lot of good talent, a lot of good pieces here, so I could definitely see myself being here long-term,” Knight said. “A good coaching staff, as well. We’ve just got to see what happens.” The point guard will become a restricted free agent at the conclusion of the season.

Here’s more from Phoenix:

The Suns created a $5.5MM trade exception in their three-team trade with the Heat and Pelicans, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders reports (Twitter link). It’s equivalent to the difference between the salaries of Goran Dragic and John Salmons.
Danny Granger and the Suns have engaged in “positive and open talks” regarding if the veteran will remain with Phoenix or pursue a buyout arrangement so that he can join a contender, Shams Charania of RealGM tweets.
One major bright spot for the Suns this season is the play of Alex Len, whose potential has Phoenix’s front office and coaching staff excited, Ben York of NBA.com writes. “He continues to grow every single day,” coach Jeff Hornacek said about Len. “That’s why we’re so high on him for the future – a 21-year-old kid, the things he’s doing already. He’s going to get bigger, stronger and a better post-up game as these years go on. You’re going to look three to four years down the road – I don’t want to put any pressure on him, but [he has a chance] to be an All-Star.”

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Eastern Notes: Williams, Hawks, Garnett

February 24th, 2015 at 6:34pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Pistons claimed Shawne Williams off waivers to offset the loss of Jonas Jerebko, who was traded to Boston last week, David Mayo of MLive.com writes. “We’re a little thin up front and Shawne played very well in Miami this year, got put in that trade to New Orleans, New Orleans waived him before they got everybody hurt, so we got some luck there,” Stan Van Gundy said. “So we got a little luck there. But we needed a little depth and he’s a guy that comes in, again, on a value contract, and he’s got a non-guaranteed contract for next year. So it gives us a lot of flexibility.”

Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:

The Wizards are sending $839K to the Kings as part of the Andre Miller for Ramon Sessions trade that occurred last week, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders notes (Twitter link).
There’s a decent chance the sale of the Hawks won’t be complete until May or June, a person familiar with the deal told Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Today is the deadline for prospective owners to submit preliminary bids, Vivlamore reports.
Newly acquired Goran Dragic has become a fan of his new team already, Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald relays (Twitter link). Speaking about the Heat, Dragic said, “They take care of players. I feel I’m spoiled here. So much great stuff.“
Kevin Garnett said that it was difficult for him to leave the Nets mid-season because of his loyalty to the organization, but he believed that returning to Minnesota was a great opportunity, Mike Mazzeo of ESPN.com writes.
The Knicks are counting on oft-injured Andrea Bargnani to help make up for the scoring the team lost with Carmelo Anthony being out for the season, Justin Tasch of The New York Daily News writes. “Well, he has the skillset and the versatility to do those things,” coach Derek Fisher said. “Whether he can average the same amount of points [as Anthony], we’ll see. He’s capable of it. I think if he can stay healthy and just continue to get a comfort out on the floor again, playing basketball, competing hard every night, the physical and mental grind that exists in doing that – which is different when you haven’t done that for a year, which is basically what it’s been for him.“

Suns GM On Dragic, Chemistry, Point Guards

February 24th, 2015 at 12:50pm CST by Chuck Myron

The departure of Goran Dragic from the Suns became contentious, with Dragic saying the day before the trade deadline that he didn’t trust the team’s front office, prompting executives Ryan McDonough and Lon Babby to fire back the day after trading him to the Heat. Isaiah Thomas, another of Phoenix’s starting-caliber point guards shipped out on deadline day, also takes issue with a recent McDonough remark. The Suns GM shared more of his side of the story Monday with Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe, whose piece provides a fascinating look at the dynamics at play with one of the most active teams at the deadline. Washburn’s entire interview with McDonough is worth a read, but we’ll share a few highlights:

On Dragic:

“I think the one thing that we took issue with more than anything else was one of our former players saying we lied to him. We didn’t lie to him. Maybe he forgets those comments. Maybe he doesn’t, you’d have to ask him but I feel like we’ve conducted ourselves with honesty, integrity. I feel like this is a place players like to come and want to do well. That was the thing that set us off and led to the comments that may have seemed a bit harsh.”

On the way the team meshed (or didn’t mesh):

“Heading into the All-Star break, we didn’t love the vibe around our team. I feel like there was a little more selfishness than there was last year. I think there’s some guys probably more concerned about their stats or individual contract status than team success. That’s one thing we’re trying to do here. We’re trying to build a culture, trying to find the core guys, the key guys to build around. I feel like we’re getting closer.’’

