Miami Heat Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Draft Notes: McRae, Hood, Young, Suns, Smart

June 2nd, 2014 at 5:27pm CST by Chuck Myron

Earlier today, our own Zach Links (Twitter links) spoke with Tennesee guard Jordan McRae who told Hoops Rumors that he has worked out for the Heat, Pistons, and 76ers in addition to his previously reported audition with the Bulls. Still on the docket for McRae are workouts with the Bucks, Raptors, Mavericks, Wizards, Pacers, and Rockets. In total, McRae says he has “about nine” workouts to go, so there should be even more clubs on the horizon for him (link). DraftExpress currently has McRae pegged to go to Toronto at No. 59 in their mock draft. Here’s the latest draft news from around the league..

Rodney Hood, James Young, Zach LaVine, and Clint Capela are among those working out for the Suns today whom we hadn’t previously heard about. Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic has the details (Twitter links).
Marcus Smart says he’ll work out a second time for the Magic, tweets Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com.
The Knicks will audition Patric Young, as Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com hears (Twitter link). They brought Markel Starks in for a look this weekend, reports Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv (Twitter link).
Orlando Sanchez has already shown off for Kings, and he’ll also do so for Pacers, as Josh Newman of SNY.tv chronicles.
The Bucks brought Thanasis Antetokounmpo, Cameron Clark, Josh Huestis, Melvin Johnson, Ovie Soko, and Fuquan Edwin in for auditions today, the team announced. Our own Zach Links interviewed Huestis in April as a part of our Prospect Profile series.
Edwin also has the Suns on his agenda, and he’s already worked out for the Spurs, Sixers, Kings and Clippers, reports Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel adds the Knicks and Sixers to the list of teams for which Antetokounmpo auditioned (Twitter link).
Bryce Cotton is headed for a workout with the Mavs on Wednesday, tweets Kevin McNamara of the Providence Journal.
DeAndre Kane, Jake Odum, Jakarr Sampson, and Okaro White are among those performing for the Grizzlies today, as Michael Cohen of The Commercial Appeal details in a subscription-only piece.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

Eastern Notes: Cavs, LeBron, Hornets

June 1st, 2014 at 11:33am CST by Eddie Scarito

Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio (hat tip to Henry Green of Fox Sports Ohio) doesn’t think the Cavaliers will hire a new head coach prior to the NBA Draft. Amico also believes that GM David Griffin is looking to hire an offensive minded coach and that the team will select Joel Embiid with the first-overall pick in the draft.

And-Ones: CBA, LeBron, Thompson, Anthony

May 31st, 2014 at 1:48pm CST by Cray Allred

Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel expects the $2 billion sale of the Clippers to have far-reaching effects on the next round of collective bargaining between the NBA and the players’ union. While the league has negotiated without recognizing appreciation values of franchises, the Clippers selling for so much will take away that luxury. Winderman anticipates the National Basketball Players Association will terminate the current CBA at its first opportunity in 2017, and thinks the players can and should fight to do away with maximum salary limitations for themselves. Here’s more from around the league:

Winderman specifically looks to LeBron James as a player that could make immediate decisions based on the altered landscape following the Clippers sale. The Sun Sentinel scribe wouldn’t be surprised if James decides against opting out of his contract with the Heat in the coming seasons, taking a year-by-year approach until more lucrative contracts could become available.
If Klay Thompson reaches free agency, he could field multiple offers at or near the max, NBA sources tell Tim Kawakami of Bay Area News Group. If the Warriors and Thompson can’t agree to an extension by the deadline early next season, he will become a restricted free agent in 2015/16.
Joakim Noah hasn’t relented in his “consistent efforts” to recruit Carmelo Anthony to the Bulls, writes K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune. Johnson says Chicago is sure to “get in the game” to pursue Anthony this summer, even though signing him remains a long shot.
Mark Price has told Mary Schmitt Boyer of The Plain Dealer that he has long been interested in coming to Cleveland as a coach, but multiple Cavs regimes haven’t reciprocated the interest. Price played for Cleveland in nine of his 12 seasons, and is now working as an assistant with the Hornets.
In addition to his candidacy for multiple head coaching jobs, Lionel Hollins is drawing interest as an associate head coach for the Warriors and Rockets, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports.

