Miami Heat Rumors | Hoops Rumors

And-Ones: Beilein, Sterling, Wizards, Nets

May 12th, 2014 at 10:15pm CST by Zachary Links

Two college coaches are intriguing NBA executives, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports. Michigan’s John Beilein and Virginia’s Tony Bennett seem to be drawing interest from clubs – some who have openings and some that don’t, according to Wojnarowski. Here’s more from around the league..

NBA commissioner Adam Silver released a statement in response to Donald Sterling’s interview with Anderson Cooper on CNN (from Baxter Holmes of the Boston Globe on Twitter). Within the interview, Sterling made several disparaging comments about the iconic Magic Johnson.
The Sterling saga is unlikely to come to full resolution anytime soon, and players union vice president Roger Mason Jr., speaking to Bleacher Report’s Jared Zwerling, once more raised the specter of widespread protest if Sterling isn’t ousted. “We could definitely boycott if that happens,” Mason Jr. said. “I could see not only Clippers players, but the league banding together.”
Clippers interim CEO Dick Parsons says he has not yet spoken with either of the Sterlings, tweets Jack Wang of the Los Angeles Daily News. He added that he will likely speak with Shelly, but not with Donald.
Parsons also said he thinks “the outcome is inevitable” that the Clippers will eventually move into new ownership (link).
The Wizards think they’ll be able to re-sign Marcin Gortat and Trevor Ariza this summer, but bringing both of them back won’t be easy, as TNT’s David Aldridge observes amid his Morning Tip column for NBA.com.
A real estate development company that has a 20% stake in the Nets is putting its share of the team up for sale at $200MM, meaning its valuation of the full franchise is a record $1 billion, reports Daniel Kaplan of Sports Business Journal. There’s been speculation that the Clippers could sell for more than $1 billion.
Eric Griffin, who was a late cut last pre-season with the Heat after playing for their Summer League team, will join the Raptors‘ Summer League squad, a source tells Shams Charania of RealGM. Griffin attended Campbell and played this season in Puerto Rico.
The Nuggets are seeking a long, defensive-minded shooting guard and locker room leadership this summer, as Chris Dempsey of The Denver Post details.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Central Rumors: LeBron, Kyrie, Bucks

May 12th, 2014 at 8:26pm CST by Zachary Links

The Pacers are the Central Division’s remaining horse in the race but for the rest of the gang, the offseason is underway. Here’s the latest..

The NBA is moving quickly toward approval of Herb Kohl’s sale of the Bucks to Marc Lasry and Wesley Edens, and there’s a chance the league will announce the transfer later this week, a source tells Don Walker of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
LeBron James gave his thoughts on Mike Brown‘s dismissal before the tip-off of Game 4 against the Nets. “It’s a tough business and Mike Brown got the short end of a tough business,” the Heat star said, according to Joseph Goodman of the Miami Herald (on Twitter). The Cavs made the long-expected decision to oust Brown earlier today.
Meanwhile, Cavs guard Kyrie Irving is “in complete support” of Brown’s dismissal and David Griffin‘s promotion to permanent GM, tweets Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio. There have been rumblings that Irving has been unhappy in Cleveland and the Cavs have him under team control through the summer of 2016, so it’s important for them to keep him satisfied in the long term.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Eastern Notes: Kerr, Anthony, Jackson

May 10th, 2014 at 6:43pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Steve Kerr is seeking a five-year deal worth $30MM from the Knicks, notes Matt Moore of CBSSports.com. The article speculates that Kerr wants his deal to be the same length as Phil Jackson‘s, and he wants a salary comparable to Mike D’Antoni‘s $6MM per season when he was the team’s head coach. Kerr is expected to decide next week if he’ll become the next coach of the Knicks.

And-Ones: Jazz, Harris, Oden

May 8th, 2014 at 10:47pm CST by Cray Allred

Steve Smith tells Vincent Goodwill of The Detroit News that he’s interested in becoming a GM at some point, but that the Pistons opening doesn’t interest him. “As of right now, I’m happy where I am,” said Smith. “The time will come when the right situation pops up and I’ll be ready.” Here’s a roundup of the night’s notes:

