Miami Heat Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Terry Expresses Offseason Interest In Heat

March 29th, 2012 at 10:38pm CST by Daniel Seco

Mavericks shooting guard Jason Terry is interested in exploring signing with the Heat when he becomes an unrestricted free agent this offseason, reports Chris Tomasson of FOX Sports Florida. His comments about the Heat come in the wake of the Mavericks not offering the former Arizona star a contract extension this past offseason as they attempt to clear salary cap space with hopes of making a splashy signing. Terry, 34, is currently averaging 15.2 PPG and 3.5 APG in 49 games with the Mavs.

"No question, they need a veteran shooter, a guy who can score besides LeBron (James) and (Dwyane Wade), and they know they can count on. I'm a guy that's been in this league 13 years, (averaging) 15 points a night, easy. Off the bench or the starting lineup, it doesn't matter. So I think I'd be an asset to them."

Earlier today, we looked at the free agent market for shooting guards and identified Terry as one of the top options along with Ray Allen.

Steve Nash Discusses Free Agency

March 29th, 2012 at 2:03pm CST by Luke Adams

One of the biggest potential trade chips on this season's trade market never seemed close to being dealt. The Suns insisted they'd keep Steve Nash unless the point guard asked to be traded, and Nash never made that request. While the 38-year-old didn't want to ask out of Phoenix, he definitely intends to explore his options when he becomes a free agent this summer. Nash appeared on the Dan Patrick Show this morning and addressed the topic (hat tip to Royce Young of CBSSports.com).

"It's going to be interesting this summer," Nash said. "Being a free agent, I didn't really want to leave at the deadline. I felt I owed it to me teammates and the Suns organization and the fans. I could possibly be back for sure. but that will be more interesting than the trade deadline."

Nash didn't rule out the possibility of joining former teammate Dirk Nowitzki and said he'd "definitely listen" if the Heat were interested. I can't picture Miami making a serious play for Nash with only the $3MM taxpayer mid-level exception to offer him, but it would certainly solidify the team's position as a title favorite.

As I wrote when I began examining the free agent market earlier this week, Nash might be the most attractive piece out there for contenders in need of a point guard. However, the Suns will almost certainly make a competitve bid, perhaps offering their star a multiyear deal. Would a return to Phoenix interest Nash?

"I'm not going to come back to the Suns if there isn't an improvement," Nash said. "If they're not ambitious and they're not looking to upgrade the roster seriously. And I think they are. They'll have a lot of flexibility in free agency. I think I've been standing pat so they could do some things this summer. I think they'll become a definite possibility for me, but I do want to win and I do want to consider all my options."

Odds & Ends: Turiaf, Arenas, Lakers, Greene

March 26th, 2012 at 10:24am CST by Luke Adams

Let's check in on a few Monday morning odds and ends from around the league….

The player option included in Ronny Turiaf's deal with the Heat for next season is worth $1.2MM, reports Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com.
This week's Morning Tip column from TNT's David Aldridge examines the Bulls and the Pacers, and includes an interview with Dwight Howard.
Although the Lakers worked out Gilbert Arenas before the veteran guard signed with the Grizzlies, it doesn't sound like L.A. was ever close to adding him, as coach Mike Brown tells Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Times: "Unless something gets real close or it might not even get close, I'm not always involved with the process. It never got to a point where they wanted my opinion on it or said we're not going to do it because of this or that."
Facing free agency this summer, Kings forward Donte Greene just has a few more weeks to prove his value, writes Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee.
Keith Langlois of Pistons.com fields questions on the Pistons' draft and free agent outlook in his latest mailbag.

Odds & Ends: Bell, Cavs, Nocioni, Macklin

March 25th, 2012 at 10:08pm CST by Chuck Myron

On this date in 1990, the Bulls re-signed sharpshooter Craig Hodges, who backed up Michael Jordan on Chicago's first two championship teams, in addition to winning three straight three-point contests at the All-Star Game. Here's what's happening around the league tonight:

