Micky Arison Rumors | Hoops Rumors

And-Ones: Hall Of Fame, Brown, Maledon, Lessort, G League

December 19th, 2024 at 4:58pm CST by Tristan Tucker

The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame officially announced its list of eligible candidates for the Class of 2025, including several-first-time nominees (Twitter link). Ten-time All-Star Carmelo Anthony and eight-time All-NBA team member Dwight Howard are among the notable names.

WNBA greats Sue Bird, Sylvia Fowles, Chamique Holdsclaw and Maya Moore are first-time nominees, as are legendary coaches Lisa Bluder, Billy Donovan, Mark Few and Doc Rivers. NBA stars Marc Gasol and Amar’e Stoudemire round out the list of new candidates, while Heat owner Micky Arison is nominated as a contributor. According to a report from The Associated Press, the 2008 U.S. Olympic men’s basketball team was among the repeat nominees.

Along with announcing the list, the Hall has adjusted its waiting period for candidates from three seasons out of the game to two.

“To better recognize the distinguished careers of potential first-ballot nominees in a more timely manner, the board has appropriately shortened the waiting period,” Hall of Fame chairman Jerry Colangelo said. “We are excited about this change and believe that honoring individuals while their contributions are still fresh in people’s minds is both meaningful and impactful.”

This is the first step in the process of enshrinement. Finalists are selected on Feb. 14 in San Francisco during NBA All-Star weekend and the full class will be revealed on April 5 in San Antonio at the NCAA Tournament. There are a total of 189 candidates in various categories, according to the Hall.

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ESPN announced that 91-year-old Hubie Brown will call the final game of his broadcasting career on Feb. 9. That game, between the Bucks and the Sixers, will be jointly called by Brown and Mike Breen. Brown, a two-time NBA Coach of the Year, worked for the Knicks, Grizzlies and Hawks.
Former NBA guard Theo Maledon is reportedly being targeted by Real Madrid, according to a report from Sportando. Maledon is currently playing with French club ASVEL and is fourth in the EuroLeague in points per game (18.8). According to the report, Real Madrid offered a buyout to current guard Xavier Rathan-Mayes with an eye toward giving Maledon a multi-year deal. Maldeon most recently played with the Suns in 2023/24 and also had stints with the Thunder and Hornets after being selected with the 34th overall pick in 2020.
Mathias Lessort, whose draft rights are held by the Knicks, suffered a fibula fracture and will be out for the next four months, according to a report from Eurohoops.net. Lessort has been an impressive defensive force for Greek club Panathinaikos. There’s been some speculation that Lessort, the 50th overall pick in 2017, could make the move stateside at some point — he’s in the final year of his current contract.
The G League Union elected a new executive committee as the league is in the negotiation process of creating its first-ever CBA for players, ESPN’s Tim Bontemps tweets. Robert Baker of the Osceola Magic will serve as president, Yauhen Massalski of the San Diego Clippers will be secretary-treasurer, and College Park’s David Singleton and Salt Lake City’s Josh Pierre-Louis were elected as vice presidents, according to Bontemps (Twitter link).

Heat Notes: Offseason Plan, Luxury Tax, Herro, Butler, Draft

June 20th, 2023 at 5:17pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Heat president Pat Riley will look for additions that could bring a title to Miami but he pledged not to make drastic roster changes, Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald writes.

Riley met the media for his annual postseason press conference on Tuesday.

“We’re not going to take a wrecking ball to a good team that had some real adversity this year that I felt built some strength. We have a good team, and probably a great team,” Riley said. “And so, running it back? Yes. Doing something that can help you with that last step? Yes, if it’s a possibility and if there’s an opportunity without setting you back while you’re moving forward. It’s just onward with us. It’s onward.”

Of course, the Heat could still make a big trade. They’ve been linked to Damian Lillard and would be considered a strong candidate to land him if the star guard asks out of Portland. They were also considered a possible destination for Bradley Beal before the Suns swooped in for the Wizards’ All-Star wing.

Riley wasn’t at liberty to speak about Lillard or Beal due to tampering rules, nor could he talk about specific free agent targets. However, the Heat could move some big salaries (Kyle Lowry, Tyler Herro, Duncan Robinson) if a superstar talent becomes available.

Riley addressed a number of other topics:

The Heat are projected to be over the luxury tax threshold next season, which is projected to be $162MM. Riley said that team owner Micky Arison and CEO Nick Arison are willing to pay the penalty for a championship team. “They’re committed to winning championships,” Riley said. “And we’re in the tax. (GM) Andy [Elisburg] has been already making sure that we’re working around the edges of the tax, trying to put together a competitive team, and we have. … [The Arisons are] committed to doing whatever it takes to fulfill his championship dream. It’s been 10 or 11 years, so we’re getting a little anxious here. We’d like to win another one.”
With Herro’s four-year, $130MM extension kicking in next season, Riley labeled him as one of the franchise’s young anchors along with Bam Adebayo, according to Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel. “Tyler is just an extraordinary scorer and fourth-quarter player, big-time shot-maker. He’s 23 years old. You got to watch (it) with these guys.”
Riley admits he’d like to take some of the pressure off Jimmy Butler shoulders on offense: “I would love to be able to go out there and pick who I want as a perfect complement to him. It’s not that easy, but we will work toward that and I will pat him on the back the next time I see him.”
Ideally, Riley would like to get a versatile player with the Heat’s first-round pick at No. 18. “Probably I would say more overall wing size and length. I mean, that’s what I think everybody is looking for and multiple-position players, especially ball-handling players that are two-way kinds of players.”

