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Pat Riley On Big Three, Andersen, Spoelstra

April 19th, 2013 at 6:28pm CST by Chuck Myron

Heat president Pat Riley held court with the media today for the first time since July, and offered insight on how the 66-win Heat were built, as well as a few hints about his plan to keep the defending champs together. Joseph Goodman of the Miami Herald, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, and Tom Haberstroh of ESPN.com all provide detail. We'll round it up here:

  • Riley suggested the team may need a new, high-dollar local television contract to absorb the tax hit necessary to keep LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh together beyond 2014, when they can all opt out and become free agents. A report last summer suggested the team was in talks with Fox Sports about a deal that would pay them $80MM-$100MM per season, but both the team and Fox denied it. 
  • Riley thinks keeping the team together is "doable" and said the front office has already begun to craft its plan for doing so, but said it's ultimately up to Micky Arison to decide how much he wants to shell out.
  • Coach Erik Spoelstra was the driving force behind the team's midseason acquisition of Chris Andersen. "If I got another text from (Spoelstra) about getting Chris Andersen, I was going to put my hands around his neck," Riley quipped.
  • Riley declined comment on Spoelstra's contract, which runs out after next season.
  • The team believes Wade can handle point guard duties in case Mario Chalmers or Norris Cole goes down, and that's why they didn't seek more depth at the position this season.
  • It doesn't seem as though the Heat will fully embrace analytics anytime soon, as Riley said proponents of advance metrics "make me squeamy a little bit," Haberstroh tweets.
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Eastern Links: Miller, Heat, Sixers, Raptors

April 16th, 2013 at 2:02pm CST by Luke Adams

Due to yesterday's Boston Marathon tragedy, tonight's Celtics/Pacers game has been cancelled, leaving just two games on the NBA's schedule. Another Eastern matchup will take the place of the C's and Pacers on TNT, as the Hawks host the Raptors in search of the conference's fifth seed. While we wait to see which team extends its winning streak, let's round up a few notes from around the East….

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Eastern Notes: Nene, Sixers, Andersen, Walsh

April 15th, 2013 at 11:27am CST by Luke Adams

A pair of Eastern Conference first-round playoff matchups have been locked in, and one is particularly intriguing, as the No. 2 Knicks will take on the No. 7 Celtics. The winner of that series will avoid playing the Heat in round two, but could eventually be the biggest threat to Miami in the East. Here are a few of today's notes out of the Eastern Conference:

  • Ongoing injury woes had Wizards big man Nene considering retirement earlier this season, as he tells Michael Lee of the Washington Post. "Tough enough to think about the end of my career? Yeah, that’s how tough it was," Nene said. "It was so hard to play the way I did it. I thought to end my career because it’s so painful, my body can’t support. I’m glad I finished the season, but the way I suffer, I hope, never again."
  • With coach Doug Collins seemingly on his way out of Philadelphia, Tom Ziller of SBNation.com suggests some potential replacements for the Sixers to consider.
  • Chris Andersen hasn't given much thought yet to whether or not he'll remain with the Heat beyond this season, writes Ethan J. Skolnick of the Palm Beach Post.
  • Donnie Walsh isn't sure if he'll be back as the Pacers president next season, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post. "I took this job because Larry [Bird] wanted a year off," Walsh said. "If Larry wants to come back, I’m out. I’m leaving. If he doesn’t I don’t know what I’ll do."
  • Rumors are swirling about the futures of Joe Dumars and Lawrence Frank in Detroit, but Greg Monroe tells David Mayo of MLive.com that he trusts the Pistons decision-makers.
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Atlantic Notes: Bargnani, Lowry, Pierce, Collins

April 13th, 2013 at 7:39pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun believes the Raptors will pursue a power forward this summer via trade in return for Andrea Bargnani, and he advocates that Toronto go after Carl Landry, as the team is reportedly considering (Twitter links). If Bargnani is successfully dealt, he joins Greg Oden, Andrew Bogut, Dwight Howard, and LeBron James on the list of #1 picks over the last ten seasons to either eventually leave or be traded from the team that drafted them. Here are a few more tidbits to relay from the Atlantic Division: 