Southeast Notes: Heat, Magic

May 31st, 2014 at 11:57am CST by Cray Allred

The Heat are headed to their fourth consecutive NBA Finals, looking to pull off a three-peat. It’s possible that the outcome of the Finals could sway Miami’s big three of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh in their decision to stick together or move on. Here’s a rundown from the Southeast Division:

A league executive expects the Heat to have a definitive plan in place with James, Bosh, and Wade well before their early-termination deadline of June 30, telling Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel that the league isn’t interested in investigating whether teams breach negotiation limits if it helps them retain their own players. “There are plenty of rules,” the long-time executive said, “but the legacy that [David Stern] left, and I believe [commissioner Adam Silver] will adhere, is there are two priorities: making as much money as possible for the league and keeping players with their current teams.”
Word around the Magic is that there are no untouchable players on Orlando’s roster, although Cody Taylor of Basketball Insiders hears that GM Rob Hennigan wouldn’t easily part with core players like Nikola Vucevic, Maurice Harkless or Tobias Harris.
In the same piece, Taylor surmises that the Suns and Bulls could make for a draft-night trade partner with the Magic, since both own multiple first round picks and Orlando might be looking to move down if the player they want doesn’t fall to them at No. 4.

Draft Updates: Saric, Celtics, Lakers, Raptors

May 29th, 2014 at 11:01am CST by Chuck Myron

It’s unclear whether early entrant Dario Saric wants to play in the NBA next season or remain in Europe, but if either the Celtics or Lakers draft him, he plans to come stateside, reports David Pick of Eurobasket.com (Twitter link). Most projections have him going a little lower than Boston’s No. 6 pick or L.A.’s No. 7 pick, but perhaps the knowledge of his immediate willingness to play will prompt one of those teams to bite. Here’s the latest from a busy draft workout scene:

Raptors GM Masai Ujiri is open to trading up in the draft and praised Toronto native Tyler Ennis, whom the team had in for a workout today, notes Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun (on Twitter). The free agency of Kyle Lowry and Greivis Vasquez won’t play into Ujiri’s decision about drafting a point guard, the GM added.
The Raptors released their workout list for today on their website, and they’re auditioning Jake Odum, Jordan Dykstra, Norvel Pelle, Jordan Bachynski and Chadrack Lufile in addition to names that have already been reported.
Casey Prather is the new name among those working out for the Heat today, as Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com tweets.
Goodman adds DeAndre Kane and David Wear to the list of players auditioning for the Suns (Twitter link).
Billy Baron has shown off for the Bulls and Hawks and will do so for the Jazz, Bucks and Knicks next week, Goodman hears (Twitter link).
Kendall Williams is among the players working out for Hawks today, Goodman tweets.
Victor Rudd and Jakarr Sampson are the new names on the list of players working out for the Bucks today that the team announced on its website.

Draft Rumors: Exum, Warren, Young

May 28th, 2014 at 12:14pm CST by Chuck Myron

The allure of Dante Exum is prompting the Sixers to think about trading Michael Carter-Williams, and it appears as though Exum will indeed be available when Philadelphia picks third overall next month. Exum isn’t in the mix for the Cavs at No. 1 overall, and while the Bucks are high on him, as Chad Ford of ESPN.com writes in an Insider-only piece, the uncertain future of GM John Hammond and his staff makes it less likely the point guard ends up in Milwaukee. Here’s more draft-related news:

Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com adds the Hawks and Suns to the list of teams that have workouts scheduled with T.J. Warren (Twitter link).
Patric Young is performing for the Suns today and will work out for the Spurs on Friday, Goodman tweets.
Dwight Powell is auditioning for the Thunder today and will do so for the Suns and Wolves later this week, Goodman reports (on Twitter).
The Hawks worked out Jahii Carson, as the Arizona State sophomore revealed on Twitter (hat tip to Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution). He’s auditioning for the Suns today, notes Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic. He’ll join Isaiah Austin, whom the Suns are also working out today, Goodman hears (Twitter link).
Khem Birch worked out for the Sixers on Monday and will do so for the Heat next week, according to Goodman (Twitter link).
Ronald Roberts Jr. will show off for the Raptors, Sixers and Pistons this week, reports Tyler R. Tynes of the Philadelphia Daily News.
Javon McCrea is working out with the Bulls today and the Sixers and Raptors next week, as Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv has learned (Twitter link).