Jazz guard Raja Bell's bothersome left knee could require microfracture surgery that would end his season, according to Brian T. Smith of The Salt Lake Tribune. Apparently one doctor has recommended microfracture, but Bell has sought a second opinion, the results of which are due Monday (All four Twitter links).
Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio shared a number of observations following the Cavs' 108-83 loss to the Suns today, including his thoughts on the team's needs in the draft. Even though they could use a center and a shooting guard, Amico believes the team should pursue the most explosive scorers at any position. The Cavs will have a pair of first-round picks this year thanks to the Ramon Sessions trade.
Andres Nocioni, who signed to play in Spain this week, received offers from two playoff teams, but none of them would make any promises about playing time, he writes in Spanish on a blog on ESPNDeportes.com (translation courtesy HoopsHype).
Pistons big man Vernon Macklin, a second-round pick in last year's draft, has been impressive in the D-League, notes Brendan Savage of MLive.com. The 6'10", 227-pound University of Florida product is averaging 17.2 rebounds a game. Still, the Pistons plan on leaving him with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants for another five games, tweets Keith Langlois of Pistons.com.
Jonathan Givony of Draft Express gives his best guesses about who will be a part of this year's Portsmouth Invitational Tournament, an annual showcase for seniors coming out of college.
Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel mentions Anthony Carter as a candidate for the Heat should the team look to sign a point guard in the wake of its loss to the Thunder tonight (Twitter link).

Eastern Notes: Heat, Sixers, Knicks

March 25th, 2012 at 11:52am CST by Daniel Seco

While the age-old adage says defense wins championships, such a statement may never hold more truth than it does for the Knicks, who are 15-1 when holding opponents to less than 90 points a game after destroying the Pistons Saturday evening at MSG. Let's take a look around the rest of the Eastern Conference to see what's going on.

Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel wonders if it is time for the Heat to pursue a veteran point guard if the team truly wants to make a deep run during the playoffs, especially considering Norris Cole's struggles in the backcourt.
By not making any major moves at the trade deadline, the Sixers showed they were content with their current roster but still need improved play out of Elton Brand if the team wants to make any noise come playoff time, writes John Mitchell of the Philadelphia Inquirer. The former Duke star is averaging 10.6 PPG and 7.3 RPG on the season, both of which are a result of Brand not being the focal point of the Sixers' offense as he was in the past.
The Knicks remain in the hunt for the Atlantic Division title after knocking off the Pistons Saturday evening. The ever-so competitive division has the Sixers leading the way with the Knicks only 3.5 games behind them.

Southeast Notes: Lewis, Heat, Howard

March 24th, 2012 at 5:35pm CST by Daniel Seco

Let's take a look around the Southeast Division as the Louisville Cardinals knocked off the NBA lottery pick-laden Florida Gators to punch their ticket to the Big Easy for the Final Four.

Michael Lee of The Washington Post checks in with Rashard Lewis, who is dealing with two injured knees and hasn't played since the All-Star break. He said Lewis was part of a proposed deal that would have sent him and Javale McGee to the Hornets for Chris Kaman, Trevor Ariza and Carl Landry, but the Wizards chose to make last week's three-team deal with Clippers and Nuggets instead. Lewis is making one of the highest salaries in the league at $21.1MM this season. He's guaranteed only $13.7MM next year, and while the Wizards said in December they wouldn't use the amnesty clause on him, you have to wonder whether they'll rethink that decision.
Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel finds it interesting the Bulls are letting point guard Mike James dangle until April when the Heat could use a veteran at his position (Twitter link).
While Dwight Howard's status with the Magic has become a bit clearer for the immediate future, Brian Schmitz considers what the long term holds for the Orlando big man heading into next season.

Odds & Ends: Sloan, Azubuike, Sessions, Heat

March 24th, 2012 at 2:26pm CST by Chuck Myron

The deadline for players to be waived in order to be eligible for the playoffs with another team passed last night, and Chris Kaman, who would have been on the radar of just about every team needing a big man had he been bought out, is still with the Hornets. New Orleans "desperately" tried to trade him before last week's trade deadline, writes Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld, but didn't get a worthy offer. He'll be a free agent at season's end, and wants to sign with a contender then, Kennedy said. Here's the rest of what's shaking around the NBA:

