Miami Heat Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Odds & Ends: Sims, Babby, Aminu, Robinson

April 2nd, 2013 at 12:55pm CST by Luke Adams

Although the Mavericks/Lakers game tonight will have a serious impact on the race for the eighth playoff spot in the Western Conference, it's not the only noteworthy game on the schedule. The Knicks and Heat have comfortably clinched playoff spots, but New York is still vying for the second seed in the East, while the Heat are looking for a split of the season series with the Knicks. As we wait for those teams to tip off in Miami, let's round up a few odds and ends from around the NBA:

Keith Schlosser of Ridiculous Upside passes along word that Henry Sims will leave the D-League's Erie BayHawks to play in the Philippines. The Hornets signed Sims to a 10-day contract a month ago, but decided not to re-sign him when the deal expired.
Suns president Lon Babby is in the final year of his contract, and Scott Bordow of the Arizona Republic wonders whether he'll be back in Phoenix next season, since Babby's future with the team may be linked to the futures of head coach Lindsey Hunter and GM Lance Blanks.
Grantland's Zach Lowe unveils his "I can't believe he's this relevant" All-Stars, which includes a number of players who will hit free agency this summer, including Luke Walton, Marco Belinelli, and Kenyon Martin.
With Al-Farouq Aminu headed for unrestricted free agency in July, John Reid of the New Orleans Times-Picayune asks Hornets fans whether the team ought to re-sign him to a new contract for 2013/14.
Mike McGraw of the Daily Herald makes the case for why it may make sense for the Bulls to re-sign Nate Robinson this summer.
In his latest mailbag, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel discusses whether the Heat will have the flexibility to bring back Chris Andersen next season.

Southeast Notes: Heat, Dooling, Wizards, Wall

April 1st, 2013 at 9:35pm CST by Zachary Links

The Cavs were competitive tonight in Atlanta tonight but ultimately they were unable to pull out a W over the Hawks. Guard Devin Harris turned in a game-high 25 points as the Hawks won 102-94 and improved to 42-33 on the year. Here's more out of the Southeast..

We saw that Keyon Dooling agreed to sign with the Grizzlies this morning. Dooling wanted to return to the Heat, but the team never called, tweets Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
Since returning from injury, Wizards star John Wall has been turning heads and changing minds this season, writes Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld. Stan Van Gundy, who was critical of the point guard’s play earlier this year, admits that Wall’s performance of late is proving him wrong night in and night out.
Earlier today we looked at the latest on the Wizards, including comments from Wall on why he believes that he is a max player.

Southeast Notes: Heat, Riley, LeBron, Korver, Kaman

March 30th, 2013 at 11:56am CST by Zachary Links

Last night, Heat president Pat Riley released an official statement to the press that wasn't fit to print regarding Celtics president Danny Ainge. Ainge said that it was "almost embarrassing" that LeBron James complained about the hard fouls he received during the club's loss to the Bulls, and Riley fired back in defense of his star. "[Ainge] needs to shut the [expletive] up and manage his own team. He was the biggest whiner when he was playing, and I know that because I coached against him," said Riley, according to Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today. Was there more to that comment than meets the eye? Here's more on that and other notes out of the Southeast..

The aim of Riley's comment was to show his loyalty to James, who can become a free agent in the summer of 2014, writes Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com. While the image-conscious James was reluctant to attach himself to Riley's profane language, he was clearly appreciative of the gesture. "It was big-time to see that," James said after the Heat's win over New Orleans.
The Hawks' Kyle Korver will be a free agent in demand, writes Stephen Brotherston of HoopsWorld. The veteran believes that he has a good four or five years left and wants to spend them with a winning team.
Chris Kaman could have been a free agent target for the Heat this summer, but it won't happen after recent comments made in a radio interview, writes Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel. "I’m not much of a Dwyane Wade fan, but I’m a [James] fan..I just never really got along with (Dwyane Wade). I guess I just don’t like his style or whatever. I didn’t like the year the Mavs lost when he got all the foul calls. I didn’t like that," Kaman told 104.1 FM The Ticket.

Eastern Notes: Turkoglu, Heat, Pistons, Bulls

March 29th, 2013 at 12:54pm CST by Luke Adams

A few Friday notes from out of the Eastern Conference….

