Miami Heat Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Heat Rumors: LeBron, Riley, Williams, Temple

July 7th, 2014 at 10:31pm CST by Zachary Links

The latest out of South Beach..

A summit between Heat president Pat Riley and LeBron James will probably go down in the next 24 hours but likely won’t be in Miami, tweets Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel.
No guarantees were made, but Danny Granger and Josh McRoberts committed to the Heat with a strong belief that LeBron James will be their teammate, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo (on Twitter).
People who have had phone conversations with Riley have come away with the impression that he is confident the Big Three will return, writes Sam Amick of USA Today.
The Heat are no longer in pursuit of Marvin Williams after using the mid-level exception on Josh McRoberts, tweets Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders.
Garrett Temple is leaning towards signing with the Heat, tweets Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press. The Wizards also want to bring Temple back and the Magic and Bulls were said to have interest.
There’s still mutual interest between Greg Oden and the Heat, but no decision has been made one way or another, Reynolds tweets.

Amico On Heat, Cavs, LeBron James

July 7th, 2014 at 8:35pm CST by Charlie Adams

The Heat might be in line to add another free agent before the end of the day, sources tell Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio. Miami made headlines this afternoon when they agreed to deals with a pair of veterans in Josh McRoberts and Danny Granger. Here’s more from Amico on the Heat, Cavs, and LeBron James:

McRoberts’ decision to ink a deal with the Heat is appealing to LeBron, a source tells Amico, since the former Charlotte big man could take over the role of defending opposing teams’ power forwards from James.
Amico also hears that bigger name free agents like Pau Gasol, Trevor Ariza, and Luol Deng aren’t interested in the reduced salaries that the Heat are offering.
One Western Conference GM told Amico that plenty of front offices around the league are actually hoping the Heat’s Big Three remains intact. “One thing [Miami has] proven the past four years is they can’t add any real talent around those guys,” the GM said. “Their run will be over in two years, and it may already be. I’d be considerably more scared of LeBron in Cleveland or Phoenix.“
The same GM suggested that Pat Riley will have a hard time explaining to James the club’s lack of a proven starting point guard.
One Cavs source told Amico that Cleveland would be making moves soon and that the front office has been busy trying to improve the team, independent of the club’s pursuit of James. Sources also told Amico they expect LeBron to make his decision on where to sign by Wednesday.
Kyrie Irving has reached out to James in an effort to recruit the All-Star forward to Cleveland, hears Amico. Of course, Irving agreed to a long-term extension with the Cavs earlier this month.

Free Agent Rumors: ‘Melo, Ariza, Stephenson

July 7th, 2014 at 6:02pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Lakers aggressively pitched to Carmelo Anthony the idea that he can be the star of the team once Kobe Bryant‘s contract expires in 2016, as Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com hears (Twitter link). ‘Melo was to have taken the weekend to make his free agent choice, but it appears he still hasn’t made up his mind. Here’s more from a wild Monday of free agency:

The Cavs, Lakers, Heat and Mavs are all pursuing Trevor Ariza, tweets Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. The Wizards are presumably still in the hunt, as well. The swingman is seeking salaries of $9-11MM, Berger adds.
The Mavs have indeed shown interest in Lance Stephenson, reversing their previous stance against signing him, reports Chris Broussard of ESPNDallas.com, but it’s still very unlikely the shooting guard will end up in Dallas, tweets Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com. The Pacers‘ recent five-year, $45MM offer disappointed the Alberto Ebanks client, who’s begun shopping for other teams, Broussard writes.
The Celtics are also interested in Stephenson, Broussard adds (via Twitter).
Marc Stein of ESPN.com (on Twitter) continues to hear that the Thunder are ahead of the Heat in the Anthony Morrow chase. Along with Pau Gasol, Morrow has been a prime OKC target in free agency.
A Chinese team offered Sebastian Telfair a two-year, $7MM deal as word of an impending deal with the Thunder leaked, agent Joel Bell tells Shams Charania of RealGM. Telfair passed that up to strike a one-year, minimum-salary agreement with the Thunder.
Paul Pierce‘s representatives are telling teams that he’s looking for a two-year deal worth $9-10MM per season, according to Chris Mannix of SI.com (on Twitter). The Jeff Schwartz client is waiting to see if teams are willing to offer more money once the first-tier free agents come off the board, Mannix adds (Twitter link).
The Nets, Trail Blazers and Spurs have worked out free agent Ivan Johnson, tweets Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The Hornets are among the teams set to meet with unrestricted free agent Kent Bazemore, tweets Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders.
Free agent Matt Bonner has remained in contact with the Spurs on a possible reunion and is waiting for the roster to unfold, sources tell RealGM’s Shams Charania (on Twitter). No other clubs are in the mix for him yet.

Several Teams Interested In Isaiah Thomas

July 7th, 2014 at 4:36pm CST by Zachary Links

JULY 7TH, 4:36pm: The Pistons are no longer among the teams involved with Thomas, tweets Sam Amick of USA Today (on Twitter).

JULY 2ND, 7:14am: Mavs owner Mark Cuban called Thomas on Tuesday, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link).