Guard Donald Sloan, who signed last week with the Cavs, gave reporters a little insight on his contract, as the end of this video on Cavs.com shows. His deal extends into next year, but is guaranteed only until the end of this season.
Newest Mav Kelenna Azubuike, who drew raves from owner Mark Cuban last night, will start off with the Texas Legends, the Mavs D-League affiliate, notes Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News.
The Hawks expressed interest in trading for Ramon Sessions before the Cavs wound up dealing him to the Lakers, Kennedy tweets.
Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel answered reader questions about the Heat. Despite this week's signing of Ronny Turiaf, much of the talk still revolves around the center position.
Jason Fleming of HoopsWorld rounds up the players who could sign contracts worth as much as $10MM a year as free agents this summer.
Syracuse sophomore guard Dion Waiters hasn't made up his mind about whether he'll enter the NBA Draft just yet, but he says the Spurs, Thunder and Jazz have called him in case he wants to give it a go, according to Adam Zagoria of SNY. He's projected to go in the middle of the first round, and could climb into the lottery, Zagoria writes.

Odds & Ends: Butler, Heisley, Kroenke, Bayless

March 23rd, 2012 at 11:20pm CST by Chuck Myron

Much of the NBA spent the evening with concerns about Celtics swingman Mickael Pietrus, who suffered a head injury during tonight's game with the 76ers and left the arena in an ambulance. It originally appeared Pietrus would spend the night in a hospital, as ESPN's Chris Forsberg and others reported, but apparently his injury, a concussion, will allow him to return home for the night, Forsberg tweets. Here's more from around the Association:

Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel reports that Rasual Butler, who is drawing attention from the Bulls, would have gotten a look from the Heat at the beginning of the season had they not signed Shane Battier (Twitter link).
Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley is out of the running to buy the Los Angeles Dodgers, but separate groups that include Magic Johnson and Nuggets owner Stan Kroenke remain in the hunt with a decision looming as soon as next week, according to Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times.
Raptors backup point guard Jerryd Bayless shined while starter Jose Calderon missed games with injury earlier this month, and Alex Raskin of HoopsWorld argues the team should bring back the restricted free agent this summer and give him a larger role.
Despite a loss to the Raptors tonight, the Knicks have been playing markedly better since Mike Woodson took over as coach, but that doesn't mean the team had quit on former coach Mike D'Antoni, Tyson Chandler says, according to Newsday's Al Iannazzone.
Chris Tomasson of Fox Sports Florida tweets that the Pistons have offered retiring Ben Wallace a job for when he hangs up his sneakers, but Wallace is undecided on whether he'll take it.

Celtics Rumors: Allen, Garnett, Pierce, Rondo

March 22nd, 2012 at 10:31am CST by Luke Adams

With the Celtics' Big Three of Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, and Kevin Garnett potentially playing their last season together in Boston, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports talked to the Celtics stars about the trade deadline, the offseason, and their history. Spears also shares a few interesting trade and free agent tidbits along the way. Here are the highlights:

The Heat are expected to make a strong push to sign Allen this summer, a source tells Spears. Miami will almost certainly be a taxpaying team next season, so the club would only have a mini mid level exception to offer the sharpshooter.
Allen on the possibility of returning to the Celtics in free agency: "First of all, the team has to be willing to have me back. Then you have to look around to see what’s acceptable and who is capable of having me on the team and then you go from there. It’s hard to really say."
Coach Doc Rivers wouldn't be surprised to see Allen or Garnett, who are on expiring contracts, back in Boston next year: "I think people assume they won’t be back next year. I don’t know why there is that assumption. [Garnett and Allen] are free agents, but you can sign your own free agents last time I checked…. I don’t know if we will sign them both. We may sign one. But they’ve been great for us. Our [free agents] are probably the best ones and we will have the most money."
Rivers added that he thinks Garnett's first choice would be to return to Boston.
According to Spears, the Celtics were seeking first-round picks in exchange for Allen or Garnett at the trade deadline. Their asking price for Pierce was "a young star," and they were also only willing to move Rajon Rondo for an elite player.

Reactions To The Ronny Turiaf Signing

March 21st, 2012 at 9:34pm CST by Sean Highkin

On Wednesday, the Miami Heat signed center Ronny Turiaf for the remainder of the 2011/12 season. Here's a roundup of reactions to the signing from around the media:

Fox Sports Florida's Chris Tomasson thinks Turiaf could help the Heat, who needed frontcourt depth.
ESPN.com's Tom Haberstroh points out how low-risk the signing was, and believes Turiaf is an offensive upgrade over Joel Anthony.