Mobile Menu
HEADLINES

Goran Dragic

Heat Notes: Butler, Chalmers, Westbrook, Weber

July 15th, 2016 at 2:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

Heat president Pat Riley reached out to Caron Butler‘s agent, but the team opted for younger players in its flurry of signings last Sunday, writes Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. Riley’s initial call came before Dwyane Wade decided to join the Bulls, Jackson reports, and he hasn’t called since. The Kings waived the 36-year-old Butler last week. He spent one season in Sacramento and appeared in just 17 games.

There’s more news today out of Miami:

  • Riley also decided not to pursue Mario Chalmers, Jackson writes in the same piece. Chalmers spent seven full seasons with the Heat before being traded to Memphis in November for luxury tax relief. He ruptured his right Achilles tendon in March and was subsequently waived by the Grizzlies. Jackson says the Heat were concerned not only about the injury, but about how Chalmers would respond to reduced playing time as a backup for Goran Dragic.
  • Miami would be taking a major risk by trying to trade for Russell Westbrook this season, contends Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. There has been speculation that the Thunder point guard might be available because of his looming free agency next summer and the loss of Kevin Durant, but Winderman argues that the assets the Heat would have to give up in such a deal would make it less likely Westbrook would re-sign. The writer says Oklahoma City would want Dragic and Justise Winslow, which would create two big holes in Miami’s roster. Winderman doesn’t think Riley would consider that deal unless he was assured that Westbrook would stay in Miami past the 2016/17 season.
  • Briante Weber‘s aggressive defense may make him a valuable part of the rotation next season, according to Jason Lieser of The Palm Beach Post. Weber, who suffered a serious right knee injury as a senior at Virginia Commonwealth, spent most of this season with Miami’s D-League affiliate in Sioux Falls. The Heat briefly lost Weber in March when the Grizzlies signed him to a 10-day contract, but he returned to the D-League when that expired and joined Miami’s roster just before the playoffs. After playing just one game for the Heat — and seven total — during his rookie season, Weber has been making an impression in Summer League play. “He’s getting better and better at being our floor leader,” said Heat Summer League coach Juwan Howard. “They’re trying to get into him and make him uncomfortable with ball pressure and picking him up full-court, but Bri’s done an excellent job making decisions. At times he’s overly aggressive, but that’s his nature. I trust him.”
Retweet 8 Share 3 Send via email0

Heat To Sign Wayne Ellington

July 10th, 2016 at 11:50am CST by Arthur Hill
Mar 15, 2016; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Brooklyn Nets guard Wayne Ellington (21) drives the ball during the first quarter against the Philadelphia 76ers at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports

Anthony Gruppuso / USA TODAY Sports Images

Wayne Ellington will sign with Miami, tweets The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The 28-year-old shooting guard is expected to receive more than $12MM over two seasons.

The addition of Ellington reduces the chance that Miami matches Brookyn’s $50MM offer to Tyler Johnson, tweets Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. The Heat now have five guards under contract, as Ellington joins Goran Dragic, Josh Richardson, Briante Weber and Rodney McGruder.

Ellington appeared in 76 games with the Nets after signing with Brooklyn last summer. He started 41 times and averaged 7.7 points in a little more than 21 minutes per game. He has also played for the Timberwolves, Grizzlies, Cavaliers, Mavericks and Lakers in his seven-year NBA career.

Retweet 4 Share 2 Send via email0

Latest On Kevin Durant

July 3rd, 2016 at 10:05pm CST by Arthur Hill

9:59pm: The Heat are still alive in the race for Durant, according to a tweet from InsideHoops.com. A source says the theory that Durant is deciding between the Thunder and Warriors is untrue.

8:43pm: Durant was impressed by the Celtics’ presentation on Saturday and is still “seriously considering” signing with Boston, writes A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.

7:55pm: Durant is not expected to make an announcement before Monday, tweets Sam Amick of USA Today. The final decision will come down to the Thunder and Warriors, according to Royce Young of ESPN.com (Twitter link). A source close to the Warriors told Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated that Golden State pitched “culture, dynasty, style of play” to Durant, but the source wouldn’t be surprised if he stays in Oklahoma City (Twitter link).

3:25pm: Durant spoke over the phone with Warriors executive Jerry West yesterday, Tim Kawakami of the Mercury News tweets. A source told Kawakami that Durant likes the Warriors, but is unsure about leaving the Thunder (Twitter link). Nevertheless, Durant is strongly considering the Warriors and his decision will be released on the Players’ Tribune, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders tweets.

9:05am: Kevin Durant plans to make a decision tonight or Monday, but that’s the only certainty as he prepares to meet his fifth and final suitor, writes Chris Broussard of ESPN.com. Heat representatives will get the last chance to woo Durant this afternoon, following the Celtics and Spurs, who met with him Saturday, and the Warriors and Clippers, who had meetings Friday. The Thunder have requested a final session with Durant, but he and his representatives have not decided whether to grant that.

