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Heat Looking For Free Agent Pickup

March 19th, 2012 at 6:33pm CST by Zachary Links

As Luke noted earlier today, Miami is currently carrying 14 players on their roster leaving them with one vacancy.  Recently released point guard Derek Fisher has interest in joining the Heat and LeBron James wouldn't mind playing with the seasoned veteran, but J.J. Hickson's emergence on the open market could be an even better fit for the club, writes Chris Tomasson of FOXSportsFlorida.com.

It's also possible that the Heat won't have to choose.  Tomasson points out that rookie guard Terrel Harris and center Eddy Curry are signed to minimum contracts and could easily be cut loose, giving Miami another open spot.

The Heat have also talked to agent Mark Bartelstein about client Mikki Moore, Tomasson tweets.  The 36-year-old big man currently plays for the Idaho Stampede of the D-League and last appeared in the NBA in December of 2009 with Golden State.  The 6'11" center had an up-and-down career in the league but enjoyed a handful of standout seasons including his 2006/07 campaign with the Nets in which he he averaged 9.8 PPG and 5.1 RPG off of 61% shooting .

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Teams With Open Roster Spots

March 19th, 2012 at 12:22pm CST by Luke Adams

After the flurry of trades, signings, and releases around the league in the last week, it's gotten challenging to keep track which clubs still have the flexibility to make roster moves. To make things a little easier, here's our list of teams who currently have fewer than the maximum 15 players on their rosters, and could add a player without releasing anyone:

Note: The Nets currently have 15 players on their roster, but will open up a spot when Jerry Smith's 10-day contract expires.

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Southeast Notes: Augustin, Heat, Magic, Wizards

March 17th, 2012 at 9:51pm CST by Zachary Links

Just one team from the Southeast division was in action tonight – the Bobcats.  Charlotte outscored the Raptors 38-14 in the third quarter to power their way to a 107-103 victory at home.  Here's a look at the rest of the division..

  • Bobcats guard D.J. Augustin told reporters that the trade deadline wasn't a distraction for him because his name has been in rumors since he was a rookie, tweets Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer.
  • In today's mailbag, a reader asks Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel if Derek Fisher would be a good fit for the Heat.  Winderman won't rule Fisher out as a possibility for the Heat if he is bought out of his deal, though he wouldn't be a great fit due to his lackluster defense.
  • The Magic will be fighting an uphill battle as they look to surround Dwight Howard with the talent he seeks, writes Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel.  GM Otis Smith will have to be extremely creative with his roster this summer and every player outside of D12 and Ryan Anderson will surely be shopped.
  • At his introductory press conference in Los Angeles, Nick Young sounded relieved to be traded from the Wizards, writes Michael Lee of the Washington Post.  Young says he was bothered not only by the losing but the ridicule he and his former team received on a national level.
  • The Bobcats players and coach Paul Silas seem to trust Michael Jordan's vision for the club, writes Derek Page of HoopsWorld.com.  While Gerald Henderson and D.J. Augustin are optimistic about the future in Charlotte, the club has received a great deal of criticism from the outside.
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Anthony Carter Interested In Spurs, Wolves, Heat

March 16th, 2012 at 1:12pm CST by Luke Adams

The Raptors officially waived Anthony Carter yesterday, giving the team a chance to play more of its young players over the final few weeks of the season. For Carter, the move means he'll likely get a chance to catch on with a contender.

Carter will have to clear waivers before becoming a free agent and signing anywhere he likes, which is no guarantee. But Carter tells Chris Tomasson of FOX Sports Florida that agent Bill Duffy has already talked to the Spurs and Timberwolves about a potential signing (Twitter link). Carter would be interested in joining either team, and wouldn't mind going to Miami either, though the Heat haven't expressed interest yet (Twitter links). Tomasson finds Miami an unlikely destination, since the Heat are more focused on adding a big man (Twitter link).

Carter, 36, spent the first seven seasons of his NBA career playing with the Heat, Spurs, and Timberwolves, respectively. Since then, he's joined the Nuggets, Knicks, and Raptors. In 623 career games, the point guard has averaged 4.8 points and 3.8 assists in 19.6 minutes per contest.

