Miami Heat Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Heat Sign Jarvis Varnado

January 9th, 2013 at 7:51am CST by Luke Adams

WEDNESDAY, 7:51am: The Heat signed Varnado to a 10-day contract late last night, according to Ken Berger of CBSSports.com (via Twitter). It appears Miami waited until Wednesday to officially complete the move, which will allow them to keep Varnado around for an extra day next weekend.

TUESDAY, 11:20am: Jarvis Varnado was waived two days ago by the Celtics, meaning he's on track to clear waivers later this afternoon. When that happens, Varnado is expected to sign a 10-day contract with the Heat, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.

Varnado, who was drafted 41st overall by the Heat in 2010, spent two seasons overseas before joining Miami's camp this fall. However, he was cut by the team before the regular season began. The former Mississippi State product signed a non-guaranteed contract with the Celtics in December and appeared briefly in five games for Boston before being released in advance of this week's guarantee deadline.

The Heat are also working out Chris Andersen today, and signing Varnado wouldn't necessarily preclude adding the Birdman as well. After waiving Terrel Harris and Josh Harrellson this week, the Heat have two open roster spots.

Odds & Ends: Kaman, Fredette, Beverley

January 7th, 2013 at 11:26pm CST by Chuck Myron

Chris Kaman, making $8MM this year as one of many Mavs on a one-year contract, told Chris Tomasson of Fox Sports Florida that he wants to return to Dallas next year, but he isn't sure whether the team will have him. Kaman's preference is for long-term contracts (Sulia links). "Nobody wants to do a one-year deal," he said. "If anybody prefers, they would do a long-term deal if they felt comfortable in the situation. So everybody kind of is just trying together to be a team. I think sometimes that creeps in. 'I’m in this one-year deal, I better play good.' It’s not that it’s selfish but it’s just a lot of pressure for a player." The handful of players without fully guaranteed contracts who got the ax today probably wouldn't mind a one-year deal right now, but it's all relative in the NBA. Here's more from around the Association.

DeMarcus Cousins isn't the only member of the Kings off-limits in trade talks, as USA Today's Sam Amick hears the team is not making Jimmer Fredette available, either.
The final two seasons of Patrick Beverley's three-year contract with the Rockets are team options, reports Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle.
The Rockets signed Greg Smith to a similar deal 11 months ago, and he's become a significant contributor off the bench this season, as Feigen examines.
Mike James will sign his 10-day pact with the Mavs on Tuesday, according to Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com (Twitter link).
Wolves GM David Kahn doesn't think the team's most pressing need is another big man, even with Kevin Love sidelined, and said he's having difficulty getting other GMs to engage in serious trade talk with the deadline still more than six weeks away. Kent Youngblood of the Star Tribune has the details.
The Wolves are still keeping an eye on Mickael Gelabale, but other teams may have stronger interest, according to Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (Twitter link).
Chris Andersen's "ancillary issues" aren't a concern for the Heat, who will bring him in for a workout Tuesday, tweets Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Winderman is presumably referring to Andersen's legal troubles last year.

Heat Eyeing Chris Andersen

January 7th, 2013 at 2:15pm CST by Luke Adams

Having cleared a pair of roster spots by cutting Terrel Harris and Josh Harrellson, the Heat are considering signing Chris Andersen, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Andersen will be in Miami over the next couple days to take a physical and work out for the Heat, according to Wojnarowski.

This isn't the first time the Heat have mulled the idea of signing the Birdman. Back in August, the team was looking at Andersen, but ultimately elected to sign Harrellson instead. However, Miami was unwilling to guarantee Harrellson's contract for the season, and has circled back and renewed its interest in Andersen.

If the Heat decide to sign Andersen, the club will have the opportunity to offer him a 10-day contract rather than a rest-of-season deal, since the 10-day-contract portion of the season got underway today.