Bosh Wants To Stay With Heat, Open To Discount

May 28th, 2014 at 10:54am CST by Chuck Myron

10:54am: Bosh said at a shootaround today that he’s definitely coming back to the Heat next season, Lieser tweets.

12:43am: Chris Bosh said in an appearance on The Dan Le Batard Show on ESPN Radio that he wants to remain with the Heat and is willing to do so at less than the maximum salary if necessary, notes Jason Lieser of the Palm Beach Post. Bosh has an early termination option worth $20.59MM for next season, and he can opt out and sign a new contract that guarantees more salary over the long term than called for in his current deal, which covers two more seasons.

“Yeah, I mean, I don’t want to go anywhere,” Bosh said. “I like it here. It’s Miami. Everybody wants to come here. Yeah.”

The news contradicts at least part of a February report suggesting that Bosh, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade weren’t interested in agreeing to discounts on their next deals, as all three did when they signed with the Heat in 2010. It also seems to run counter to rumors earlier this year that painted Bosh as the most likely of the Heat’s trio of stars to leave Miami. More recently, Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com wrote that it would take a “dream scenario” for James to sign elsewhere this summer. While that coupled with Wade’s career-long connection to Miami may still make Bosh more open to leaving that his other All-Star teammates, it nonetheless seems unlikely that Bosh would depart. That’s in spite of his apparent interest in the Lakers, which L.A. reciprocates.

Bosh might view the Lakers not as a destination for this summer but as a landing spot if he chooses to leave the Heat farther into the future, though that’s just my speculation. The Henry Thomas client might be able to make more money next season if he opts in than if he were to become a free agent this summer, even if he signed a new max deal. That’s because the salary he’d make next year on his existing deal represents a more than 10% raise on his pay this season, and he’d be limited to no more than a 5% raise if he becomes a free agent, unless the maximum salary for a player of his experience exceeds that amount. It won’t be clear just how high that max, which was $19,181,750 this past season, will climb until after the July Moratorium, past the deadline for Bosh to decide on that option.

He’d have to opt out to give the Heat a discount, and he said today that he’d take less “if that’s what it takes.” It’s conceivable that Heat president Pat Riley will appeal to his stars to take less this summer to alleviate the club’s heavy tax burden, as Miami would have to pay crippling repeat-offender tax rates if it winds up above the tax line again next season. Cheaper deals for Bosh, James and Wade would also allow the team greater flexibility to add talent to an aging roster.

And-Ones: Draft, Yao, LeBron

May 27th, 2014 at 10:44pm CST by Cray Allred

James McAdoo, Roscoe Smith, James Bell, Chris Fouch, Luke Hancock, and Niels Giffey all worked out for the Sixers today, reports Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. All project to be selected in the second round at best, where Philadelphia owns five draft picks. Here’s a roundup of the night’s news, including plenty from the draft:

