Miami Heat Rumors | Hoops Rumors

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).

Draft Rumors: Hood, Stokes, Fair, Hairston

May 26th, 2014 at 10:22pm CST by Chuck Myron

The draft takes place one month from tonight, and teams are beginning to ramp up their schedule of workouts with prospects. Busy draft hopefuls include Rodney Hood, who’ll audition for eight lottery teams, and Jarnell Stokes, who’s working out for 11 teams drafting in the back half of the first round, as Zach Links of Hoops Rumors has learned (Twitter links). One of those teams is the Magic, as we passed along Sunday, and Hood will also work out for the Sixers and Bulls, tweets Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com. The Wolves are on Hood’s schedule, too, according to Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (Twitter link). Stokes will show off for the Heat and Sixers, Goodman also tweets. Here’s more on an evolving draft landscape:

Stokes will also audition for the Hawks and Bulls in addition to Miami and Philadelphia, Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv tweets.
The Bucks will audition Washington’s C.J. Wilcox, Iowa’s Devyn Marble, Pittsburgh’s Lamar Patterson, Virginia’s Joe Harris, and Missouri’s Jabari Brown on Tuesday, tweets Gery Woelfel of the Journal-Times.
C.J. Fair will work out for the Bulls on Wednesday, the Bucks on Thursday, and the Hornets on Friday, tweets Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com.
P.J. Hairston, DeAndre Kane and Markel Brown are also among those auditioning for Minnesota, Wolfson reports in the same tweet in which he passed along the Hood news. Nick Johnson will join that group, and the Wolves are eyeing Melvin Ejim and Chane Behanan for workouts, too, Wolfson adds (on Twitter).
Behanan will audition for the Sixers and Wolves, as well, Goodman reports via Twitter, seconding his earlier dispatch about Behanan’s workout with the Mavs. Russ Smith, Behanan’s former Louisville teammate, is slated to work out for the Heat, Thunder and Suns, Goodman tweets.
Johnson will also work out for the Magic, Goodman notes (via Twitter). He’ll join Smart and Hood in Orlando, as previously reported.
The Lakers are set to work out Marcus Smart and Noah Vonleh, while Vonleh will also audition for the Celtics and Kings, according to Goodman (Twitter links).
Goodman adds the Raptors to the teams working out Kyle Anderson (Twitter link).
The ESPN.com scribe also reports additional workouts for DeAndre Daniels, who’s set to get a look-see from the Hornets and Hawks (Twitter link).
The Bulls, Suns and Grizzlies are on the workout agenda of Scottie Wilbekin, Goodman reports (on Twitter). The Suns, along with the Bucks and Lakers, are also among the trio of teams auditioning Joe Harris, Goodman tweets.
Johnny O’Bryant III will work out for the Hawks, Raptors, Suns and Spurs, according to Goodman (Twitter link).

Draft Notes: Heat, Celtics, Magic

May 25th, 2014 at 3:24pm CST by Zachary Links

With the draft roughly one month away, let’s keep track of today’s latest news here..

Jordan Adams will work out for the Heat on Thursday, a source told Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The shooting guard out of UCLA is currently slated to go to the Heat at No. 26 in DraftExpress’ mock.
The Celtics will host Kyle Anderson and DeAndre Daniels for a workout on June 3rd, a source tells Goodman (Twitter link). Anderson will also workout for the Hawks on Thursday (link).
The Magic will workout Oklahoma State star Marcus Smart tomorrow, tweets Goodman. Orlando will also meet with Duke’s Rodney Hood (link). Earlier this month, I talked with the shooting guard about his NBA goals and where he sees himself going in the draft.
The Heat will host a draft workout on Tuesday that will include P.J. Hairston, Cleathony Early, and Daniels, a source tells Goodman (link).

Eastern Notes: Heat, Hornets, Knicks

May 25th, 2014 at 8:39am CST by Eddie Scarito

The Heat are facing some major uncertainty next season, writes Andrew Keh of the New York Times. Of course, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh all have early termination options, but a number of other players including Ray Allen and Mario Chalmers will be free agents. Guard Norris Cole is the only player on the books next season.