Dwyane Wade Joins Jazz Ownership Group

April 16th, 2021 at 12:15pm CST by Luke Adams

Former NBA star Dwyane Wade has purchased a minority ownership stake in the Jazz, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who reports that Wade plans to “take an active role in the franchise and region.” While it’s unclear how sizeable Wade’s share is, Wojnarowski says that NBA rules prevent an ownership stake from being smaller than 1%.

The Jazz confirmed Wade’s investment in a press release.

Wade is joining an ownership group led by Ryan Smith, who purchased a controlling stake in the Jazz from the Miller family in 2020. According to Wojnarowski, Wade met Smith shortly after his retirement as a player in 2019, and the two became fast friends.

“It wasn’t like we wanted more partners; that wasn’t what we were trying to do,” Smith told ESPN. “I want to work with Dwyane on and off the court, on the business side, and so do our partners — because of who he is as a human being and what he’s accomplished. Those are the kinds of people you want around.”

Wade, who won three championships as a member of the Heat, has long talked about his interest in joining an NBA ownership group. While Miami would be an obvious fit, Wade didn’t say whether he and the Heat had serious discussions about the possibility, per Wojnarowski.

Heat owner Micky Arison said in a pair of tweets that he and Wade had previously discussed the idea of having him join the team’s ownership group, but that the veteran guard wasn’t prepared to commit at that time. Arison wished Wade “good luck and much success” with the Jazz, adding that he’ll always consider him a “Heat lifer.”

“The respect that I have for that organization will not go anywhere, the love that I have for the (Heat) fans — that goes nowhere,” Wade said. “But this is about the next phase of my life as an investor, a businessman, an entrepreneur. For me, this is an opportunity to grow.”

Wade envisions having a role in the basketball side of the franchise, according to Wojnarowski, who notes that the former Heat star is good friends with Donovan Mitchell. Participating in free agent meetings or counseling individual players are ways that Wade could become involved with the club, Woj adds. The 39-year-old also hopes to contribute more than just his basketball knowledge.

“Unfortunately, people in my community don’t get this opportunity, and I do not take it lightly to have this opportunity,” Wade said. “To make real change, this is where you have to be — at the top — and Ryan knows that. I’m thankful for him, and I know too that I bring a lot to this partnership outside of just my basketball knowledge and skills.”

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

And-Ones: Social Justice Board, Boatright, Jazz, Moore

November 9th, 2020 at 8:50pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Carmelo Anthony, Avery Bradley, Sterling Brown, Donovan Mitchell and Karl-Anthony Towns are the players chosen to serve on the league’s Social Justice Coalition Board, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania (Twitter links).

The NBA and NBPA agreed to create the group to advance equality and social justice after teams walked out of games in late August to protest a police shooting. Commissioner Adam Silver, deputy commissioner Mark Tatum and NBPA executive director Michele Roberts, as well as owners Micky Arison, Steve Ballmer, Clay Bennett, Marc Lasry and Vivek Randadive and coaches Lloyd Pierce and Doc Rivers.

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Ryan Boatright has signed with Lithuanian club team BC Rytas Vilnius, the team tweets. Boatright, 28, played in Europe last season after spending time in the G League during the 2018/19 season. The former University of Connecticut guard also played in Italy, China and Turkey.
The sale price of the Jazz bodes well for the league’s franchise valuations, Bill Shea of The Athletic notes. The team, along with an arena and a couple of minor-league teams, were sold to Qualtrics founder Ryan Smith for $1.66 billion, and the league’s owners are expected to approve the sale. The valuation falls in line with expectations and doesn’t reflect any pandemic discount, Shea continues. It also reinforces the notion that team values keep going up.
Former Pacers forward Ben Moore has signed with South East Melbourne Phoenix of Australia’s NBL, according to the team. Moore is expected to join the club for preseason training next month. Moore, who also spent time in the Spurs organization, logged two games with Indiana during the 2017/18 season.

Financial Effects Of Pandemic Likely To Impact NBA Offseason

July 27th, 2020 at 3:55pm CST by Luke Adams

A number of team owners around the NBA are feeling the financial effects of the coronavirus pandemic, as Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com writes. Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta, for instance, has seen business fall off precipitously at his restaurants, hotels, and casinos, while Heat owner Micky Arison has had to temporarily shut down his Carnival Cruise Lines.

While some team owners have been hit harder than others by the effects of COVID-19, there’s an expectation that the pandemic will have a league-wide impact on spending this offseason, as Windhorst writes. Some teams may have to make difficult financial decisions that could result in unexpected player movement.

