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Latest On Heat Center Hassan Whiteside

April 2nd, 2018 at 8:02pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Heat center Hassan Whiteside expressed regret on Monday over his postgame tirade on Saturday in which he ripped coach Erik Spoelstra, Shandel Richardson of the Sun Sentinel reports. Whiteside was upset when he didn’t play in the fourth quarter and overtime during a loss to the Nets. “The minutes have been like that all year. It’s really frustrating. … It’s crazy. I don’t understand it,” he told reporters afterward. After meeting with Spoelstra, Whiteside said he didn’t handle the situation the right way.

“I was just frustrated, man,” Whiteside told Richardson and other reporters. “I was frustrated that we lost. I really wanted to get that game … I could have handled it different. But I got so caught up in wanting to get that win. I get real competitive. I really want to be out there. But I just trust coach’s decision.”

Whiteside was fined for his tirade and Spoeltra said the issue has been resolved. “We’re moving on. It’s behind us,” he said. “You can tell right now by the mood of the gym that’s long gone.”

Whiteside has played an average of 25.6 MPG, 7.0 less than last season. Whiteside has two years and $52.4MM remaining on his contract after this season but can opt out after next season.

Florida reporters weighed in on Whiteside’s future:

Tensions between Whiteside and the team can only hurt his trade value, Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel opines. It’s now uncertain whether Whiteside will remain on the team after this season but the Heat sent a message by fining him that they’re fed up with him and will no longer coddle him, Winderman adds.
Whiteside will get traded after the season despite his efforts to end the controversy, Dave Hyde of the Sun Sentinel anticipates. He has constantly frustrated the team with his inconsistent play and rookie Bam Adebayo can take over at center with a more unselfish mindset, Hyde adds.

Southeast Notes: Spoelstra, Prince, Gordon/Isaac, Johnson

March 23rd, 2018 at 6:52pm CST by clarkcrum

Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra is excited about the prospect of getting the team’s two-way players, Derrick Jones Jr. and Derrick Walton, back with the team this weekend, reports Ira Winderman of the Sun-Sentinel.

With the G League regular season concluding tomorrow, the 45-day restriction upon two-way players is lifted, freeing them to return to the NBA for the remainder of the regular season. Jones Jr. is back with the Heat for tonight’s game against Oklahoma City, with Walton joining the team before Sunday’s game in Indiana. As for the two-way system itself, Spoelstra is a fan, even though he thinks a few issues need ironing out.

“The system is a little bit clumsy, but I’m sure we’ll iron that all out in years to come. I’m a big fan of the two-way contract. I think it’s good for teams, it’s good for the player. We’ve seen the benefits of developing our guys with us (the Heat), but also getting those guys a lot of game reps in our culture, in Sioux Falls.”

Jones Jr., 21, is averaging 17.1 points and 7.4 rebounds in 29.1 minutes per game this season for the Sioux Falls Skyforce, the Heat’s G League affiliate, while also starting eight games for the Heat during the team’s struggle through injuries. Asked whether his development is of importance to the team, Spoelstra said of course:

“Absolutely. We always envision where a player can go. We do that with an open mind and a commitment to our player development. He’s improved this year with us and that’s worth noting, because he’s committed to our (the Heat’s) process. I think he has to break into this program as a defensive-minded player. That’s really where his potential is. It’s been very intentional that we try to get him on the best wing opponent every night and really embrace that challenge regardless of how many minutes he plays and what his offensive responsibility is. He has to guard, he has to be able to impact on that side of the floor. And that got better. It still has a long ways to go, but he’s starting to understand where he can break through.”

As we’ve noted generally before, neither Jones Jr. nor Walton are playoff-eligible for the Heat unless signed to a standard contract before the final game of the regular season. This is unlikely as Miami already has 15 players on its roster.

There’s more from the Southeast Division:

Hawks‘ forward Taurean Prince has improved his three-point prowess throughout his career, but no more so than this season, writes Bryan Kalbrosky of HoopsHype, where he is shooting 40.4% from behind the stripe.
The Magic are excited to be able to play versatile forwards Aaron Gordon and rookie Jonathan Isaac together for the remainder of this season, writes John Denton of NBA.com.
Just in time for the playoffs, James Johnson is finally realizing the level of play the Heat expected when they signed him to a lucrative contract this summer, Winderman adds in another piece.