Officials from the four teams that have talked with Durant so far haven’t been able to determine whether he is leaning toward any of them, Broussard reports. He speculates that the Clippers may have taken themselves out of the running Saturday night by using a big chunk of their cap space on the three-year, $35MM deal they gave to Austin Rivers.

The Celtics may have improved their bargaining position with Saturday’s commitment by Al Horford, according to Broussard. Durant’s agent, Rich Kleiman, had been trying to convince Horford to join Durant in Oklahoma City, and there may be incentive now to team them up in Boston. However, a source told Broussard that while the Horford addition may enter into Durant’s decision, it won’t be a major factor.

Miami will send owner Micky Arison, chief exective officer Nick Arison, team president Pat Riley, coach Erik Spoelstra, GM Andy Elisburg and executive Alonzo Mourning into today’s session with Durant, according to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. Meeting Durant so close to his deadline puts the Heat in a difficult position, tweets Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel, who says Riley’s main goal may be to dissuade Durant from choosing the Celtics.

Jackson says the Heat consider themselves an underdog for Durant, but they have several strategies to take on his $26.5MM first-year salary if he does choose Miami. The easiest would be to trade Goran Dragic and Josh McRoberts without taking salary back, start Hassan Whiteside‘s contract at $20MM rather than $22MM and try to convince Dwyane Wade to accept the approximately $16MM still left.

Durant reportedly flew to Boston on Friday to visit the city, then made a return flight with Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, according to a report from CSNNE. The Celtics were happy with the active role that Brady played in the Durant presentation, writes Rob Bradford of WEEI. Brady joined the Celtics’ contingent along with co-owner Steve Pagliuca, president Danny Ainge and players Marcus Smart and Kelly Olynyk.

Retweet 35 Share 14 Send via email0

Heat Notes: Johnson, Wade, Haslem, McRoberts

July 3rd, 2016 at 9:02pm CST by Arthur Hill

The poison-pill contract that the Nets offered to Tyler Johnson will be difficult for Miami to match, writes Manny Navarro of The Miami Herald. Johnson will receive $50MM over for years, but the deal is heavily backloaded so that most of the money comes in the third and fourth seasons. The payout is $5.628MM in the first season and $5,881,260 in the second, followed by $18,858,765 in season three and $19,631,975 in season four. The Heat already have $70.3MM committed for the 2018/19 season among Chris Bosh, Hassan Whiteside and Goran Dragic. Miami will also need cap space in those years to keep Justise Winslow and Josh Richardson. Heat officials will have three days to make their decision once Johnson signs his deal with Brooklyn, but Whiteside and Richardson have already posted farewell messages on social media (Twitter links).

There’s more tonight out of Miami:

  • The Bucks will meet with Dwyane Wade sometime after the Fourth of July, tweets ESPN’s Marc Stein. Wade began looking at other teams after being unhappy with Miami’s initial contract offer. Milwaukee doesn’t have room to sign Wade to the deal he wants, but it could if it finds a taker for Greg Monroe (Twitter link).
  • If the Heat give approximately $20MM to Wade and don’t land Kevin Durant, they will have to fill the roster with a $2.9MM room exception and minimum contracts, writes Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. Most of the room exception may be needed to re-sign Udonis Haslem. Miami hasn’t pursued Gerald Green since free agency began, but he could become an option if there’s nobody better at a minimum salary. The team appears to have no interest in bringing back Dorell Wright.
  • Miami may want to think twice about sacrificing Josh McRoberts for cap room, writes Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. The Heat may have to move his nearly $5.8MM salary for 2016/17 to create enough cap space to meet Wade’s demands, but if they keep the veteran big man, he might be the starter at power forward next season if Bosh isn’t healthy.
Retweet 4 Share 5 Send via email0

Latest On Dwyane Wade

July 1st, 2016 at 7:08pm CST by Arthur Hill

7:08pm: Wade is in contract talks with the Knicks and Bucks, sources tell Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Wade has a meeting scheduled with the Bucks that will take place sometime next week, Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports on Twitter. A meeting with the Knicks could take place next week as well, Windhorst adds.

Sources tell Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com (Twitter link) that Wade wants to be compensated for the pay cuts he took in Miami. The Heat remain optimistic about bringing Wade back and their plan is not to replace him with Durant should the 2013/14 MVP sign with Miami. If that happens, the team would look to trade Goran Dragic and Josh McRoberts in an attempt to financially take care of Wade.

The Knicks likely won’t have the cap space necessary to provide Wade with his desired contract, after agreeing to sign Joakim Noah to a four-year, $72MM deal, as Sam Amick of USA Today tweets. Of course, Noah’s deal won’t be finalized until after the moratorium, so the possibility of the big man agreeing to take less with the intent of bringing Wade to New York exists.