On the team’s experiment with Dragic, Thomas and Eric Bledsoe all together:

“Sometimes the players look at it and the agents look at it and say, ‘What’s best for my client?’ As a player, ‘What benefits me the most?’ That was a bit disappointing. [The three-guard offense] certainly didn’t succeed. It certainly didn’t fail but we’re fine with that.”

Aldridge’s Latest: Thunder, Lopez, Jackson

February 23rd, 2015 at 2:36pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Thunder aren’t making moves simply out of fear that Kevin Durant will jump ship in 2016 and Russell Westbrook will follow suit the next year, a league source tells TNT’s David Aldridge for his Morning Tip column on NBA.com. Still, it’s been an active season for GM Sam Presti, who went over the tax line to acquire Dion Waiters and stayed above it after Thursday’s swap that sent out Reggie Jackson and brought in Enes Kanter. Aldridge has much more in his column, and we’ll hit the highlights, many of which are Thunder-related:

The Thunder let the Nets know they wouldn’t do the proposed Jackson/Brook Lopez trade just 15 minutes before the deadline, Aldridge reports. The Nets likely would have dealt Jarrett Jack to the Wizards if they’d done that deal, Aldridge adds.
The concern that Arron Afflalo would turn down his player option and hit the open market dissuaded the Thunder from trading for him, as Aldridge explains.
The Rockets preferred Goran Dragic to Jackson and the Celtics weren’t willing to trade young players for the then-Thunder guard, Aldridge writes.
The Thunder didn’t have plans to re-sign Kendrick Perkins in the summer even before they traded him at the deadline, according to Aldridge.

Nets To Sign Thomas Robinson To 10-Day Deal

February 23rd, 2015 at 1:49pm CST by Chuck Myron

1:49pm: Robinson has agreed to sign a 10-day contract, though the Nets are expected to eventually sign him for the rest of the season, Wojnarowski reports in a full story.

1:26pm: Nets officials changed their minds about Robinson this weekend after they were initially uninterested in signing him, according to Tim Bontemps of the New York Post (Twitter link).

12:57pm: Robinson confirmed the agreement to Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders, as Kennedy relays in a pair of tweets.

12:47pm: The Nets and Thomas Robinson have agreed to a deal that will see the big man join the team after he clears waivers from the Nuggets, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). Denver released him Sunday after agreeing to a buyout deal, so he’s poised to clear waivers Tuesday. It’s something of a surprise to see Brooklyn end up with the former No. 5 overall pick, since a report late Sunday indicated that the Nets weren’t interested. That ran counter to an earlier dispatch from Shams Charania of RealGM that said Brooklyn, along with the Spurs, Suns, Heat and Hornets, had engaged in talks with Robinson.

Brooklyn has an open roster spot, so no corresponding move is required. The Nets are limited to paying the Tony Dutt client no more than the prorated minimum salary, which is less than the other teams reportedly in discussions could offer, as I explained. Still, it’s not a shock to see him settle for the minimum, as he’s struggled to live up to his lofty draft position, and Brooklyn is poised to become his fourth team in fewer than three NBA seasons. The Blazers declined their team option on the fourth year of his rookie scale contract before trading him to Denver at the deadline on Thursday.

Robinson was one of three prospects the Nets were particularly enamored with when they traded their 2012 lottery pick to Portland, according to Mike Mazzeo of ESPNNewYork.com (on Twitter). That pick came in sixth, which the Blazers used to select Damian Lillard, so Brooklyn wouldn’t have had a chance to nab Robinson, since the Kings took him fifth. Since then, Robinson has displayed proficiency on the boards, hauling in 11.7 per 36 minutes for his NBA career, but he’s otherwise failed to make much of an impact.

Financial Impact Of Deadline Trades: Southeast

February 23rd, 2015 at 8:58am CST by Chuck Myron

Last week’s trade deadline was a dizzying affair, with 39 players and 17 teams involved in a dozen trades, including a trio of three-team transactions. The day had wide-ranging effects on the salary structures of those 17 teams, and we’ll examine the aftermath for each of them in this multipart series.

We’ll begin today with the Southeast Division, home to the Heat, who acquired Goran Dragic, arguably the top player involved in the deadline-day trades, and the Wizards, who engineered an Andre Miller trade for the second deadline in a row. The salary figures listed here denote this season’s salaries, though we’ll also discuss salary for future seasons.