Turkey's Fenerbahce Ulker is hoping to add Hedo Turkoglu for the 2013/14 season, according to Can Pelister of TrendBasket.com (via Twitter). Of course, Turkoglu is still technically under contract with the Magic for next year, with half of his $12MM salary guaranteed. But while Turkoglu says he hopes to remain in Orlando, I'd expect the team to part ways with him.
In his latest mailbag for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, Ira Winderman explores whether the Heat will still be able to convince unrestricted free agents to sign in Miami at a discounted rate going forward.
With the Pistons officially out of the playoff hunt for 2012/13, Patrick Hayes of PistonPowered (via the Detroit Free Press) tries to determine which prospects might be good fits for Detroit in the upcoming draft.
As Amare Stoudemire works to get healthy for the postseason, Frank Isola of the New York Daily News looks back at the Knicks' decision to give Stoudemire a fully-guaranteed, uninsured $100MM contract.
Signing Kenyon Martin is the latest in a series of successful moves for Knicks GM Glen Grunwald, writes Moke Hamilton of SheridanHoops.com.
Sam Smith of Bulls.com addresses a number of Bulls-related topics in today's mailbag, including whether the Bulls will trade Luol Deng this summer, or sign Ben Gordon on the cheap, should the Bobcats buy him out — neither possibility is likely, says Smith.

Poll: When Will The Heat Lose?

March 26th, 2013 at 11:40am CST by Luke Adams

Once the Heat won in Boston last Monday, extending their winning streak to 23 games, we expected the team to have a relatively clear path to 27 straight victories, considering the schedule. After surviving a close call in Cleveland, Miami cruised to wins against the Pistons, Bobcats, and Magic, and sure enough, the team has increased its streak to 27.

Having played the East's four worst teams though, Miami is now facing a tougher portion of the schedule. The Heat's next three games are on the road, and two of those are against talented playoff teams, in the Bulls and Spurs. Sandwiched in between those two contests is a game in New Orleans, where the Hornets ended the Nuggets' 15-game winning streak last night.

Logic would dictate that, like the Nuggets did, the Heat will stumble at some point in the next week or two, and fall short of the 33-game record set by the Lakers over 40 years ago. But Miami has also clearly established itself as the NBA's premier team, and figures to be favored in every game going forward.

So today's poll question is this: When will the Heat suffer their next loss? Which team is the best bet to end this incredible streak? Or, at this point, do you expect the Heat to get to 34?

Eastern Notes: Nets, Raps, Maggette, Heat, C’s

March 25th, 2013 at 11:29am CST by Luke Adams

With the Bucks currently holding a seven-game lead on the ninth-seeded Sixers for the Eastern Conference's final postseason spot, there won't be a race for the playoffs over the season's final few weeks. But if we flip the standings upside-down, there is a race developing for the best chance at June's first overall pick. A pair of Bobcats wins last week pulled them within two games of the Magic, and the two teams are set to square off in Charlotte this Wednesday. As we, uh, look forward to that contest, let's round up a few Monday items from around the conference:

Following up on the latest report linking John Calipari to the Nets, Ric Bucher of 95.7 The Game suggests (via Sulia) that owner Mikhail Prokhorov is too discerning to simply be interested in Calipari because the Kentucky coach is a "big name." According to Bucher, Prokhorov had genuine interest in Phil Jackson, but Bucher thinks the idea of Calipari being a worthwhile fallback option is "absurd," despite the improvements he has made since his last NBA stint.
Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun looks ahead to the summer and predicts which Raptors will be back with the team next season.
Corey Maggette isn't entirely sure why he hasn't played in over three months, but he isn't going to complain about his situation, as David Mayo of MLive.com writes. Earlier this month, a report suggested that Maggette and the Pistons were both open to the veteran returning to the team next year via free agency. I have to think he'll at least explore the market in search of an opportunity for more minutes though.
Responding to a reader's question in his latest mailbag, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel agrees that Shane Battier has been the Heat's best non-Big-Three signing of this era.
Last summer, the Celtics participated in both the Orlando and Las Vegas summer leagues. However, since the C's aren't expecting to add as many young prospects to the roster this summer, they'll only participate in the Orlando league, according to Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald.

Odds & Ends: LeBron, Humphries, Gay, McRoberts

March 24th, 2013 at 10:21pm CST by Zachary Links

Many are buying into the speculation that LeBron James will give serious consideration to returning to Cleveland in the summer of 2014 and Ric Bucher of 95.7 The Game (Sulia link) says that he can see it happening. Bucher believes that James wants to be universally liked, especially in his hometown, and it's hard to imagine that he won't at least think about making peace with the place he still calls home. Here's more from around the Association..

