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Heat Notes: Riley, Bosh, Whiteside, Waiters

September 27th, 2016 at 6:41pm CST by Luke Adams

While some teams won’t admit they’re in rebuilding mode, Heat president Pat Riley didn’t mind using the R-word on Monday, as Ethan Skolnick of The Miami Herald tweets. Comparing the current roster to recent Heat teams, Riley noted that the franchise was “tweaking” the roster during the Big Three era, “retooling” it after LeBron James returned to Cleveland, and is “rebuilding” now. With Dwyane Wade gone and Chris Bosh unlikely to suit up for the Heat again, it will be interesting to see if the team goes into full-fledged rebuilding mode this year, perhaps shopping veteran point guard Goran Dragic.

Here’s more on the Heat:

Manny Navarro of The Miami Herald passes along a couple more comments from Riley, who said he has yet to “hit send” on an email he wrote to Wade, and added that he’s had thoughts about “moving on” from his role with the Heat but still gets excited by the prospect of a new season.
Asked about losing Bosh, Dragic admitted that it helps to have some certainty about what the roster and lineup will look like, but said he’d prefer to have the “small chance [Bosh] could be back,” per Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. “It’s not the prettiest situation right now.” Dragic said. “But we need to clear our heads and have one focus, one goal to get better as a team, get to know each other and try to build that chemistry we are going to need this season.”
Tom Ziller of SBNation.com makes a case for why the Heat should waive Bosh, rather than keeping him on the roster.
After being one of the league’s most underpaid players in recent years, Hassan Whiteside now has a maximum-salary contract, but he won’t let the new deal make him complacent, writes Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel.
Winderman and Jackson have each published pieces on Dion Waiters, with Winderman writing that the Heat’s new shooting guard won’t be thinking about filling Wade’s shoes, while Jackson notes that Waiters opted for happiness over money when he chose to sign with Miami.

Eastern Notes: Wade, Young, Siakam, Wright

September 25th, 2016 at 9:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

Now that the shock waves have died down over his move from Miami to Chicago, Dwyane Wade wants to prove he can still be an elite player in a new environment, writes Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press. After a contract standoff with the Heat, Wade surprised the NBA in July by agreeing to a two-year, $47MM deal with the Bulls. When Chicago opens camp this week, it will be the first time Wade has been with a team other than Miami in his 13-year career. “When I don’t have anything else left to prove, then I don’t need to play the game of basketball,” Wade said. “I want to prove I’m out of my comfort zone. I’m in a totally different environment, a totally different system. This is a challenge for me, at this stage of my career. Leave it up to me to put myself in a challenge and not just fade to black in the comfortableness of Miami.”

There’s more tonight from the Eastern Conference:

James Young is ready to battle for a roster spot as the Celtics open camp, according to Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. Boston has 16 players with guaranteed contracts, and the competition for the final slot is expected to come down to Young, second-year guard R.J. Hunter and rookie forward Ben Bentil. Young, a 6’6″ shooting guard, has been with the Celtics for two seasons but has played in just a combined 60 games. He will make more than $1.8MM this season, but may be in the organization’s dog house after being benched during summer league for his poor play. “I’m not thinking about contracts or the next year,” Young said. “I’m just staying in the present right now, gotten a lot better, still getting better. And there’s a lot better for me to come, so I’m not even thinking about the future, who they got coming up or what’s going on. I’m staying right here in the present.”
Rookie forward Pascal Siakam will be ready when the Raptors open training camp on Monday, tweets Ryan Wolstat of The Toronto Sun. Siakam, the 27th pick in this year’s draft, suffered a left MCL sprain in summer league and missed all but one game. Wolstat adds that Delon Wright, the 20th pick in the draft, is making progress but won’t return to action for a while. Wright had arthroscopic surgery on his right shoulder August 1st and was expected to need at least four months to recover.