Eastern Rumors: Fizdale, Nogueira, Ross

May 24th, 2014 at 10:43am CST by Cray Allred

Paul George has been cleared to play in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals, days after being diagnosed with a concussion suffered in Game 2. The Pacers have fared well on the road this postseason, and will hope to regain home court advantage by snagging a win in Miami. Here’s a roundup of Eastern Conference news:

Heat assistant David Fizdale hasn’t been contacted by any teams with head coaching vacancies, but does have Erik Spoelstra’s blessing to pursue a job, he tells Ira Winderman of Sun Sentinel. “There have been no [contacts], no conversations, nothing like that,” Fizdale said. “Quite honestly, [Spoelstra] gets very annoyed with me, because he’s like, ‘Why don’t you care about being a head coach?’ And I’m like, ‘Cause we’re in the playoffs.'” Fizdale has been linked with the Cavs vacancy, but downplays having any ties to Cleveland’s front office.
Hawks 2013 first-round pick Lucas Nogueira has decided to leave his Spanish league team and either play for Atlanta or another European team next season, reports Javier Maestro of Encestando (translation via Jorge Sierra of HoopsHype). Nogueira still has a year left on his contract with Asefa Estudiantes of Spain, but his NBA buyout is $600K, which is precisely the maximum amount NBA teams are allowed to pay next season to cover a buyout from an international club without any money counting toward the cap.
In an answer to a mailbag question, Doug Smith of The Toronto Star suggests that Terrence Ross is a trading chip the Raptors should gauge interest in this summer.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Teammates Doubt LeBron James Will Leave Heat

May 23rd, 2014 at 10:53am CST by Chuck Myron

LeBron James‘ Heat teammates have been just as reticent to speak on the record about the four-time MVP’s plans for free agency as James has, but they’ve privately dismissed the idea that he would sign elsewhere this summer, according to Bleacher Report’s Ethan Skolnick. James has an early termination option on his contract that he can exercise to hit free agency this summer, but it would take a “dream scenario” for him to sign elsewhere even if he decides to opt out, as Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com put it earlier this week. The most likely scenarios involve James either opting in or becoming a free agent and re-signing with the Heat on a new long-term deal, Skolnick writes.

James has dropped few hints about his future even as the Cavs and surely others prepare to bid for the Rich Paul client. Chris Bosh, who like James can opt out this summer, answered affirmatively when asked in March whether he and James would return to the Heat for next season. Heat owner Micky Arison recently pegged the team’s chances of keeping James, Bosh and Dwyane Wade for next season at 100%, but he suggested in the same interview that it could be a challenge to do so.

Bringing back the trio of stars at maximum salaries for next season would require a combined amount close to the projected salary cap, leaving little flexibility to assemble the rest of the roster. Norris Cole is the only Heat player with fully guaranteed salary for next season, which would put pressure on team president Pat Riley and his staff to use Bird rights to re-sign most of the club’s existing talent if James, Wade and Bosh return. Doing so would almost certainly require the Heat to pay the luxury tax for a third straight season, which would trigger repeat-offender penalties.

And-Ones: LeBron, Wittman, Levien, Dunleavy Sr.

May 22nd, 2014 at 7:05pm CST by Ryan Raroque

LeBron James didn’t have much to say about the Cavaliers’ recent NBA Draft lottery coup or the speculation that he could decide to return to Cleveland if he opts out this summer, telling Charlie McCarthy of FOX Sports Florida, “I heard about it but I don’t really have thoughts about it. … I’m in the middle of the conference finals, I’m not worried about draft lotteries, draft conversations. That’s the last thing on my mind.

Interestingly enough, LeBron added, “(The Heat aren’t) the most talented team, I don’t think, in the NBA. ... There are other talented teams. We have some very, very high IQ basketball players. I think IQ is more important than talent.”

With that aside, here’s more of this evening’s miscellaneous news and notes:

The Wizards haven’t been in a rush to make a decision on Randy Wittman‘s future, and a source tells Michael Lee of the Washington Post that there is no current timetable to get something done. Wittman, who led the team to its first playoff series win since 2004/05, was given strong endorsements from John Wall, Bradley Beal, Andre Miller, and several other team veterans after the season had ended.
Although former Grizzlies CEO Jason Levien’s recent resignation sent shockwaves around the league, sources tell Sean Deveney of the Sporting News that tension between Levien and team owner Robert Pera had actually been building for months.
On ESPN Radio’s “The Herd with Colin Cowherd,” Mike Dunleavy Sr. said that he hopes he has a shot at the Knicks head coaching job, adding that he’s very familiar with the triangle offense: “I played in the triangle system down in Houston, it was kind of left over from when Tex Winter coached there. All my teams, I’ve run it as a transition set. … Maybe I’m the outside guy from the other guys that [Phil Jackson will] talk to, former players who played in the system and other guys who coached under him in the system. But at least I do know the system. I have run it” (H/T to Al Iannazzone of Newsday).
Timberwolves star Kevin Love may be the NBA’s most valuable player available for trade since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar requested out of Milwaukee in 1974, explains Kevin Pelton of ESPN (Insiders only).