“With few exceptions, no one wants to make long-term commitments right now,” one general manager told ESPN. “You can already feel it coming.”

In addition to the teams that may feel pressure to dump pricey contracts or avoid expensive free agent commitments, some clubs may face financial constraints in the draft. Although selling second-round draft picks remains fairly common, no NBA team has sold a first-round pick since the Nuggets did so with the No. 27 selection in the 2013 draft, according to Windhorst. Some people around the league believe that teams will consider the possibility again in 2020.

“I suspect first-round picks will be for sale in this draft,” a team executive said. “We haven’t really seen that in a decade.”

Here are a few more noteworthy details and quotes from Windhorst’s examination of NBA teams’ finances:

Warriors owner Joe Lacob has told his fellow owners that he’s exploring a deal with Goldman Sachs to raise up to $250MM to manage expenses, per Windhorst. Sources tell ESPN that other team owners are considering ways to raise capital as well, with some – including the Rockets – pursuing legal action against companies that have denied coronavirus-related insurance claims.
Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta recently took out a $300MM loan and is more leveraged than many other owners, since he purchased the franchise fairly recently, but he continues to insist he’s not looking to sell any shares in the team. Brokers who have approached him representing potential bidders have been told the same, reports Windhorst.
Nets owner Joseph Tsai recently sold about 25% of his shares in tech company Alibaba, according to Windhorst. Other owners might not have similar opportunities to raise capital. “I don’t know what will happen, but I may lose $50MM next season,” one owner told Windhorst. “If that happens, I have three options: I could borrow the money, I could sell part of the team or I could do a cash call and me and my partners would have to write checks.”
NBA rules allow team owners to borrow $325MM against the equity in their franchises. A majority of NBA teams – including the Warriors – have maxed out that credit, sources tell Windhorst.
Although the Buss family’s pockets aren’t as deep as some of their fellow owners, the Lakers bring in about $200MM annually from their local TV deal and aren’t expected to have any issues re-signing Anthony Davis, writes Windhorst.

Heat, Wolves Among Latest To Provide Aid To Arena Workers

March 19th, 2020 at 9:00am CST by Luke Adams

The Heat and AmericanAirlines Arena announced on Wednesday that they’ll be providing financial assistance to team and arena part-time staffers who have lost work as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, writes Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel.

Heat owner Micky Arison‘s foundation will be donating an additional $1MM to establish an initiative aimed at aiding employees and addressing other community needs in the coming months, Winderman adds.

Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor also announced this week that he’s pledging $1MM of relief to part-time workers at the Target Center, as Chris Hine of The Star Tribune details.

Miami and Minnesota join most of the rest of the NBA’s teams in having announced plans to assist their part-time arena workers displaced by the hiatus. A small handful of clubs, including the Jazz and Thunder, have yet to announce a formal plan or confirm that plans are in motion, but that isn’t to say that those teams won’t implement a program as well.

As Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune writes, Jazz center Rudy Gobert pledged $200K to part-time arena employees in Utah, but the team has yet to inform its 800+ part-time workers how that donation will be used or whether the franchise itself will be compensating its arena employees for lost games in any way — currently, staffers are only being paid for events they actually worked, according to Larsen, who notes that the Jazz ownership group seems “focused on job placement for their part-time employees, rather than subsidies.”

Heat Notes: Arison, Bosh, Shaq, Reed

September 2nd, 2016 at 11:01am CST by Arthur Hill

Don’t read too much into Heat owner Micky Arison’s “look forward to seeing in camp” tweet to Chris Bosh, cautions Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. Bosh was expected in camp regardless of his immediate playing status, and he still must pass a team physical before being cleared for any action. Bosh’s health and future with the Heat remain uncertain after missing the end of the past two seasons with blood clots, and Winderman suggests that Miami has few options with the veteran power forward and his hefty contract unless there is “an overwhelming consensus” that his NBA career is over.

There’s more news out of Miami:

Bosh may have looked impressive in his on-line workouts, but the Heat need to see him in a contact situation before making a decision on his ability to play with or without medication, Winderman writes in a separate story. That’s why it would be helpful to the team if he is cleared to participate in training camp.
Heat president Pat Riley calls the trade that brought Shaquille O’Neal to Miami in 2004 the most important move in franchise history, Winderman relays in another piece. O’Neal, who will be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame tonight, came to Miami in 2004 in exchange for Lamar Odom, Caron Butler, Brian Grant and two draft picks. He led the Heat to the 2006 title before being traded to Phoenix two years later. “I’ll say this, and I mean this,” Riley said. “Shaq’s acquisition was bigger than any acquisition that we ever made, including the Big Three.”
After appearing in just 39 games with the Nets during his rookie season, Willie Reed hopes he has found the right situation in Miami, according to Joe Beguiristain of NBA.com. The 6’10” power forward signed with the Heat in July, accepting a two-year minimum-salary deal with a player option for the second season. Beguiristain notes that Reed often produced when given an opportunity, and scored 14 points to go with eight rebounds and four blocks in a March 5th game against Minnesota.