Kris Humphries has been squeezed out of the Nets' rotation for much of the season after inking a two-year, $24MM deal in the offseason. However, Hump saw eleven minutes against the Clippers on Saturday night and coach P.J. Carlesimo wants to get him back in the rotation, writes Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News. One has to imagine that Humphries will be a trade candidate after this season, though he doesn't have a ton of value at present. If the big man is back in the mix for the Nets, however, they may prefer to keep him.
Raptors coach Dwane Casey believes that the organization will consider shutting down prized acquisition Rudy Gay down for the season, according to the Associated Press. Gay missed his third game of the month on Saturday due to back issues.
Bobcats forward Josh McRoberts is hoping to parlay his playing time into a multi-year pact this summer, writes Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe.

Odds & Ends: Yi, McGrady, Turkoglu

March 23rd, 2013 at 5:47pm CST by Ryan Raroque

A handful of players have joined the NBA after finishing their season in China, and Chris Sheridan of Sheridan Hoops wonders if Yi Jianlian could attract some attention after dominating in the CBA thus far. The former NBA lottery pick has averaged 24.9 PPG and 10.5 RPG while shooting 59.4% from the field and 40.7% from long distance for the Guangdong Southern Tigers this year, and is currently playing in the CBA Finals. We've got several more links to share with you this evening:

In that same piece, Sheridan says that former NBA superstar Tracy McGrady is mulling a return to the Qingdao Flying Eagles for another season.
Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel says that it's "highly likely" the Magic will part ways with Hedo Turkoglu during the offseason. The 34-year-old forward doesn't appear to fit into the team's long-term plans, and only $6MM of his $12MM contract next year is fully guaranteed.
Dave McMenamin and Ramona Shelburne of ESPN Los Angeles report that Lakers reserve Antawn Jamison will play through pain after suffering a slight tear in his shooting wrist during Friday night's loss to the Wizards.
Knicks coach Mike Woodson thinks that Jason Kidd could "absolutely" play two years after this one (Ian Begley of ESPN New York tweets).
Despite all the media attention converging onto Miami nowadays, Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel doesn't think that the Heat approaching the NBA's all-time winning streak has created any unneeded pressure.
Marc D'Amico of Celtics.com examines Jeff Green's performance against the Heat last Monday, calling it a game indicative of a potential superstar.

Southeast Notes: Heat, Magic, Bobcats, Martin

March 23rd, 2013 at 3:22pm CST by Zachary Links

The Bobcats haven't exactly had a banner season thus far but they can make their mark on the 2012/13 campaign by snapping the Heat's bid for the longest winning streak in NBA history. Charlotte will travel to Miami tomorrow night to take on the Heat and will try to hand them their fourth home loss of the entire season. Here's more on the Heat and other notes out of the Southwest division..

Rumor had it that if the Knicks didn't sign Kenyon Martin at the trade deadline that the Heat would have pounced on him. However, that's news to Martin, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post (Sulia link). The veteran said that despite the rumors and speculation, the Heat never called his agent Andy Miller. Martin joked that he would be in South Beach today had the Heat called for him and went on to say that he was so desperate to play that he even would have suited up for the Bobcats if they gave him the call. Martin, of course, found himself a tremendous landing spot in New York and is coming off of a 19 point, 11 rebound performance last night where he shot 9-of-10 from the floor.
The Magic have lost guard Arron Afflalo for the season due to injury, but they will not look to sign anyone to a 10-day contract to fill the void, tweets Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel.
Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel is surprised to see Heat coach Erik Spoelstra left out of the Coach of the Year discussion, despite Miami's tremendous play this season. Winderman notes that the award usually goes to coaches who have overachieving teams and the Heat could actually qualify, given that no one expected them to be quite this good this year.

Heat Sign Juwan Howard For Season

March 22nd, 2013 at 4:13pm CST by Luke Adams

Juwan Howard's second 10-day contract with the Heat expired last night, and rather than letting him go, the team has re-signed him for the remainder of the season, according to a press release. Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel reported when Howard first signed that he would likely stick with the Heat for the season.

Howard, 40, has not appeared in a single game during his first 20 days with the team. As I noted when he signed his second 10-day deal, he has a spot on the roster more for his off-court leadership than what he can provide on the court.

With Howard under contract for the season, the Heat now have 15 players on fully guaranteed deals, so if the team wanted to add anyone, a corresponding roster move would be required to open up a spot.