The Bucks are having some difficulty scheduling pre-draft workouts with Joel Embiid, Andrew Wiggins, and Jabari Parker, director of scouting Billy McKinney tells Charles F. Gardner of The Journal Sentinel. “I still think there’s a lot of thinking on their agents’ part of, ‘Hey, he’s not going to be there [at No. 2].'” McKinney said. “We’re going to have to be a little creative…which you have to do certain times to go out and get your private discussion and workouts in. That’s all part of it.”
C.J. Fair will workout for the Bucks and Hornets this week, tweets Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv.
Wally Judge will work out for the Jazz, tweets Zagoria.
A front office executive tells Gino Pilato of D-League Digest that P.J. Hairston is expected to go either late in the first round, or early in the second.
Former Pelicans forward Lance Thomas will be among players participating in a mini-camp at the Nets facility next week, Zagoria reports (via Twitter).
Yao Ming earlier denied reports that he was assembling an investment group to purchase the Clippers, but told news outlets including ChinaDaily USA that he won’t rule out the possibility he will. “I know there are a lot of rumors, but I don’t think I have time to clarify the rumors one by one,” Yao said. “Nowadays, sports are globalized, and anything is possible, but so far, there is nothing substantial.”
In the case that LeBron James decides to opt out and leave the Heat in the offseason, Dwyane Wade doesn’t want the blame to be laid on his performance or health issues, he told Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today. “Just don’t solely put it on me,” Wade said, laughing. “That’s what I’m saying. Don’t put the X on me… There’s a lot that goes into [the decision], so just don’t say, ‘If Dwyane Wade doesn’t have the year that we’re accustomed to, it’s over.'”

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Draft Rumors: Embiid, Parker, Wiggins, Ennis

May 27th, 2014 at 5:14pm CST by Chuck Myron

Several around the league believe Joel Embiid will only work out for the Cavs and Bucks as confidence grows that he won’t slip to the Sixers at No. 3, according to Baxter Holmes of the Boston Globe (Twitter link). Jabari Parker and Andrew Wiggins will likely audition only for the teams with the top three picks, a source tells Holmes, though that’s much less noteworthy than the Embiid news, which signals that concerns about the health of his back are abating. Still, it appears as though Nuggets GM Tim Connelly would prefer Parker to Embiid and Wiggins if he somehow managed to have a choice, observes Mark Kiszla of The Denver Post (on Twitter). Here’s more from a busy afternoon of draft-related news:

Toronto native Tyler Ennis will work out for the Raptors on Thursday, the team announced.
Glenn Robinson III is auditioning for the Hawks today and the Hornets later this week, and he expects to do so for the Spurs, Bulls and Bucks sometime soon, as he tells MLive’s Brendan F. Quinn (hat tip to Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta-Journal Constitution).
Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com adds T.J. Warren, Cleanthony Early and K.J. McDaniels to the players working out on June 3rd for the Celtics (Twitter link).
The Bulls will play host to workouts for Jordan McRae, Devyn Marble and C.J. Fair on Wednesday, Goodman tweets, adding their names to Rodney Hood‘s, which Goodman reported Monday.
Marble pulled out of his workout with the Bucks today, but the two sides will reschedule, according to Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times (on Twitter).
The Suns are auditioning Keith Appling, Alec Brown, Deonte Burton, Artem Klimenko, Jakarr Sampson and Jamil Wilson today, tweets Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic. Appling will also show off this week for the Pistons, Raptors and Wolves, agent Michael Silverman tells Matt Charboneau of The Detroit News.
The Knicks will work out Ian Chiles, a source tells Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia.
Xavier Thames auditioned for the Heat today, and he’s set to do so with the Bucks, Bulls, Celtics, Hornets, Knicks, Jazz, Mavericks and Pacers, reports Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link).

Draft Notes: Hairston, Clarkson, Cotton

May 27th, 2014 at 10:16am CST by Chuck Myron

Memorial Day brought no shortage of updates on NBA draft prospects and teams as they schedule workouts, and today promises still more clues about the June 26th draft. Here’s the latest:

P.J. Hairston will work out for the Suns, Celtics and Hornets in addition to today’s previously reported audition for the Heat, tweets Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com.
Jordan Clarkson is also on the agenda for the Heat, according to Goodman, who reiterates that Miami will put Jordan Adams and Jarnell Stokes through workouts, too (Twitter links).
Bryce Cotton will also show off for the Heat, as well as the Spurs, his agent tells Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia.
Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel adds seniors Chris Crawford of Memphis and Drew Crawford of Northwestern to the list of the prospects working out today for the Bucks.
Jermaine Marshall of Arizona State is working out for the Rockets today, Carchia reports.
It appears as though Nedim Buza will audition for the Bucks, Timberwolves and Nuggets, while Adin Vrabac has a workout with the Wolves on tap, according to agent Alexander Raskovic (Twitter links; hat tip to Sportando).