Bulls Notes: Felicio, Hoiberg, Wade, Dinwiddie

September 25th, 2016 at 7:03pm CST by Arthur Hill

Chicago’s offseason moves should give Cristiano Felicio an opportunity for more playing time, writes Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. The 6’10” Brazilian center appeared in just 31 games with the Bulls during his rookie season and spent much of the year with Canton in the D-League. However, he stood out as part of Chicago’s summer league squad that won a championship in Las Vegas. The Bulls lost both Joakim Noah and Pau Gasol in free agency over the summer. Robin Lopez, who was acquired from the Knicks in the Derrick Rose trade, is the only true center on Chicago’s roster, which could mean a lot more playing time for Felicio. “I learned so much because the Bulls last year, they had a lot of big guys and they were always talking to me and giving me tips,” he said. “It was my first year and I didn’t know what to expect through the season and they were always talking to me, telling me what to do and what not to do in the NBA. It for sure helped me a lot in my first year.”

There’s more news out of Chicago:

Coach Fred Hoiberg once again seems to have a roster that doesn’t fit his preferred style of play, according to K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune. Hoiberg promised a pace-and-space system when he became head coach, but he hasn’t been given the outside shooters to make that work. This summer’s top two additions, Dwyane Wade and Rajon Rondo, are both more slashers than shooters. The only change in Hoiberg’s staff was the addition of Dr. Wendy Borlabi as a “high performance coach” who is focused on the mental aspects of the game.
Bulls management has talked about limiting Wade’s minutes during the regular season so he can be more effective in the playoffs, Johnson writes in the same story. The Heat did the same thing last year, as Wade averaged a career-low 30.5 minutes and stayed healthy enough to play in 74 games. “In Miami, Coach Spo [Erik Spoelstra] wanted me to play 30 minutes a game in the regular season, and when he told me that the year before, I wasn’t on board,” Wade said. “But [in 2015-16], he wound up doing it and it was successful for me. Every year is different. I work very hard, man. I just need to take care of my body, especially as I get older. I always have the mentality that I’ll do whatever for my team that I need to do. But I’m not trying to play 40 minutes.”
Spencer Dinwiddie probably comes into camp as the favorite to back up Rondo at point guard, according to Sam Smith of NBA.com. Dinwiddie, whom the Bulls traded for, waived and re-signed over the summer, will get competition from rookie Denzel Valentine and Jerian Grant.

Heat Notes: Dragic, Bosh, Babbitt

September 24th, 2016 at 5:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

Goran Dragic, who was excited to be teamed with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh when he was swapped to the Heat at the 2014 trade deadline, may finish his career in Miami without either one, writes Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. Wade signed with the Bulls over the summer and Bosh faces an uncertain medical future after failing his training camp physical. That leaves Dragic as the team’s new leader, and he says he wants to embrace that role. “When you have D-Wade next to you, or C.B., then they can take the game in their hands immediately,” Dragic said. “Now, probably it’s going to be a little bit different. I’m ready. I already felt great last year at the end of the season.” Dragic has four seasons and more than $70MM left on his contract.

There’s more news out of Miami:

Miami has the option to apply for a Disabled Player Exception if its medical staff decides Bosh can’t play this season, notes Bobby Marks of The Vertical. If an NBA-designated doctor agrees, the Heat would receive a $5.6MM exception that they can use until March 10th. The exception can be used to sign a free agent to a one-year contract or acquire a player with one season left on his current deal, either through trade or waivers. The Heat have 15 players with guaranteed contracts, including Bosh, so a roster spot would have to be cleared before the DPE could be used. However, the Heat may be looking to get the rest of Bosh’s remaining salary removed from their cap, which they can’t do if they use this exception.
Luke Babbitt may have changed teams, but his role will be the same, Winderman writes in a separate piece. Babbitt, who was acquired in a July trade with New Orleans, was used as a stretch four with the Pelicans to create room in the paint for Anthony Davis. With the Heat, he expects to create room for Hassan Whiteside and driving lanes for Dragic. “That’s what NBA offense is, is spacing,” Babbitt said. “So to give guys, to maximize those guys, Hassan, Goran, to open up driving lanes, you have to have people to space it out that can shoot, that’s the way the league is going now.” Babbitt, who just re-signed with the Pelicans last summer, said the trade caught him by surprise. “I didn’t really know it was coming,” he said. “But once I got the news, mentally it just totally shifted over and I was excited. I had a good couple of years in New Orleans, but with this kind of rebuilding group I feel like I kind of fit with what we’re trying to do here.”