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Chris Kaman Likely Staying Put

March 15th, 2012 at 1:49pm CST by Luke Adams

Chris Kaman will likely remain a Hornet past the trade deadline, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.

The Celtics, Heat, and Spurs will aggressively pursue Kaman if the Hornets end up buying out his contract, but that's not a given with the league running the team, Wojnarowski adds (Twitter links).

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Jermaine O’Neal Angling For Buyout

March 15th, 2012 at 12:03pm CST by Luke Adams

Jermaine O'Neal, currently sidelined with a wrist injury, has been angling for a contract buyout, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. However, the Celtics are still exploring trades that could include O'Neal's expiring contract.

According to Wojnarowski (Twitter link), O'Neal has significant interest in rejoining the Heat. However, the Celtics are unlikely to buy out the big man's contract if they think that's the likely outcome.

GM Danny Ainge said this morning that there's about a 50% chance of the Celtics making a deadline deal. We also heard today that Ray Allen is drawing heavy interest from a number of contending teams.

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Heat, Kings, Suns Expecting Quiet Deadline

March 15th, 2012 at 7:38am CST by Luke Adams

As trade rumors continue to surface around the league, a number of clubs are saying they don't expect to be active today. Here are a few quotes from teams who don't anticipate any moves, but are leaving the door open just in case:

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra to Joseph Goodman of the Miami Herald:

"I am on the phone with Pat [Riley], but our focus is on this group. We feel we have enough. Andy [Elisburg] and Pat and Nick [Arison] will always look for opportunities to make our team better, but we made a big splash two summers ago."

Kings president of basketball operations Geoff Petrie to Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee:

"If we [make a move], it's more than likely to be something on the periphery of things. It's really unlikely there's some huge deal out there."

Suns president of basketball operations Lon Babby to Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic:

"As of now, there is nothing that appeals to us. It's possible that something would coalesce, but I wouldn't expect it to…. I don't anticipate that we will have anything, but we will keep talking to the last possible minute."

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Odds & Ends: Batum, Kaman, Ewing, Elson, Heat

March 14th, 2012 at 2:40pm CST by Luke Adams

A few odds and ends from around the league, with less than 24 hours until the 2012 trade deadline:

  • The Kings inquired on Nicolas Batum, tweets Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee. However, multiple reports have suggested the Blazers have no intentions of trading Batum.
  • If a second-round pick is all it takes to acquire Chris Kaman, expect the Pacers to make another run, says Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star (via Twitter). I had the same thought when I saw Chris Broussard's update on Kaman today — Indiana is the only team in the league that could take Kaman's salary without sending players back, and parting with a second-rounder wouldn't affect the team's long-term plan.
  • Patrick Ewing may have some interest in the Knicks' full-time coaching job, tweets Sean Deveney of The Sporting News.
  • Francisco Elson has been in touch with the Heat, but Miami isn't interested in working him out yet, tweets Chris Tomasson of FOX Sports Florida. The Heat could make a move for Elson after the trade and buyout deadlines.
  • The Heat likely won't make a move at the deadline, but players will still be relieved when it passes, writes Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
  • Wizards players talked to both Michael Lee of the Washington Post and Derek Page of HoopsWorld about the distraction of the impending deadline.
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Dwight Howard Rumors: Monday

March 12th, 2012 at 3:33pm CST by Luke Adams

It may seem like we're only a few days away from getting closure on the Dwight Howard saga, but as Magic coach Stan Van Gundy points out, only one scenario results in real closure for the Magic.

"There's closure, I guess, if he goes," Van Gundy said (via Tim Bontemps of the New York Post). "If he stays [past Thursday], it just starts all over again. You just start the clock again. Then we're right back to where we were when the playoffs ended last year. Everybody will be talking about, 'OK, what's going to happen in the summer? And what's going to happen next year?'"