  • Raptors guard Kyle Lowry tells Mike Ganter of the Toronto Sun that he's hopeful about returning to Toronto next season and wants to be back, but acknowledged that the decision is out of his hands. Ganter, who argues that the 6'1 point guard must become a 'jack-of-all-trades' player to fit Toronto's needs, also mentions that Lowry has a $6.21MM team exception for next season.
  • Celtics star Paul Pierce still finds it difficult to fathom that Ray Allen left for the Heat, saying that his former teammate could have gone anywhere else – citing the Lakers as another exception – and he wouldn't have felt betrayed, says Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald.
  • Tom Moore of PhillyBurbs.com wonders why Doug Collins would want to return next season, when the 76ers may still be mediocre.
  • Although P.J. Carlesimo would like to rest his key players as much as he can before the playoffs, Deron Williams and Joe Johnson aren't ready to sit just yet, writes Roderick Boone of Newsday. Williams and Johnson briefly mentioned the possibility of catching the Pacers, who are currently the third seed in the Eastern Conference. 

 

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Odds & Ends: Heat, Allen, Bucks, Muhammad

April 13th, 2013 at 12:35pm CST by Zachary Links

Here's this afternoon's look around the Association..

  • As it stands now, Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel sees the Heat using the amnesty clause on Mike Miller.  While the vet is a great locker room influence, it doesn't make sense for Miami to carry his contract.  There's also the possibility that Miami finds a trade for Miller, but that could prove difficult.
  • The Bucks never made Ray Allen an offer to return when he was a free agent over the summer, writes Gery Woelfel of the Journal Times.  “I considered Memphis and Minnesota. That’s the plate I was looking at. Those were the teams that were offering me to go play for them," the guard said.
  • More from Woelfel, who writes that two NBA executives who once considered UCLA swingman Shabazz Muhammad a legitimate top-three draft pick now have him outside their top ten.  It's possible that the news that the Bruins star is actually 20 as opposed to 19 has hurt his stock.
  • Dwight Howard and Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni are divided on the club's offensive philosophy, writes Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com.
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Southeast Notes: Heat, Redick, Magic, Webster

April 11th, 2013 at 12:45pm CST by Luke Adams

The Southeast-leading Heat have clinched the NBA's best record of 2012/13, ensuring that they'll have homecourt advantage throughout the entire postseason. Meanwhile, at the other end of the spectrum, the Bobcats' latest losing streak has once again put them in position to secure the best odds for the No. 1 pick this June. A game and a half behind the Magic, Charlotte would have to win at least two of its final four games in order to give up the top spot in the draft lottery, as our reverse standings show. Here's the rest of the latest out of the Southeast:

  • Securing the league's best record has already guaranteed Miami a nice chunk of the NBA's $13MM playoff pool, as Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel explains. Assuming the Heat advance to the Finals, as most of us expect them too, the team would earn more than $3MM that would likely be divided among players and other members of the organization.
  • Former Magic guard J.J. Redick spoke to Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel about returning to Orlando to play his former team last night. Redick also discussed his impending free agency, noting that while many factors will enter into his decision, salary will be a big one. "I think for any player sometimes, if the money is so different between offers, you go with the money," Redick said. "You secure you and your family's financial future. But there's other things, for sure."
  • In examining a few optimal fits for this year's draft prospects, Amin Elhassan of ESPN.com (Insider link) suggests that Michigan's Trey Burke would do well with the Magic.
  • According to Michael Lee of the Washington Post, the Wizards may shut down Martell Webster (abdominal strain) for the rest of the regular season. With Webster facing unrestricted free agency, it's possible he has played his last game for the Wizards, but the team is reportedly very interested in bringing him back.
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Eastern Notes: Young, Lowry, Bulls, Heat

April 10th, 2013 at 10:27am CST by Luke Adams

With just a handful of games left in the 2012/13 regular season, only one postseason club in either conference is locked into its playoff seed — the East's top team, the Heat, remain a comfortable 10 games up on the second-place Knicks, despite the fact that New York has won 13 consecutive contests. The Bucks aren't locked into that No. 8 seed in the East yet, but they'll likely end up there,  meaning last night's game in Miami, in which the Heat beat Milwaukee 94-83, figures to be a playoff preview.