Wade seems like a strange fit for the Bucks, but he did play his college basketball at nearby Marquette University. Still, after agreeing to sign both Matthew Dellavedova and Mirza Teletovic, Milwaukee will likely have to make a corresponding move to offer Wade a sizable contract.

9:26am: Dwyane Wade‘s contract standoff with the Heat has given other teams hope of signing him, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical. Several GMs believe the situation in Miami is becoming serious and have submitted multi-year offers to Wade’s representatives. Some are planning phone calls with Wade today in an effort to get him to end his 13-year association with the Heat (Twitter link).

Miami has been unable to give Wade a firm offer because of the uncertainty surrounding free agent center Hassan Whiteside and the team’s pursuit of Thunder free agent Kevin Durant. The Heat resolved the Whiteside situation early this morning when the parties agreed on a four-year maximum deal. They will meet with Durant on Sunday.

It was reported earlier this week that Wade became frustrated after his initial talks with Miami and instructed his agents to contact the Spurs and Mavericks about his possible availability. Wade also had contentious talks with the Heat last summer before agreeing to a one-year deal worth $20MM. The 34-year-old averaged 19.0 points, 4.1 rebounds and 4.6 assists in 74 games this season.

Retweet 8 Share 7 Send via email0

Southeast Notes: Brown, Robinson, Kidd-Gilchrist

June 11th, 2016 at 4:07pm CST by Arthur Hill

Former Nets interim coach Tony Brown will be Scott Brooks‘ lead assistant with the Wizards, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical. Sources tell Wojnarowski the deal is currently being finalized. Brown had an 11-34 record in Brooklyn after taking over for the fired Lionel Hollins in January. The Nets parted ways with him when they hired Kenny Atkinson shortly after the regular season ended. Brown started his coaching career as an as assistant with the Trail Blazers during the 1997/98 season and has also worked for the Pistons, Raptors, Celtics, Bucks, Clippers and Mavericks. Toronto assistant Rex Kalamian turned down an offer from the Wizards last week.

There’s more from the Southeast Division:

  • Thomas Robinson, who opted out of his contract with the Nets this week, could be a nice fit with the Wizards, according to Ben Standig of CSNMidAtlantic. The 6’10” power forward, who has been with five teams in his four-year NBA career, was born in Washington, D.C., and could be a low-cost option for a team in need of size. Marcin Gortat and Markieff Morris are the only two Wizards’ big men with guaranteed contracts for 2016/17. Robinson averaged 4.3 points and 5.1 rebounds in 71 games last season. He will be a restricted free agent after opting out of a deal worth $1,050,961.
  • The Hornets‘ Michael Kidd-Gilchrist is focused on training camp after twice tearing the labrum in his right shoulder and missing nearly all of the 2015/16 season, writes Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer. Kidd-Gilchrist, who was limited to seven games during the year, was recently cleared for on-court activities and vows to be healthy when training camp begins. “I’m shooting, I’m lifting, I’m running,” he said. “I’ll be ready for next season.” The Hornets have him under contract for four more years.
  • Dwyane Wade and Josh Richardson are the only Heat players who will definitely be on the roster next season, contends Ira Winderman of the Sun-Sentinel. Tyler Johnson is probably third on that list, Winderman writes, unless someone offers him huge money in free agency. Among the rest of the roster, Goran Dragic could be dealt to open cap space, Chris Bosh has ongoing health problems and Justise Winslow and Josh McRoberts could be trade pieces. Everyone else is either a free agent or has a contract that isn’t fully guaranteed.
Retweet 10 Share 1 Send via email0

Southeast Notes: Dragic, Lee, Wizards

June 7th, 2016 at 8:03pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Heat went to a small-ball approach this past season out of necessity to due injuries, but the experiment may continue in 2016/17 in order to better maximize the talents of Goran Dragic, Jason Lieser of The Palm Beach Post writes. “[Coach] Erik [Spoelstra] did a great job putting something together that was very coherent and opened up the floor for our best players,” team executive Pat Riley said. “It’s not a secret that some things did look different after that. How he decides to play next year will be determined by what he sees in October in training camp. When you talk about uptempo basketball … your offense is only as good as what you do at the defensive end. If you want to explode out of there, then you’ve gotta make some stops and rebound the ball.”