Southeast Notes: Whiteside, Vucevic, Ilyasova

February 2nd, 2018 at 5:54pm CST by Austin Kent

The Heat have been aggressive on the trade market, but don’t expect them to deal Hassan Whiteside without a significant haul coming back in return, Sean Deveney of The Sporting News writes. The franchise knows all too well how much of a role the 28-year-old has played in the team’s emergence as a defensive force.

Head coach Erik Spoelstra has reined in his inconsistent big man’s minutes this year, a luxury he can afford with other options like Kelly Olynyk and Bam Adebayo on the roster.

Despite the decreased workload, Whiteside is as efficient as ever, posting 14.4 points and 11.8 rebounds per game in just 25.8 minutes of action. Those are per-36 rates of 20.0 and 16.4, respectively, up from 18.8 and 15.6 per-36 in 2016/17.

There’s more from the Southeast Division:

A pair of rotation players returned to practice for the Magic, Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel tweets, but neither Nikola Vucevic or Jonathan Isaac are particularly close to suiting up in-game. Robbins clarified in a subsequent tweet that they participated in full contact practice.
Veteran Ersan Ilyasova could be the Hawks‘ most realistically attractive trade chip, Michael Cunningham of The Atlanta Journal Constitution writes. The 30-year-old sharpshooting forward is an asset on defense and, conveniently, has an expiring contract.
The Heat can never truly be ruled out when it comes to teams willing to make a bold trade, but president Pat Riley has been wise to let head coach Erik Spoelstra channel every thing he can out of their current roster, Dave Hyde of The Sun Sentinel writes.

Heat Notes: Bosh, Spoelstra, Winslow

December 10th, 2017 at 3:01pm CST by marksuleymanov

The Heat experienced some déjà vu during their game against the Nets in Mexico City on Saturday as former champion Chris Bosh was in attendance for the team’s 101-89 victory. It was a welcome sight for many of Bosh’s former teammates and coaches, including Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra, Shandel Richardson of the Sun Sentinel writes.

“We’ve been in touch. He looks good,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “His family, his kids are doing well. I love CB. He’s Heat family for life but man it’s strange. You see him and it’s like you go back to 2012 just like that. You realize how fast times goes by in this league.”

Bosh has not played in nearly two seasons after his issue with blood clots was ruled career-ending following a medical review by the NBA and the players’ union earlier this year. Bosh reached a unique agreement with the Heat in July where his salary would longer count against the team’s salary cap after he was waived.

We noted last month that Bosh was “keeping his options open” regarding his future as an active player. However, given his medical complications, it remains a longshot that an NBA team will give him a chance to resume his career.

Check out other Heat news below:

Also from the Sun Sentinel’s Shandel Richardson, Heat forward Justise Winslow has taken a demotion to the bench in stride and is finding success in that role. “I didn’t really take it as a bad thing or a good thing,” Winslow said. “For me, I just see it as an opportunity to be even more of a playmaker with that second group especially with the great spot up shooters we have in Wayne [Ellington] and Tyler [Johnson].”
Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel writes that Erik Spoelstra thrives under stability with the Heat, something David Fizdale and other recently dismissed coaches have not been afforded. Spoelstra has been the head coach in Miami through the era of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Bosh, and in recent years during a rebuilding stage. He feels that teams will need patience to compete and that stability with coaches is critical.

Texas Notes: Nowitzki, Gay, D’Antoni

September 16th, 2017 at 8:21pm CST by Arthur Hill

Fans are paying an average of $1,300 per ticket for the Mavericks‘ season finale in hopes of seeing Dirk Nowitzki‘s final game, but Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News warns that Nowitzki’s retirement isn’t a sure thing. The German star hasn’t made a decision about playing beyond this season and says health may be the main factor. A right Achilles problem early last season limited Nowitzki to 54 games and doomed the Mavericks to a 3-17 start.

“If I miss another 30 to 40 games in a row, then obviously, it’s not meant to be,” said Nowitzki, who is preparing for his 20th NBA season. “But if I can stay sort of healthy like I did at the end of the season, when I thought I moved OK and had some good games, then maybe we’ll do two more [seasons]. But we’ll see how it goes.”