Miami Heat

In: ($9,206,250)

Goran Dragic ($7,500,000)
Zoran Dragic ($1,706,250)

Out: ($6,159,673)

Norris Cole ($2,038,206)
Shawne Williams ($1,227,985)
Justin Hamilton ($816,482)
Danny Granger ($2,077,000)

The Heat slightly lowered their financial commitments for 2015/16, since Zoran Dragic‘s salary for next season is about $464K less than Danny Granger‘s player option. That’s rare for a team that acquires a star, but it’s not nearly the most significant financial upshot here. There was no reasonable chance that Miami would have had been able to clear the cap room to chase Goran Dragic with a fair offer in free agency if they hadn’t traded for him at the deadline. Making a play for Dragic without already having him in the fold would likely have required Dwyane Wade to down his $16.125MM for next season and agree to re-sign for mid-level exception money. Even a “Heat lifer” such as Wade would no doubt hesitate to do that. The motivation to trade for Dragic was much greater for the Heat than for the Knicks or the Lakers, two of the other teams Dragic was reportedly eyeing, and two teams expected to have enough cap room to pay him the max this summer. Those teams will still be out there once Dragic turns down his $7.5MM player option, as he plans to do, but now Miami has the financial advantage of Dragic’s Bird rights to go over the cap to sign him.

For the time being, the trade makes it more difficult for the Heat to find a way to offset the loss of Chris Bosh for the season, since it causes the Heat’s team salary to leap by $3MM, putting them only around $1MM shy of the tax line. That makes it unlikely the team uses the full value of its nearly $2.653MM disabled player exception.

Washington Wizards

In: ($2,077,000).

Ramon Sessions ($2,077,000)

Out: ($4,625,000)

Andre Miller ($4,625,000)

Sacramento used a trade exception to accommodate this swap, which gave the Kings more than twice as much salary as they gave up, and that in turn allowed the Wizards the chance to create a trade exception of their own. The precise value of that new exception is unknown, since J. Michael of CSNWashington.com writes that the team used part of its $4,329,089 Trevor Ariza trade exception to absorb Sessions, while Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders figures the Wizards kept that exception intact (Twitter link). Michael’s way lets the Wizards create a new exception equivalent to Miller’s $4,625,000 salary, leaving the Ariza exception at $2,252,089. Pincus has the Wizards creating a new exception worth the difference between the salaries for Miller and Sessions, which comes to $2.548MM. If I had to take a guess, I’d say the Wizards did it as Michael indicates, since in that case the larger exception would be the newer of the two, giving it a later expiration date. However, that’s just my speculation.

What is clear is that Washington gave up some cap flexibility next season, taking on Sessions’ 2015/16 salary of more than $2.17MM instead of Miller’s contract, which expires at the end of this season, for some relief against the tax threshold this season. The Wizards were $1MM shy of the tax line going into the deadline, and now they have $3.548MM in breathing room. Even without the trade, Washington could still have added any player on a prorated portion of the minimum salary, which is all they have to give, and avoided the tax, assuming unlikely bonus clauses in the contracts of the players already on the roster didn’t trigger. I’d imagine the move was motivated more by Washington’s belief that Sessions can outperform Miller than by any immediate tax concerns, though that’s just my speculation. In any case, the team wouldn’t have had a chance to open enough cap room this summer to chase a marquee free agent before the trade, so adding Sessions’ salary for next season doesn’t do much harm. The Wizards should still have enough room beneath the projected $81MM tax threshold for 2015/16 to use the full biannual and non-taxpayer’s mid-level exceptions.

The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post.

And-Ones: Durant, Heat, Celtics, Hawks

February 22nd, 2015 at 11:32pm CST by Zachary Links

The Thunder announced via press release that Kevin Durant underwent a procedure on his right foot to help alleviate the soreness he has been experiencing. There’s no exact timetable for KD’s return at the moment, but we should have a better idea when he’s reevaluated a week from now. Here’s tonight’s glance around the Association..

Because of luxury-tax implications, the Heat may have to bypass spending the entire $2.65MM salary-cap exception received for Josh McRoberts‘ knee injury, Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel writes. The Heat have until March 10th to use that DPE, but they’re only $1.4MM below the 2014/15 luxury tax line of $76.8MM. The immediate luxury tax payment would be minimal, but it would reset the team’s luxury tax clock.
Even with Isaiah Thomas now in the fold, the loss of Jared Sullinger may be enough to sink the Celtics‘ playoff hopes, Jeremy Gottlieb of Boston.com writes. The C’s announced on Sunday that Sullinger will miss the remainder of the season because of a metatarsal stress fracture in his left foot. Sullinger was averaging 14.4 points and 28.7 minutes per game this season, both career highs.
Who says you need a superstar to win? The Hawks are shunning convention with their roster and soaring, Eric Koreen of the National Post writes.