Still, Thursday should provide at least some hint of what Howard's future holds, and Van Gundy doesn't expect resolution before deadline day. Here are today's updates on Howard, with the latest up top:

  • The Nets aren't content to sit back and wait for Howard to come to them via free agency — New Jersey would give up assets at the deadline to ensure they land the big man, tweets Kyler. Kyler hears from Nets sources that the team's offer is better than Magic sources are claiming (Twitter link).
  • If he's going to change teams, Howard prefers free agency because he doesn't want a club to gut its roster to acquire him. And if he's a free agent, Howard's three-team list "goes out the window," according to SI.com's Chris Mannix (Twitter links). Mannix identifies the Clippers and Heat as two teams that would interest Howard in free agency, though there'd be cap obstacles in each case (Twitter link).
  • Mannix has been told "unequivocally" that Howard isn't interested in signing with the Bulls (Twitter link).
  • Magic fans may prefer a trade now rather than losing Howard for nothing this summer, but Orlando is receiving mostly lowball offers, reports Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld. Teams on Howard's list know he'll test free agency this summer anyway, while teams not on his list aren't inclined to give up a lot for a potential rental.
  • As Ken Berger of CBS Sports wrote last night, the Bulls are a preferred trade partner for the Magic. However, Chicago won't pursue Howard without assurances he'd re-sign, and Howard seems reluctant to add the Bulls to his list of desired destinations. Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld says Howard would be Derrick Rose's sidekick, rather than the face of the franchise, in Chicago, an idea that doesn't appeal to D12 (Twitter links).
  • Magic sources still say they're not expecting a Howard trade, Kennedy adds in a separate tweet.
  • In their frequent meetings with Howard, the Magic aren't necessarily trying to convince him to sign in Orlando long-term, says ESPN.com's Chris Broussard (video link). The Magic would be happy if Dwight agreed not to opt out of the final year of his contract — that would give Orlando more time and assets to try to bring in help around Howard next season.
  • Broussard adds that he still believes the Nets are the most likely destination if Howard is traded this week.
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Odds & Ends: Timberwolves, CBA, Lakers

March 10th, 2012 at 6:00pm CST by Chuck Myron
With the basketball world abuzz on the eve of college basketball's Selection Sunday and more than half of the NBA in action tonight, here are the topics that have been circulating as of late: 
  • Stephen Litel of HoopsWorld examines the impact the Ricky Rubio injury will have on the rest of the Timberwolves' personnel, and speculates, as we did earlier, that this may precipitate a Michael Beasley trade. 
  • The TrueHoop Network on ESPN.com discussed the how Rubio's injury affects Minnesota's involvement in the trade market, and the consensus appears to be that the Timberwolves will be able to make do with Ridnour and Barea in the meantime.
  • NBA.com's John Schuhmann looks at the effect the new collective bargaining agreement is having on trade talks. The more punitive tax that is set to kick in during the 2013/14 season, restrictions on cap exceptions, and limits on sign-and-trades and max contracts are forcing GMs to adjust how they value players in trades.
  • Tom Reed of The Plain Dealer believes that the value of the expiring contract has depreciated because of the new CBA. 
  • During a road trip that included disappointing losses to the Pistons and Wizards, the Lakers cancelled practice on Thursday and held a meeting between the coaches and players instead. The main message from the assistant coaches to the players appeared to be a request to "curtail external chatter," according to Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com.  
  • HoopsWorld's Derek Page chatted with fans this afternoon and discussed a variety of ideas, including the suggestion that Chris Kaman would be a nice consolation prize for the Mavericks should they fail to land Dwight Howard.  
  • The Spurs have rarely engaged in deadline deals over the last 16 years, but Mike Monroe of Spurs Nation thinks that the team could be willing to shop their first round pick this time around if the right deal comes along.
  • Although the Pistons are just four games out of the eighth seed, Lawrence Frank does not want to pay attention to the standings and would rather focus on taking things day by day, according to David Mayo of MLive.com. 
  • Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel quotes Erik Spoelstra by saying that the Heat do not have any personnel moves pending after deciding not to renew the contract of Mickell Gladness. (Twitter link) 

 

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