There’s more news tonight out of Texas:

Assuming he spends the entire year in Dallas, Nowitzki will join Kobe Bryant as the only players with 20 years of service to the same organization. During an appearance this week on Sirius XM radio, Nowitzki lamented the league’s move away from franchise cornerstones (h/t to Michael Singer of USA Today). “The new NBA is a little different,” he said. “It’s about making money, it’s about winning and not as much about being loyal anymore.” Nowitzki displayed his loyalty this summer by re-signing for $10MM over two years after opting out of a $25MM salary.
Rudy Gay hasn’t played a game yet for San Antonio, but he already calls himself “a Spur for life,” relays Jabari Young of The San Antonio Express-News. Gay agreed to a two-year, $17MM contract this summer that contains an $8.8MM player option for next season, but he sounds fully committed to San Antonio. “I think it was a do-or-die point in my career,” said Gay, who is coming off an Achilles injury that ended his season in January. “I wanted to be with an organization that was known for winning and can help me raise my game to the next level.”
Rockets mentor Mike D’Antoni accepted his Coach of the Year award Friday from the National Basketball Coaches Association, writes Steve Aschburner of NBA.com. D’Antoni was a co-winner along with Miami’s Erik Spoelstra after guiding Houston to a 55-27 record and the third seed in the Western Conference. “The tie was legitimate and there were five or six others who received significant votes,” said NBCA president Rick Carlisle of the Mavericks. “So it really spoke to the quality job that everybody did from top to bottom.”

D’Antoni Captures Coach Of The Year Award

June 26th, 2017 at 9:35pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Mike D’Antoni was named the NBA’s Coach of the Year, which was announced on the TNT awards show Monday night.

D’Antoni led the Rockets to the third-best record in the Western Conference at 55-27 in his first year with the club. The Rockets finished 41-41 in 2015/16. He also won the award in 2005 when he patrolled the sidelines for the Suns.

The Spurs’ Gregg Popovich and Heat’s Erik Spoelstra were the other finalists. The Hoops Rumors staff gave two of the five votes to D’Antoni.

NBA Reveals Award Finalists

May 19th, 2017 at 7:05pm CST by Austin Kent

The NBA is in the process of revealing its finalists for each of the major year-end awards on TNT, the winners of which will be announced at the official award show on June 26.

Below is an ongoing list that we’ll update as the NBA on TNT crew reveals more.

Most Improved Player of the Year
Giannis Antetokounmpo
Rudy Gobert
Nikola Jokic

Hoops Rumors Analysis: MIP

Sixth Man of the Year
Eric Gordon
Andre Iguodala
Lou Williams

Hoops Rumors Analysis: Sixth Man

Rookie of the Year
Malcolm Brogdon
Joel Embiid
Dario Saric

Hoops Rumors Analysis: ROY

Coach of the Year
Mike D’Antoni
Gregg Popovich
Erik Spoelstra

Hoops Rumors Analysis: COTY

Defensive Player of the Year
Rudy Gobert
Draymond Green
Kawhi Leonard

Hoops Rumors Analysis: DPOY

Most Valuable Player of the Year
James Harden
Kawhi Leonard
Russell Westbrook

Hoops Rumors Analysis: MVP

D’Antoni, Spoelstra Share New Coaching Award

May 7th, 2017 at 11:05am CST by Arthur Hill

Houston’s Mike D’Antoni and Miami’s Erik Spoelstra have been announced as co-recipients of the NBA Coaches Association’s first Coach of the Year Award, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. The award is determined by a vote of NBA coaches and is named for Michael H. Goldberg, the longtime director of the organization.

D’Antoni led the Rockets to a 55-27 record and the third seed in the West in his first year in Houston. He turned James Harden into a point guard and unleashed a powerful offense that set a record for most 3-pointers made in a season.

Spoelstra rallied the Heat after a terrible start and led them to a 41-41 record, just missing a playoff berth on a tie-breaker. He was able to reconfigure the lineup in Miami after the loss of Dwyane Wade to free agency and Chris Bosh to a blood clot condition.