Udonis Haslem Hopes To Play With Wade Again

September 17th, 2016 at 3:30pm CST by Luke Adams

As we noted earlier today, Dwyane Wade admitted on Saturday morning that the one think he’ll miss most about playing for the Heat is his longtime teammate Udonis Haslem. Per Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald, that feeling is mutual. Haslem referred to Wade as “family,” adding that he’ll support him “through thick and thin.”

Haslem and Wade have been teammates in Miami since the 2003/04 season, but with Wade having signed in Chicago earlier this summer, they’ll be opponents in 2016/17. Still, both players can hit the free agent market again next year, and they likely won’t retire quite yet, so there’s a realistic chance of a reunion at some point, as Haslem told Jackson.

“I’m going to damn sure try,” Haslem said, when asked about the possibility of potentially finishing his career alongside Wade. “I mean, I don’t know. I guess I’ve got to wait until next summer to see how that goes. But, I never give up without a fight. So there’s ain’t no time to start now.”

While Wade heads to Chicago, Haslem is preparing to enter his 14th season with the Heat, and while he’d like to reunite with Wade eventually, he may not want to leave Miami to do so. “I was thinking more him of him coming here,” Haslem said. “I never said [I’d leave the Heat]. I won’t ever say that. When I said play with him again, I never said leave.”

The idea of Wade eventually returning to South Beach for one final season with Haslem may appeal to the 36-year-old big man and to many Heat fans, but as Jackson observes, it’s not clear how realistic that scenario is. Heat president Pat Riley and Wade didn’t part on the best of terms, having still not communicated with one another since the former Finals MVP left the Heat more than two months ago.

Heat Notes: Wade, Haslem, Offseason, Bosh

September 17th, 2016 at 12:03pm CST by Luke Adams

For the first time since 2003, Dwyane Wade will begin training camp this month with a team besides the Heat. Asked what he’ll miss the most now that he’s no longer playing in Miami, Wade said that he’ll miss longtime teammate Udonis Haslem, according to Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel (via Twitter). Like Wade, Haslem joined the franchise for the 2003/04 season and has been in South Beach ever since — of course, unlike Wade, Haslem re-signed with the Heat this summer.

Here’s more out of Miami:

As Bobby Marks of The Vertical details in his rundown of the Heat’s offseason, the team was forced to use nearly $20MM in cap room during a tight window after losing Wade in early July, since that space wouldn’t have been available if the team had matched Tyler Johnson‘s offer sheet first. The result? A handful of short-term deals that essentially serve as placeholders while the club retools.
Within a mailbag this week for the Sun Sentinel, Winderman discusses the short- and long-term outlooks for Chris Bosh and Haslem, who may have coaching in his future. Winderman also tackled more Bosh-related concerns and addressed LeBron James‘ lingering influence in Miami in a separate mailbag.
In another Sun Sentinel piece, Winderman examines the Heat’s current roster and their departed veterans in a player-by-player breakdown.

Reinsdorf Bullish On Wade-Rondo-Butler Trio

September 8th, 2016 at 5:39pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf believes that the headstrong trio of Dwyane Wade, Rajon Rondo and Jimmy Butler will be successful because they’re “high character guys who want it to work,” K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune tweets. Wade and Rondo signed with Chicago as free agents this summer and the club held onto Butler despite trade rumors swirling around him, particularly on draft night. The Bulls are projected to pair up Wade and Rondo in the backcourt while Butler sliding to small forward, though they are all subpar 3-point shooters.