11:45pm: Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops (on Twitter) adds the Lakers to the list of interested clubs.

8:35am: Kyle Lowry’s decision will likely precede the one that Thomas makes, Bleacher Report’s Jared Zwerling tweets. The Kings and Thomas have strong mutual respect, Zwerling says.

7:48am: The Pistons are also interested, tweets Aaron Bruski of NBCSports.com. They’re talking about a deal in the ballpark of three years and $24MM total. Other talks are in the $6-7MM range, Bruski adds (Twitter link).

7:32am: The Lakers made contact with Thomas, according to Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders, as did the teams that Jones mentioned (Twitter link).

12:37am: The Celtics, Mavericks, Warriors, Heat, Pistons, and Suns have expressed interest in Kings free agent guard Isaiah Thomas, tweets Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee. The Kings want to keep the diminutive point guard but they’ll have their work cut out for them this summer.

The Celtics were the first team on the horn with Thomas when free agency started after midnight ET and Danny Ainge personally made the call. This is purely speculative, but one has to imagine that the C’s are giving serious thought to trading Rajon Rondo given their pursuit of Thomas and selection of Marcus Smart in last week’s draft.

Heat, Hornets Vying For Josh McRoberts

July 7th, 2014 at 12:32pm CST by Chuck Myron

Free agent power forward Josh McRoberts has fielded “aggressive” offers from the Hornets and Heat and is deciding between them, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (on Twitter). McRoberts is indeed becoming a serious candidate for Miami, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, and Charlotte has upped its offer within the last day to the mid-level exception, Wojnarowski adds in a second tweet. Presumably Wojnarowski is referring to the full value of the $5.305MM non-taxpayer’s mid-level, as more and more executives around the league believe the power forward will end up with that sort of deal, according to Grantland’s Zach Lowe (Twitter links).

The Blazers and McRoberts reportedly had mutual interest in a deal last week, but Portland is probably out of the picture after agreeing to terms with Chris Kaman for most of the non-taxpayer’s mid-level. Agent Mike Conley Sr. pointed to mutual interest in a deal with the Hornets, too. The Mavs, Cavs, Clippers, Knicks, Spurs, Suns and Lakers are the other teams who’ve reportedly registered interest in the 27-year-old.

The Heat have been linked to a number of free agents this month, but they’ve yet to come to any agreements as the futures of LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade remain unsettled. McRoberts drew a $20K fine for a forearm to the neck of James during this year’s playoffs, as Stein points out (on Twitter). Still, the Hornets can exceed the non-taxpayer’s mid-level slightly to outbid the Heat, should Miami remain over the cap, since they have McRoberts’ Early Bird rights and can pay him a starting salary of likely around $6MM a year.

Rockets Intensify Pursuit Of Chris Bosh

July 7th, 2014 at 11:54am CST by Zachary Links

MONDAY, 11:54am: Conversations between Bosh’s camp and the Rockets continue today even as Bosh’s preference remains to continue playing with James on the Heat, sources tell Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Part of the pitch the Rockets want to make to Bosh is that he wouldn’t have to play center with Dwight Howard next to him, according to Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News.

SUNDAY, 10:28pm: Bosh still hasn’t spoken directly with the Rockets, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter).

10:26pm: The Rockets have ramped up their pursuit of Chris Bosh and are “heavily engaged” in trying to convince the All-Star power forward to leave the Heat in free agency, sources tell Marc Stein and Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com.

The Rockets haven’t been formally told that they’re out of the running for Carmelo Anthony but they have gotten more serious about Bosh in the hope that LeBron James will leave the Heat. It’s widely assumed throughout the league that Bosh will only be willing to leave Miami if James goes first. However, the ESPN duo says that the Heat remain the favorites at this time to sign Bosh.

Sources say Bosh remains willing to take slightly less than his value on the open market to return with the Heat if James and Dwyane Wade are also coming back and if Heat president Pat Riley can upgrade the current roster. But nearly a week into free agency, sources say Bosh has felt compelled to consider other options himself. He won’t come cheap, though. Bosh would expect a four-year maximum offer of $96MM to leave Miami for Houston or any other suitor.

LeBron’s Agent Keen On Cavs Return

July 7th, 2014 at 11:12am CST by Chuck Myron

11:12am: There’s still confidence within the Heat organization that James will re-sign with them as there’s difference between Paul’s agenda and that of James, Wojnarowski tweets.

9:14am: It’s at the urging of agent Rich Paul that Cleveland is looking to clear cap flexibility for a max contract for LeBron James, as Paul has given the Cavs the belief they have a strong chance to sign the four-time MVP, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Paul has been telling people for years that it’s been “something of a mission” for him to bring James back to Cleveland, Wojnarowski writes.

James hasn’t been a part of Miami’s recruitment of talent this summer, and that’s sparked some worry surrounding the Heat, as Wojnarowski details. For Cleveland, the ability to sign James would also play a role in rookie scale extension talks with Tristan Thompson this summer, since he’s also a client of Paul’s. Thompson would have increased leverage, with the Cavs in position to pay back Paul for delivering James to Cleveland, Wojnarowski surmises.