Heat Waive Josh Harrellson

January 7th, 2013 at 1:38pm CST by Luke Adams

The Heat have officially waived big man Josh Harrellson, according to a team press release. Harrellson was on a non-guaranteed contract, so the team won't be on the hook for his full-season salary.

Harrellson, 23, saw very limited action in Miami this season, logging just 28 total minutes in five games with the team. The 45th overall pick in 2011, Harrellson will become an unrestricted free agent assuming he clears waivers.

Having also waived Terrel Harris over the weekend, the Heat now have 13 players on their roster, leaving two open spots.

Heat Rumors: Harris, Big Men, Martin, Pittman

January 5th, 2013 at 3:15pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Heat were pounded on the boards last night in a loss to the the Bulls, who outrebounded them 48-28. That came just days after Nikola Vucevic set a Magic franchise record by pulling down 29 rebounds against the Heat. No team has grabbed fewer rebounds this season than the defending champs, and that makes it easy to assume Miami will pursue a rebounder with the open roster spot they'll have when Terrel Harris clears waivers. We have more on that and other matters out of South Beach this afternoon.

Team president Pat Riley said through a team spokesman that Miami is not looking to add anyone at the moment, reports Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. That echoes the sentiments of coach Erik Spoelstra and the players, who believe the team can solve its rebouding woes on its own.
Free agent Kenyon Martin had the Heat atop his wish list in November, but the team has shown little recent interest in the veteran who's averaged 7.1 rebounds per game for his career, writes Michael Wallace of ESPN.com.
Part of the reason the Heat let go of Harris is so they can keep a roster spot open to add someone via trade, or make a signing after the trade deadline when players from other teams are bought out, as Chris Tomasson of Fox Sports Florida explains (Sulia link).
If Harris clears waivers, the Heat could opt to bring him back via 10-day contract, just as they did with Mickell Gladness last year, Winderman points out.
Winderman also checks in with Heat center Dexter Pittman, who's on assignment with the Sioux Falls Skyforce of the D-League, and provides updates on a handful of former Heat players.

Heat Waive Terrel Harris

January 5th, 2013 at 12:39pm CST by Zachary Links

The Heat announced that they have waived guard Terrel Harris. Harris' deal would have become guaranteed on Monday's deadline and the move could signal that the Heat are gearing up to sign a big man.

Harris appeared in seven games with the Heat this year, averaging 1.4 points and 1.3 rebounds in 4.1 minutes per contest. He was a bigger part of Miami's rotation in 2011/12 as he appeared in 22 games and averaged 3.6 points and 2.3 rebounds in 14.5 minutes per game.

The move leaves the Heat with 14 men on their roster. Josh Harrellson is the team's only remaining non-guaranteed player.

Odds & Ends: Draft, Amare, Varejao, Heat

January 5th, 2013 at 12:01pm CST by Zachary Links

Most people seem to think that Kentucky's Nerlens Noel will be the top pick in the 2013 Draft but Joe Kotoch of Sheridan Hoops believes that it's still wide open. UCLA's Shabazz Muhammad has the Bruins on a six-game winning streak following his return to action and the guard is impressing scouts with his outside shooting. Maryland center Alex Len has injected himself into the conversation with surprisingly strong play so far this season. Indiana big man Cody Zeller could even find himself in the mix with a strong finish to the 2012/13 season. Here's more from around the Association..

Amare Stoudemire made waves this week when he said that Knicks coach Mike Woodson has him playing defense for the first time in his career, but the forward walked those comments back somewhat. Stoudemire told reporters, including Marc Berman of the New York Post, that he meant it as a compliment to Woodson and not a shot at former coach Mike D'Antoni.
Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun (on Twitter) thinks that the Cavaliers might have to give some more thought to moving Anderson Varejao given the strong play of Tristan Thompson in his place. The Cavs' asking price for Varejao at the moment is said to be quite high.
Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel doesn't see free agent Kenyon Martin as the solution to the Heat's rebounding woes as they need a taller big man to help clean the glass.
The D-League Showcase gets underway on Monday and Ryan Ripley of Ridiculous Upside previews some of the top players auditioning for ten-day contracts. Mike James, who hooked on with the Texas Legends this week, is among the players to watch.