And-Ones: LeBron, Love, Garnett, Donovan

May 22nd, 2014 at 2:30pm CST by Chuck Myron

People around the league told Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal that didn’t think the Cavs had any shot at re-signing LeBron James going into Tuesday’s draft lottery, but Cleveland’s third lottery victory in four years casts the idea in a new light, Lloyd figures. The Cavs have long believed that acquiring Kevin Love would be central to the team’s pursuit of the four-time MVP, and they thought all season that the Wolves would eventually trade their power forward. Still, Lloyd has heard from no one who believes that Love would stay in Cleveland long-term if the team can’t land James, so trading for Love before knowing what James wants to do would be a supreme gamble. There’s more on the Love sweepstakes amid the latest from around the NBA:

The Warriors are confident they can wind up with Love, as Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle hears. Love is reportedly high on Golden State, and the team has been resourceful in acquiring players in spite of a lack of cap flexibility, Simmons notes.
Next season’s $12MM salary and a productive stretch run lead Tim Bontemps of the New York Post to believe that Kevin Garnett will return next season for the Nets, even though he hasn’t dismissed talk of retirement.
Billy Donovan admitted contact with a couple of NBA teams, but he said he’s content as the coach at the University of Florida and “all but guaranteed” he’ll remain there for next season, observes Mark Long of The Associated Press (Twitter links; hat tip to Marc Stein of ESPN.com). The Wolves reportedly sought him for their vacancy earlier this spring.
The Warriors were one of five teams that reached out to Steve Kerr about their coaching vacancies, as Kerr said on ESPN Radio’s The Dan Le Batard show, tweets Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group. The Knicks and Jazz were his other known suitors.
Draft hopeful Andre Dawkins will work out for the Bulls, Suns, Hornets, Pacers, Pistons and Mavericks, his agent tells Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv (Twitter link). Dawkins is No. 92 in Jonathan Givony’s DraftExpress rankings, but Chad Ford of ESPN.com doesn’t have him among his top prospects.

Central Notes: LeBron, Cavs, Hammond, Pistons

May 21st, 2014 at 4:27pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Cavs appear to face an uphill battle if they’re to sign LeBron James this summer, but they still intend to try, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com, who points to the team’s interest in Heat assistant David Fizdale as evidence. Still, Fizdale tells Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel that he’s had no contact with Cleveland and that his only ties to the team were through Mike Brown, whom the team fired last week (Twitter link). Here’s more on Cleveland’s coaching search and the team’s rivals from the Central Division:

Cavs owner Dan Gilbert is enamored with Pistons guard Chauncey Billups, though Billups, who’s yet to retire from playing, prefers a future as an NBA GM as opposed to a coach, writes Mary Schmitt Boyer of the Plain Dealer. Vinny Del Negro, Alvin Gentry, Lionel Hollins and Mark Jackson are more likely candidates for Cleveland’s head coaching vacancy, Boyer believes.
Adrian Griffin seemed like the early favorite for the Cavs coaching job, but it’s unclear whether he’s a high on Cleveland’s list, as Boyer writes in the same piece.
Bucks GM John Hammond will remain with the team at least through the draft, Bucks co-owner Wesley Edens said Tuesday, as Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel observes. Edens gave no assurances that the GM will last longer than that in spite of Hammond’s contract, which runs for two more seasons, Gardner notes.
The Pistons and Hornets had discussions about a deal during the season that would have allowed Detroit to keep its first-round pick regardless of where it ended up in the order, but they never got serious, tweets Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press. Charlotte wound up with Detroit’s first-rounder for next month when the Pistons fell to ninth in Tuesday’s lottery.
Mitch McGary, Glenn Robinson III, Jabari Brown and Jordan Clarkson are among the players the Pistons will consider with the 38th overall pick, according to Keith Langlois of Pistons.com (on Twitter).
We rounded up more on the Cavs earlier today.