The Cavs will try to split their max cap room among second-tier free agents, including targets Channing Frye and Trevor Ariza, if they’re unable to sign James, sources tell Wojnarowski. Cleveland is still thinking about tendering an offer sheet to Gordon Hayward, but the organization expects it wouldn’t extend a max offer to Hayward, and the Jazz plan to match any such offer, Wojnarowski hears.

James still has hard feelings about Cavs owner Dan Gilbert’s sharply worded public letter in response to James’ 2010 departure from the team, as Brian Windhorst and Marc Stein of ESPN.com reported earlier. That letter, which had been up on the Cavs official website for the past four years, has apparently been removed, Windhorst tweets.

LeBron James Increasingly Mulling Cavs Return

July 7th, 2014 at 8:20am CST by Chuck Myron

LeBron James is thinking more and more about the Cavs as he decides where to sign, sources tell Brian Windhorst and Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Cleveland’s brass is confident that James is receptive to the pitch they made to agent Rich Paul last week, as the ESPN scribes detail. Still, the player atop our 2014 Free Agent Power Rankings harbors lingering ill feelings over Cavs owner Dan Gilbert’s reaction to his 2010 departure, despite a degree of reconciliation between the two as time has passed, according to Windhorst and Stein.

The Cavs are centering their case for LeBron on their capability for growth and improvement not just this summer but in years to come, with as many as three first-round picks in 2015 and young, team-controlled talent, like Kyrie Irving and Andrew Wiggins, Windhorst and Stein write. Cleveland is planning to point to Brendan Haywood‘s contract as another of their weapons, as the ESPN duo explains. Haywood, who’s headed to Cleveland via trade, has a salary of more than $2.2MM for 2014/15, but the final season of his contract is a non-guaranteed salary of more than $10.5MM, a vestige of Haywood having been claimed off amnesty waivers in 2012. That bloated non-guaranteed salary makes Haywood’s deal a valuable expiring contract this coming season or, as Windhorst and Stein point out, a weapon for a sign-and-trade next summer.

The Cavs don’t possess the cap flexibility to give James a max contract as their books currently stand. Rather than waiving Anderson Varejao‘s partially guaranteed contract to create the necessary cap space, they prefer to deal Jarrett Jack, as Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reported Sunday. They have a deal in place to trade Jack to the Nets provided the teams can find a third club willing to absorb Marcus Thornton, according to other reports.

Heat president Pat Riley will reportedly meet this week with James in an effort to keep him in Miami. The Heat have eyed significant free agents along the lines of Marcin Gortat, Kyle Lowry, Luol Deng and even Carmelo Anthony, but they don’t think they need to add a star to convince James, Wade and Bosh to re-sign, according to Sean Deveney of The Sporting News. Instead, they’re merely looking for upgrades in the roles that Mario Chalmers, Udonis Haslem and Shane Battier have played in the past few years, Deveney writes.

Cavs Trying To Clear Cap Space For LeBron

July 6th, 2014 at 10:38pm CST by Zachary Links

The Cavs are working to clear cap space in order to carve out a max slot for LeBron James, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter). Sources tell Wojnarowski that Cleveland is looking for a team to take Nets guard Marcus Thornton in a deal to unload their own Jarrett Jack.

Moving Jack’s $6.3MM/year salary would enable the Cavs to clear room for LeBron while keeping LeBron’s friend Anderson Varejao in the fold (link). Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio (on Twitter) has heard from multiple sources that Paul has told the Cavs he’s impressed with what they’ve done and what they can still do with their roster, so a return back home doesn’t sound so far fetched at this point for LeBron.

Meanwhile, James has had minimal contact with Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade and the longer that goes on, the more unsettled the two are becoming about Miami’s future (link). “They’re reading the tea leafs,” a source tells Wojnarowski. LeBron and agent Rich Paul will meet with Pat Riley in person this week, Sam Amick of USA Today reports, so everyone involved might gain some clarity in a matter of days.

Latest On LeBron, Bosh, Wade

July 6th, 2014 at 7:13pm CST by Zachary Links

Teams are awaiting direction from LeBron James‘ agent Rich Paul today to find out if the four-time MVP will proceed to free agent meetings this week, league sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter). James has yet to meet with any club face-to-face and has been using Paul as a proxy.

As we learned last week, Paul has been telling clubs that James will take a more serious look at other teams if Miami president Pat Riley doesn’t act quickly in building a stronger supporting cast for the league’s best player. Of course, the caliber of talent that Riley can bring in will hinge greatly on what Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh decide to do.

There’s been speculation that Bosh is fishing for a max deal, but agent Henry Thomas scoffed at that notion in a chat with Michael Wallace of ESPN.com. Thomas would not say if Bosh or Wade, both of whom are his clients, are considering meeting with other teams and added that he does not believe James, Wade, and Bosh have met collectively since they got together in late June to initially discuss their free agency plans.

“This is a process — really a different process for each one of them,” Thomas said. “It just has to play out. But what I can tell you is that nothing’s changed.”

Thomas insisted that Bosh and Wade are operating under separate circumstances, but expects them to reach decisions on new deals “within the next couple of days.”