Southeast Notes: Howard, Hawks, Wizards, Heat

January 4th, 2013 at 4:59pm CST by Luke Adams

Every Southeast team except the Magic is in action tonight, but before the evening's slate of games gets underway, here are a few Friday afternoon items from around the division:

The Magic don't intend to pursue Dwight Howard in free agency this summer, writes Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel, in perhaps the week's least surprising story. Robbins acknowledged via Twitter that Orlando likely wouldn't have had a shot at Howard anyway, but clarified that the team isn't even planning to try.
One Western Conference general manager told ESPN.com's Marc Stein that another Southeast team could be in the running for D12 this July, however. "I have it as Lakers, Dallas or Atlanta for Dwight," said the unnamed GM.
ESPN.com's Chad Ford (Insider link) examined the best possible fits for the Wizards in June's draft, eventually concluding that Shabazz Muhammad probably makes the most sense for Washington right now.
In today's mailbag, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel addressed the possibility of the Heat acquiring Samuel Dalembert from the Bucks.

Amick’s Latest: Cousins, Evans, Heat, Bargnani

January 4th, 2013 at 3:14pm CST by Luke Adams

In their Friday A-Z piece for USA Today, Sam Amick and Jeff Zillgitt lead off by examining a number of potential teams and players that could be involved in trade talks in the next few weeks. Most of the juicier rumors come from Amick, so we'll round up the highlights from his section of the piece right here:

Geoff Petrie has said that the Kings aren't interested in trading DeMarcus Cousins, and it seems as if that sentiment is now being conveyed privately as well as publicly, according to Amick. However, the Kings would be open to listening to offers on Tyreke Evans or anyone else besides Cousins.
The Celtics and Mavericks are two teams that could shake things up before the deadline — both clubs are underperforming and have been known to be aggressive pursuing upgrades in the past.
The Heat would like to add a big man, but don't really have the assets needed to make a deal.
Nolan Smith is a good candidate to be moved before the deadline by the Trail Blazers.
The Cavaliers and Clippers won't be eager to move Anderson Varejao and Eric Bledsoe, respectively, but both teams should receive plenty of offers on those players, says Amick, noting that the Cavs' poor record will only increase the pressure to make a move.
Both Amick and Zillgitt identify the Raptors' Andrea Bargnani as the biggest name likely to be on the move by February 21st.

Southeast Links: Heat, Wade, Harkless, Vucevic

January 3rd, 2013 at 8:46pm CST by Alex Lee

While none of the five teams that make up the Southeast division play on Thursday night, that doesn't mean things are quiet. Here are some links from around the division:

Lost in a dominant two seasons plus has been the relative mediocrity of the Heat on the road, writes Chris Tomasson of Fox Sports. While it obviously hasn't significantly hindered their overall success, Miami's players and coaches alike seem to think it is something they need to improve on.
Couper Moorhead breaks down the anatomy of a Dwyane Wade steal in a lengthy story on Heat.com. While his 1.2 steals-per-game average in 2012-13 is easily the lowest of his NBA career, Wade is normally one of the league's best ball thiefs.
Two of the pieces the Magic got for Dwight Howard appear to be, in the short term, headed in opposite directions, according to a story from Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel. Rookie Maurice Harkless is frustrated as his playing time has been slashed with the return of Hedo Turkoglu. Meanwhile, Nik Vucevic is thriving in his second year, particularly from a rebounding standpoint. The USC product had 20 points and 29 rebounds on New Year's Eve against the Heat.
While we heard earlier that ESPN's Marc Stein thinks DeMarcus Cousins would fit in Dallas, Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld tweets that Cousins is "the wrong kind of personality" for what the Magic are building in Orlando.