The Jazz are picking twice in the first round, but vice president of player personnel Walt Perrin tells Jody Genessy of Deseret Sports that Utah uses the pre-draft process as an opportunity to evaluate prospects well outside of their draft considerations. “Not only are we looking at guys for this year’s draft, but you’re also getting information and you’re getting a feel for players,” said Perrin. “Once we figure out where we are come lottery [time], then we can concentrate on those particular players in that particular area.”
Jay Yeomans of Deseret News profiles each of the six draft prospects who worked out for the Jazz earlier today.
Jamal Crawford told reporters including Mark Medina of Los Angeles Daily News that the unresolved ownership issues in L.A. won’t outweigh his desire to play there for coach Doc Rivers (Twitter link). “As long as I’m with this group of guys and Doc [is] leading us, that’ll work itself out,” said Crawford. The Clippers have control over Crawford’s partially guaranteed contract for the next two years.
Devin Harris and the Mavs have mutual interest in the soon-to-be free agent returning to Dallas next season, and Harris tells Dwain Price of The Star-Telegram he’d prefer to reach a long-term agreement. “Obviously I don’t really know where [the negotiations] will go,” Harris said. “My intent is to come back, but like I said, only time will tell. I would rather not [sign a one-year deal]. It’s kind of tough to do, especially coming off surgery.”
Greg Oden tells Mark Titus of Grantland he’s come to terms with being a deep bench player for the Heat (H/T Shandel Richardson of The Sun Sentinel). “I know I’m one of the biggest busts in NBA history,” said Oden. “It’s frustrating that my body can’t do what my mind wants it to do sometimes. But worrying or complaining about it isn’t going to fix anything…I wish the circumstances would let me play more, but I certainly don’t regret coming back, and I don’t regret signing with the Heat.”

Warriors Contact Stan Van Gundy

May 7th, 2014 at 10:05pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Warriors have contacted Stan Van Gundy about their head-coaching vacancy, writes Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports. Van Gundy has interest in the position, but an interview hasn’t been scheduled yet, reports Spears. The coaching position became available after the team fired coach Mark Jackson earlier this week.

Van Gundy has been mentioned in connection with some of the other vacant positions, but Spears mentions that Van Gundy has no interest in coaching either the Lakers or Timberwolves.

He had a 371-208 combined record coaching the Heat and Magic. Van Gundy guided the Magic to the 2009 NBA Finals, where they lost to the Lakers. He has compiled a career playoff record of 48-39.

Van Gundy was a Bay Area high school star at Alhambra High School in Martinez, Calif., and has been doing some radio color commentary during the NBA playoffs, notes Spears.

Sefko On Mavs: LeBron, Chandler, Draft

May 7th, 2014 at 9:04pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News addressed a number of topics regarding the Mavericks in his weekly chat earlier today. Here are some of the highlights:

If LeBron James opts out of his contract with the Heat this summer, Sefko believes the Mavs will get a chance to make their best pitch thanks to the presence of owner Mark Cuban.
Sefko believes it’s a long shot that the team swings a deal for the Knicks Tyson Chandler. He believes that other teams, such as the Thunder, would have more to offer New York if they put Chandler on the trading block.
He doesn’t believe the Mavs will make a trade to move into the first round of the draft. Sefko says the current indications from the front office are that the talent available in the 20 to 40 range are very similar. The Mavericks have a high second-round pick which they received from the Celtics in the Kelly Olynyk trade and they believe they can find value there, according to the article.
The four most likely free agent targets for the Mavs this summer, opines Sefko, are Luol Deng, Spencer Hawes, Marcin Gortat, and Trevor Ariza.
Sefko doesn’t think that Jason Terry is a likely target for a return to the team.

Lakers, Chris Bosh Have Mutual Interest

May 7th, 2014 at 4:23pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Lakers and Chris Bosh have interest in each other as Bosh nears potential free agency this summer, reports Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio. The Mavs are apparently unwilling to shell out a premium for the Heat big man, as we noted earlier today, and while Amico suggests money may be a stumbling block for the purple-and-gold, it appears the two sides can see a path to a deal. Amico first wrote of L.A’s interest in February.

Bosh has hinted that he and LeBron James are most likely to stick in Miami for at least one more year. Both have early termination options on their contracts worth $20.59MM, and both would be in line for a starting salary worth close to that amount if they were to hit the market. They’re not necessarily a package deal, Amico writes, noting that while Bosh and James have a fully functioning professional relationship, they aren’t close friends.

The Lakers only have about $34.1MM in commitments for next season, so finding the cap room necessary to fit a max deal for Bosh wouldn’t be a problem as long as the Lakers want to shell out that much for the 30-year-old, who’ll probably command a four-year contract. The acquisition of the Henry Thomas client would accelerate the Lakers’ rebuilding project and likely please Kobe Bryant, who’s ever-anxious to win, but it would make it more difficult for the club to pursue Kevin Love, LaMarcus Aldridge, Rajon Rondo or other marquee talents set to hit free agency in 2015.