Here's more from around the Eastern Conference:

  • When he hits free agency this summer, a long-term contract will be a priority for current Sixers guard Nick Young, as he tells Lang Greene of HoopsWorld.
  • Kyle Lowry called his first year with the Raptors frustrating and disappointing, but believes the team has the talent to bounce back next season, writes Doug Smith of the Toronto Star. As Smith notes, Lowry's contract for 2013/14 is mostly non-guaranteed, but after giving up a likely lottery pick for Lowry and trading Jose Calderon, the Raptors are a mortal lock to bring back the former Rocket next season.
  • Given Jimmy Butler's emergence, the Bulls should "think long and hard" this offseason about whether to consider shopping Luol Deng, says Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com.
  • Earlier this week, Heat president Pat Riley suggested that he wants to keep Miami's Big Three intact for years to come and "have one of those 10-year rides." Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel explores Riley's comments in his latest mailbag.
  • Pistons coach Lawrence Frank, who may be on the hot seat this summer, expressed some annoyance to Terry Foster of the Detroit News about the way many of his coaching colleagues are criticized.
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D-League Moves: Dooling, Wroten, Varnado

April 7th, 2013 at 5:54pm CST by Zachary Links

The biggest D-League news of the day came when the Warriors inked Scott Machado to a 10-day deal, giving the Iona guard another crack in the NBA for the 2012/13 campaign.  We'll keep track of today's call-ups and assignments in this thread.  If you want to take a look back at all of the D-League assignments and recalls from this year, check out Hoops Rumors' running log.  Here's the latest..

  • The Grizzlies announced that they have recalled Keyon Dooling and Tony Wroten from the Reno Bighorns.  Dooling had six points and two steals in his D-League debut.  Wroten, making his fourth D-League appearance of the year, had 30 points and eight assists.
  • The Heat announced that they recalled Jarvis Varnado from the Sioux Falls Skyforce.  Varnado averaged 18.6 points, 10.0 rebounds, 2.75 blocks, and 1.75 steals in his eight game stint.
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Atlantic Notes: Celtics, J.R. Smith, Nets, Collins

April 6th, 2013 at 3:12pm CST by Chuck Myron

Depth at guard and the resurgence of Jeff Green have helped the Celtics remain relevant in the wake of Rajon Rondo's injury, as HoopsWorld's Stephen Brotherston details. Brotherston ponders the chances of a Heat-Celtics clash in the first round, and believes the Celtics would relish another playoff series with Miami. I'm inclined to believe Doc Rivers, who told reporters yesterday, including Mike Petraglia of WEEI.com, that he's not trying to match up with the Heat."Listen, I’m not that dumb," Rivers said. "I’m not the brightest guy but come on. Really, you would love to avoid anyone (like Miami)."

While we wait to find out Boston's first-round opponent, there's plenty of other news from the C's and their Atlantic Division rivals: 

  • Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com spoke to a pair of agents, an NBA executive and a longtime scout who agree that there's uncertainty surrounding this summer's market price for Knicks sixth man J.R. Smith. The soon-to-be free agent's inconsistent play and reputation as a frequent partier could hold down his value, but a strong postseason performance could help him, Zwerling writes.
  • The playoffs will determine the fate of Nets interim coach P.J. Carlesimo, sources tell Marc Stein of ESPN.com, who believes the team won't hesitate to go after marquee names like Phil Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy.
  • The Sixers have already picked up their team option on coach Doug Collins for next season, and all indications are that the decision on whether he'll return will be left to the coach himself, Stein reports in the same piece.
  • Petraglia wonders whether midseason pickup Shavlik Randolph — a veteran of four total playoff minutes — could be a postseason factor for the Celtics.
  • Celtics guard Jordan Crawford clearly has little love lost for his former team. The ex-Wizard twice said, "I don't recall playing for Washington," to reporters Saturday. Baxter Holmes of the Boston Globe provides detail.
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Southeast Links: Heat, Martin, Bobcats, Hawks

April 5th, 2013 at 10:52am CST by Luke Adams

No division has a larger divide from top to bottom than the Southeast, where the Heat are an incredible 40 games up on the Magic and 40.5 ahead of the Bobcats. There's also an incredible 17-game gap between Miami and the second-place Hawks — none of the NBA's other five division leaders have a lead of more than 6.5 games. Here's the latest out of the Southeast:

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