In other highlights of the interview as reported by Johnson:

Reinsdorf expressed surprise that Wade ditched the Heat to join his hometown team (Twitter link). Wade signed a two-year, $47MM deal in mid-July.
The owner believes the team will be “competitive” this season but wouldn’t offer any predictions. Chicago’s failure to make the playoffs last season “bothered me a lot” because “we lost a lot of games to teams we shouldn’t have lost to.” (Twitter links)
Looking back on recent years, Reinsdorf laments the knee injuries that plagued former franchise player Derrick Rose. He had high hopes for the group and its inability to accomplish more during that era was “disappointing.” (Twitter link) Rose was traded to the Knicks in June.
Joakim Noah‘s leadership and involvement in the community will be missed but Reinsdorf is happy that the free agent center “got that kind of money.” (Twitter link). Noah signed a four-year, $72MM pact with the Knicks.

Central Notes: Wade, George, Seraphin, Novak

September 2nd, 2016 at 9:31am CST by Arthur Hill

Dwyane Wade‘s reasons for signing with the Bulls after 13 years in Miami transcend basketball, relays ESPN.com. In an interview with Good Morning America that aired today, Wade said he hopes to serve as a voice to help end the wave of gun violence that has infected Chicago. That violence touched Wade’s family last week when his 32-year-old cousin, Nykea Aldridge, was killed in the city by a stray bullet. Wade, who grew up on Chicago’s South Side, and his mother, Jolina Wade, a former drug dealer, participated in a series of panel discussions on gun violence just before Aldridge was shot. “Now I’m back in the city of Chicago — I’m back for a reason,” Wade said. “I played 13 years in Miami. Now I’m back in the city, let me see what I can do as one person to help lend my voice and help shed light on the tragedy that’s going on and find a solution to start the process of making change.”

There’s more news out of the Central Division:

The Pacers‘ agreement with Kevin Seraphin should have little effect on a planned long-term extension for Paul George, tweets Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders. Indiana needs to free up just $3.802MM to get George to his maximum salary for this season, Kyler notes. George will become eligible for an extension on September 25th.
Several European teams, particularly FC Barcelona, had expressed strong interest in Seraphin before he signed with the Pacers, according to Orazio Cauchi of Sportando.
Steve Novak was given the power to block a trade when he re-signed with the Bucks on Monday, tweets Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders. The 33-year-old free agent accepted a one-year, $1,551,659 deal to return to Milwaukee, where he played just three games last season before suffering a sprained left MCL.

And-Ones: Salary Record, LeBron, CBA, D-League

August 12th, 2016 at 2:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

The NBA’s record $24MM television deal is playing out just as predicted, writes Mitch Lawrence of Forbes. With LeBron James signing a three-year, $100MM deal with the Cavaliers, a record 17 teams now have the highest-paid players in franchise history on their current rosters. However, most of them are players who re-signed with their current teams or agreed to contract extensions. The only players who earned that distinction by changing teams this summer are Atlanta’s Dwight Howard, Boston’s Al Horford and Golden State’s Kevin Durant.

There’s more NBA-related news this afternoon:

Because James has a player option for the third season of his new contract, he can become a free agent in July of 2018, along with Dwyane Wade, Chris Paul and Carmelo Anthony, tweets Tommy Beer of Basketball Insiders. In March, James made headlines by speculating on the possibility of the four close friends one day joining forces.
A “super max” contract is among several changes the NBA and the players union should consider in a new collective bargaining agreement, suggests Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders. That provision would allow for a contract that is 40% of the salary cap, but would only count as a normal maximum deal against the cap. It would be available only to a player who remains with his current team and it would not be tradeable. Kyler also would like to see a third round added to the draft to help teams stock their D-League affiliates, a two-way contract with different salaries when players are in the NBA and D-League, and minimum qualifications that players would have to meet before being eligible for maximum contracts.
The D-League will holds its national tryouts Sunday in Manhattan, tweets Chris Reichert of Upside & Motor. Among the players who received invitations are Sterling Gibbs of Connecticut, Jonathan Holton of West Virginia, Chris Obekpa of St John’s and Markus Kennedy of SMU (Twitter link).