Bosh may also elect to put himself in that 2015 class of free agents if he opts in, and perhaps the Lakers consider a pursuit of the former No. 4 overall pick more likely then. Regardless of when he hits the market, he’ll draw plenty of eyes around the league. Bosh is No. 3 in the latest Hoops Rumors Free Agent Power Rankings, and our Charlie Adams examined his free agent stock in March.

Mavs To Pursue ‘Melo, Tyson Chandler

May 6th, 2014 at 10:46am CST by Chuck Myron

The Mavs are optimistic that they’ll be on the list of teams that Carmelo Anthony plans to meet with this summer and that he’ll give them legitimate consideration, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Dallas will also try to acquire another Knick, with Stein asserting that they’ll be first in line should New York make Tyson Chandler available via trade. The Mavs will attempt to court LeBron James, too, though Stein suggests that’s a longshot effort.

Dallas only has about $28.2MM in commitments for next season, but that doesn’t include the roughly $2MM non-guaranteed portion of Samuel Dalembert‘s contract or new deals for Dirk Nowitzki, Shawn Marion, Vince Carter and Devin Harris. The team has expressed interest in keeping all of them, and the team’s “working assumption,” according to Stein, is that Nowitzki will sign for $10-12MM per year. That doesn’t leave much wiggle room for a max offer to Anthony, who can draw a starting salary of up to $22,458,401. Still, Tim McMahon of ESPNDallas.com wrote Monday that the Mavs wouldn’t have interest in ‘Melo if he demands his max.

While the Mavs could net Chandler as part of a sign-and-trade involving Anthony, that would be extremely difficult, given Chandler’s salary of nearly $14.6MM next season. The reacquisition of the center who was the defensive anchor of the Mavs’ 2011 title team would probably preclude Anthony from heading to Dallas, and it would make it difficult for the Mavs to accommodate any other marquee free agent this summer. Stein reiterates McMahon’s report from yesterday indicating that the Mavs will likely target Luol Deng but take a pass on any pursuit of Lance Stephenson.

The Mavs have some concern about their ability to keep a couple of their own free agents, too, according to Stein. They’re worried that they’d have to cut deeply into their cap flexibility to fend off suitors for Vince Carter and, in particular, Shawn Marion. Carter and Marion have expressed their preference to re-sign, though such statements are commonplace for soon-to-be free agents at this time of year, and they don’t always translate into a new deal that keeps them in place.

And-Ones: Johnson, McCallum, Bochoridis

May 3rd, 2014 at 12:55pm CST by Cray Allred

After breaking into the rotation late in the season for a losing Kings squad, Sacramento’s second-round draft pick Ray McCallum tells Tom Markowski of The Detroit News his decision to enter the draft instead of returning for his senior year of college was worth it. “A lot of us were first-year players,” said McCallum. “We have a first-year owner (Vivek Ranadive), a first-year GM (Pete D’Alessandro) and we made a lot of trades. As the year went, on our chemistry grew.” Here’s more from around the league:

Kevin Johnson is moving on from helping the NBPA with the Donald Sterling controversy, shifting his focus to helping them find their next executive director, per an email obtained by Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today. “I feel I’ve completed my duties associated with the Sterling incident. I’m glad I could be of service during this important time and think the Executive Committee and NBPA staff can take things from here,” wrote Johnson. “For the next few months I look forward to returning the focus of my efforts to the work of the Search Committee.”
In the same email, Johnson said that the union’s search committee has started reaching out to candidates, and that he has personally spoken with a number of retired players that want to throw their hat in the ring.
NBA rules entitle Roger Mason Jr. to a playoff share of earnings from the Heat, despite the fact that Mason was dealt to the Kings (who waived him) at the trade deadline, per Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel.
Lefteris Bochoridis tells Enea Trapani of Sportando that he expects to be picked in this year’s draft. “I work very hard to improve every aspect of my game and I expect [to be picked],” said Bochoridis. “If a team gives me an opportunity to make the NBA I will work hard to do it, otherwise I will continue playing in Europe.” The 20-year-old Greek shooting guard isn’t projected to be selected this year, but is ranked as the 20th best international prospect born in 1994 by Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.

And-Ones: O’Neal, Sterling, Jackson

April 30th, 2014 at 10:26pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Jonathan Abrams of Grantland examines the resurgence of Jermaine O’Neal with the Warriors. O’Neal feels like his years with the Celtics were lost seasons, per the article. O’Neal said, “Those two years [in Boston] were very difficult for me, because not only did I feel like I was wearing down physically, I was wearing down mentally. That was the first time in my life I felt myself starting to break away a little bit.”