Here’s more from the Southeast Division:

  • The Wizards held workouts today for Dorian Finney-Smith (Florida), Tim Quarterman (LSU) and Mike Tobey (Virginia), J. Michael of CSNMid-Atlantic.com relays.
  • Also working out for the Wizards today were Nathan Boothe (Toledo), David Walker (Northeastern) and Abdel Nader (Iowa State), Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops tweets.
  • Hornets swingman Courtney Lee, who is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, says he can see himself playing in the league for many years to come, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders relays (via Twitter). “I think I can ride it out for another seven to eight years. You can play in the league a long time if you can put the ball in from [3],” Lee, 30, said.
  • With a number of young big men on the roster, the Hornets may be best served to allow Al Jefferson to depart as an unrestricted free agent this summer and concentrate on adding outside shooting instead, Keith P. Smith of RealGM opines in his offseason preview for Charlotte.
Retweet 5 Share 3 Send via email0

Southeast Notes: Whiteside, Dragic, Craig

May 29th, 2016 at 11:23am CST by ChrisCrouse

Hassan Whiteside has a real chance of receiving a max contract this summer, as one scout told Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel. Whiteside’s offensive ability is a major reason why he will be able to command such a deal. “He is a much better version than [Bismack] Biyombo. He can score. You’re not playing four on five,” the scout told Winderman.

Here’s more from the Southeast Division:

Retweet 7 Share 3 Send via email0

And-Ones: D-League, Blatt, Dragic, NBPA

May 24th, 2016 at 2:14pm CST by Luke Adams

Oshkosh officials are mulling the possibility bringing a D-League franchise to the city, according to a report from NewsTalk 1150 WHBY. The Bucks, in search of their own D-League team, would like to have an affiliate within two hours of Milwaukee, and put out a request for proposals — Oshkosh city officials are considering whether or not to move forward with the idea and submit a proposal to the NBA.

Here’s more from around the NBA:

  • Former Cavaliers head coach David Blatt doesn’t intend to take the 2016/17 season off, and is currently more likely to accept a head coaching job overseas than to take an assistant job in the NBA, as he tells Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today. “I don’t see myself not being a head coach somewhere but you never know,” Blatt said. “I’m going to coach next year. I’m not going to sit out. It’s not in my nature. I want to work,” he said. “I’ll be back somewhere. Could be anywhere.”
  • In the wake of Jeff Hornacek‘s offer from the Knicks, who are expected to formally hire him as their head coach soon, Ken Berger of CBSSports.com revisits Hornacek’s time in Phoenix and provides an interesting tidbit related to a former Suns player. According to Berger, Hornacek spoke to Goran Dragic and secured a commitment from the point guard, who said he’d re-sign with the Suns when his contract expired — days later, Phoenix traded him to the Heat.
  • The National Basketball Players Association has hired Jefferies, an investment banking firm, to advise the union during labor talks with the league, tweets Scott Soshnick of Bloomberg Sports. Jefferies will identify current and future revenue for the NBPA, per Soshnick.
  • Within his weekly Morning Tip feature, NBA.com’s David Aldridge explores the impact of the draft lottery results and takes an in-depth look at how teams approach head coaching searches.
  • A pair of ESPN.com articles profile two prospects projected to come off the board at the top of the draft, with David Thorpe examining Ben Simmons‘ potential, while Chad Ford and Kevin Pelton (Insider link) take a closer look at whether Dragan Bender has the potential to crack the top two picks.
Retweet 7 Share 1 Send via email0

Heat Notes: Durant, Deng, Johnson

May 23rd, 2016 at 9:17am CST by Dana Gauruder

Oklahoma City’s surprising playoff run means there’s virtually no chance that Kevin Durant will land with the Heat as a free agent, Dave Hyde of the Sun Sentinel opines. Unless he’s desperate to get out of Oklahoma City, Durant has no real incentive to leave a team that can win championships, Hyde continues. While the Heat still must make an effort to contact Durant during free agency, it’s now clearcut that re-signing center Hassan Whiteside is their biggest offseason priority, Hyde adds.

In other news regarding the Heat:

  • Retaining free agent small forward Luol Deng will be difficult if the Heat manage to retain Whiteside, according to Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel. It will be tough to make the salary-cap math work in that scenario, as Deng likely will have suitors willing to immediately pay a number the Heat would hesitate to match while wooing Whiteside, Winderman continues. Starting point guard Goran Dragic could be traded to free up cap space, while Dwyane Wade is likely to finish his career in Miami, Winderman adds while examining the roster.
  • Restricted free agent Tyler Johnson might interest the point-guard starved Knicks, Marc Berman of the New York Post speculates. Johnson is quite versatile and would be a good fit if New York continues to run the triangle offense under new coach Jeff Hornacek.
  • Continuity under team president Pat Riley and a stable coaching staff are the Heat’s greatest assets, Hyde writes in a separate piece. The belief that the Heat will regain their status as a prime title contender starts with Riley, according to Hyde, adding that Riley’s biggest decision this summer is whether the team should splurge on an outside free agent or wait until next year.
Retweet 9 Share 2 Send via email0
Load More Posts