Dwyane Wade On: Butler, Riley, Chicago

July 29th, 2016 at 5:41pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Longtime face of the Miami Heat franchise, Dwyane Wade, was officially introduced today as a member of the Bulls. The veteran inked a two-year, $47MM deal with Chicago this offseason, leaving behind the only NBA team he had ever known. Wade addressed members of the media today and touched on a number of subjects. The transcription comes courtesy of ESPN.com and Ethan J. Skolnick of The Miami Herald. Here are some of the highlights from Wade’s press conference:

Discussing who the “alpha” is on the new-look Bulls:

“This is Jimmy’s team. It won’t be a tug and pull whose team it is.” Wade then recalled the 2004 offseason when Miami acquired big man Shaquille O’Neal, saying, “We had no championships at the time and I remember his press conference. I was playing in the Olympics at the time, like Jimmy is right now. And I remember Shaq said, ‘We’re not going to go through this all year. This is Dwyane Wade’s team.’ So, we’re not going to go through this all year. This is Jimmy Butler‘s team. Myself and Rajon Rondo are here to bring what we bring as athletes to this team and to this city. He’s the young Bull on this team. He’s a 26-year-old who can play 40 minutes if coach wants him to and maybe more. I ain’t trying to do all that. And we’re going to depend on him a lot.”

Discussing if he chose Chicago because of a rift with Heat president Pat Riley:

“I have no rift with Pat Riley. It’s funny the reports come out about a lot of different things. I’ve never seen nobody around me and Pat when me and him was talking. I didn’t see no one CC’d on the emails that we talk about. I have nothing but respect for what he’s done in this game. I have so much to learn. So I have no rift in that. This year, the direction and the focus for that organization in Miami — which I have nothing but love and respect for — was a little different than it has been in years past.

With that being said, my direction and my focus was a little different than it had been in year’s past. I communicated with them that ‘Hey I’ve only done this once, but I’m going to be a free agent. I’m going to go out and see what the market is saying about me.’ And, like I said, this opportunity with Chicago when first I said I was going to be a free agent, this was nothing that we all knew was going to happen. But it was things that happened along the way that made this even realer and realer. I made the decision.

I had a contract offer in Miami that I could have took. I decided not to take it. It was my decision to be selfish and to live out a dream of mine. I’ve brought a lot of excitement to Miami and it’s a home to me. It will always be. I want to bring a little bit here to Chicago when I have a little bit left. So, let’s clear up the notion that Pat Riley orchestrated me getting out of Miami because he didn’t offer me the money I wanted. This was not a money deal. If this was a money deal I wouldn’t be sitting here. I would have taken the most money. At the end of the day this is a place I wanted to be.”

Discussing Riley’s role, or lack thereof, in his recruitment this summer:

“I dealt with (team owner) Micky Arison, Nick Arison when it came to my contracts the last two years. That’s what he means when he said he wasn’t involved, meaning he didn’t sit at the table. He didn’t call or email or text or nothing like that to try to sway me or try to get me back. I guess that’s what he meant.

I dealt with two people I respect in the organization. And like I said, at the end of the day it wasn’t about Pat Riley, it wasn’t about Micky, it wasn’t about Nick. It was about me. I told that to the Arison family in our meeting. They asked me, ‘What else? Is there anything else we can do? I said, ‘This is a decision I’m going to have to make. And I made that decision.’

I wasn’t looking for Pat to reach out to me. That wasn’t the focus of mine. My focus was making the best decision for my family. He has to make the best decision for the organization, which he has done an amazing job over his tenure there. And we all benefited from it.“