The media’s choice for Coach of the Year will be announced at the NBA’s awards show on June 26th.

Southeast Notes: Heat, Plumlee, Hawks

May 4th, 2017 at 10:50pm CST by marksuleymanov

Despite seemingly messy breakups with Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade and missing the playoffs this season, the Heat are not concerned with difficulties of luring free agents to South Beach, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald writes. As Jackson notes, Bosh and the Heat seem to be on good terms despite the controversial circumstances surrounding the former All-Star’s battles with blood clots, which prompted to Heat to not play him this season. Also, an associate of Wade tells Jackson the Miami legend is open to playing for the team again in the future.

However, the team’s ultimate calling card may be its coach, Erik Spoelstra. In addition to coaching the Heat to two NBA titles during his tenure, Spoelstra has created a culture that allows players to thrive. Heat forward James Johnson explained to Jackson that “consistency” is the coach’s strength.

“When I say consistency, I [mean] it’s doing the same thing, not giving you the same minutes every game, but consistently getting on you enough, praising you a little bit, holding me to my word,” Johnson said. “When you get a consistent coach you look up to like coach Spo, it makes things easier.”

Miami’s culture includes rigorous training, which Jackson says will deter certain veteran players who do not want to add mileage to their bodies. As Spoelstra has said, the Heat are “not for everybody.”

Here is more news from the Southeast Division:

The Hornets announced earlier this week that center Miles Plumlee underwent successful arthroscopic debridement on his right knee. The expected recovery for the 28-year-old center is six to eight weeks, so he should be good to go this fall. Plumlee was sent to Charlotte as part of a February deal that included Spencer Hawes and Roy Hibbert going to the Bucks. In 13 games with the Hornets, Plumlee posted totals of 2.4 PPG and 3.2 RPG.
Former Hawks general manager Wes Wilcox was seemingly let go by Atlanta earlier this week, but will remain with the team in a different capacity. However, before that move was announced, Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that Wilcox had been “in contact with other NBA teams and at least one college about other positions.”
Meanwhile, Mike Budenholzer will not retain his title as the Hawks’ president of basketball operations and will instead report — along with Wilcox — to whomever the Hawks hire to oversee basketball operations, per Vivlamore.

Southeast Notes: Spoelstra, Heat, Millsap

April 29th, 2017 at 10:35am CST by Austin Kent

Whenever the time comes that Heat president Pat Riley decides to step down, head coach Erik Spoelstra will be eager to fill the position. Spoelstra recently spoke with Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical on his podcast.

“The short answer would be, I’m a Pat Riley disciple. He’s always pushed me and nurtured me for the next step,” he said, adding that through both good and bad, the Heat feel like a family. The coach tempered expectations that anything imminent could happen, however.

“But, yeah, Pat’s going to go on hopefully for a while though. I think he’s younger now than when he was coaching. […] I want this to be the set up that it is. I feel involved, I’m in every meeting that deals with the [Heat] organization and personnel.”

Spoelstra has served as the head coach of the Heat since 2008 and was an assistant coach for ten years before that.

There’s more from the Southeast Division:

Though they may have ultimately lost, Dennis Schroder‘s performance in the first round of the postseason shows just what the Hawks see in him, writes Michael Lee of The Vertical. “Dennis’ competitive spirit and his competitive nature, I think we’re always going to bet on that first,” head coach Mike Budenholzer said.
With their cap space set to shrink in 2018/19, this is the last chance for the Heat to land a major free agent, Tim Bontemps of the Washington Post writes. Gordon Hayward, Blake Griffin and Paul Millsap could be possible options.
Although it appears they’ll offer Cavaliers general manager David Griffin their president of basketball operations position, John Hammond and David Morway are also on the Magic‘s short-list, Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders tweets.
It’s reasonable to expect Paul Millsap to opt out of his contract this summer but the Hawks forward hasn’t made any decisions about where he’ll go just yet, Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN writes.
The Wizards won’t need a seventh game to close out the Hawks but even if they did, center Ian Mahinmi wouldn’t have played in it, J. Michael of CSN Mid-Atlantic writes. The big man had said that he hoped he would be able to recover from a strained calf in time to play in the first round.