Udonis Haslem Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Heat Re-Sign Udonis Haslem

July 18th, 2014 at 3:54pm CST by Chuck Myron

FRIDAY, 3:54pm: The deal is official, the team announced.

“Udonis Haslem has been a fixture in Miami over the last 11 years,” Heat president Pat Riley said in the team’s statement. “He’s a team player, an encompassing all-purpose player, that would play just about any position or role in order to win. It’s been such a privilege and honor to have him with the organization and I’m so happy that he decided to come back.”

TUESDAY, 2:57pm: The Heat and Udonis Haslem have agreed a deal, a source tells Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel (Twitter link). Miami will use its $2.732MM room exception, Winderman adds, so presumably that will be Haslem’s first-year salary on the deal. The room exception allows for a contract of up to two years, but it’s unclear if Haslem’s getting a second season.

The 34-year-old Miami native had appeared close to a deal in recent days, but there always seemed little chance he would leave the Heat. He winds up with little more than half of the salary he would have made if he had opted in for $4.62MM in June, but he chose to opt out in an apparent attempt to give the Heat a better shot at re-signing LeBron James. That didn’t happen, but Haslem will return as the Heat welcome Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and others who were a part of the team during LeBron’s tenure in Miami.

The Heat’s commitment to the client of Henry Thomas, who also represents Wade and Bosh, didn’t waver even as they renounced Haslem’s Bird Rights to clear cap room. Haslem had a reduced role for Miami this past season, averaging 3.8 points and 3.8 rebounds in 14.2 minutes per game, but he made 18 starts in the regular season and six in the playoffs as coach Erik Spoelstra juggled his rotation.

Heat Notes: LeBron, Bosh, Chalmers, Wade

July 15th, 2014 at 12:00pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Bulls were among the teams with which agent Rich Paul took meetings to discuss LeBron James during the first week of free agency, as Ramona Shelburne and Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com reveal in a behind-the-scenes look at LeBron’s choice. Regardless, James was no longer willing to accept being underpaid, as Windhorst examines in a separate piece. James decided before free agency began that he’d take a max contract, and no matter where he would end up, he would demand a deal with a player option after year one, Windhorst writes. James wants to continue to sign short-term deals for the foreseeable future to maintain flexibility in case the maximum salary jumps or is eliminated in the next collective bargaining agreement, as Windhorst explains. He also wants to keep the pressure on Cavs brass to improve the team around him, the ESPN scribe adds. Here’s more on the Heat as they pick up the pieces after LeBron’s departure:

It wasn’t merely a two-team race between the Rockets and Heat for Chris Bosh, as the Nuggets, Suns and Lakers all made offers to the No. 3 player in the Hoops Rumors Free Agent Power Rankings, reports Tom Haberstroh of ESPN.com.
The Heat’s contract with Mario Chalmers calls for him to make $4MM for this coming season and $4.3MM in 2015/16, Windhorst tweets. The ESPN scribe pegs the likely salary for Dwyane Wade at $15MM based on the Heat’s other moves this summer and the cap space the team still has available (Twitter link).
Miami renounced its rights to Ray Allen, Udonis Haslem Michael Beasley, Toney Douglas, James Jones, Rashard Lewis, Greg Oden and the retired Shane Battier and Juwan Howard, tweets Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders. That’ll make it difficult to re-sign Allen, but the team continues moving toward a new deal with Haslem, according to Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel. The Heat would likely use either cap space or the $2.732MM room exception on Haslem.

Heat Close To Signing Wade, Haslem

July 12th, 2014 at 6:45pm CST by Chuck Myron

SATURDAY, 6:45pm: The agent that represents both Wade and Haslem tells Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel that he is working to complete deals for both of his clients in Miami. Presumably, that’s Henry Thomas of the Creative Artists Agency.

FRIDAY, 4:52pm: The Heat are making a strong pursuit of Dwyane Wade now that Chris Bosh has committed to return, and they’re trying to complete short-term contracts with both Wade and Udonis Haslem, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter links).

Wade opted out of about $42MM over two years last month in an apparent attempt to help the Heat retain LeBron James, who agreed today to sign with the Cavs. Haslem opted out of $4.62MM for next season, but he, like Wade, would be hard-pressed to find comparable salaries on the market, given their declining abilities. Both have played exclusively for the Heat during their NBA careers, but it’s not clear whether the Heat will approach the money they passed up when they declined their options.

The 32-year-old Wade still seems capable of commanding eight-figure salaries, since he still averaged 9.0 points, 4.7 assists and 4.5 rebounds even given his knee trouble. The Bulls gauged Wade’s interest in signing a deal that would bring him back to his native Chicago, but Wade reportedly wouldn’t go for that.

Haslem, who was in and out of the Heat’s rotation this past year, has a market value that probably no more than the minimum salary at this point. Still, I wouldn’t be surprised if Haslem, a client of Henry Thomas, just like Wade, winds up with a deal for somewhat more than that from the Heat, even if it doesn’t come close to the $4.62MM he passed up.

Southeast Rumors: Stephenson, Deng, Wade

July 12th, 2014 at 5:42pm CST by Charlie Adams

Lance Stephenson will be targeted by multiple teams in the coming days, reports Sean Deveney of The Sporting News. The Hornets had their offer sheet for Gordon Hayward matched by the Jazz, and a league source tells Deveney that Charlotte’s secondary plans of upgrading their roster will bring a Stephenson pursuit to the forefront of the free agency landscape. Here’s more out of the Southeast..

The Heat are making progress in their pursuit of Luol Deng, writes Marc Stein of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Deng doesn’t have an offer from Miami yet but expects to talk with the team today, tweets Sam Amick of USA Today.
Meanwhile, the Hawks, who were rumored to have interest in Deng, likely won’t be making a deal with the small forward, since the two sides are a ways apart on the dollar amount of a potential contract, reveals Amick (on Twitter)
Both Dwyane Wade and Udonis Haslem are negotiating the length and salary of deals to return to the Heat, tweets Ethan J. Skolnick of Bleacher Report. The pair are expected to remain in Miami on multi-year contracts after opting out to restructure around LeBron James, who left for Cleveland.
The Hornets pursuit of Marvin Williams was put on hold while Charlotte waited for the Jazz to officially match their offer sheet for Hayward, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Presumably, those negotiations will resume now that Utah has matched the Hayward deal.

Cray Allred contributed to this post.

LeBron James Increasingly Mulling Cavs Return

July 7th, 2014 at 8:20am CST by Chuck Myron

LeBron James is thinking more and more about the Cavs as he decides where to sign, sources tell Brian Windhorst and Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Cleveland’s brass is confident that James is receptive to the pitch they made to agent Rich Paul last week, as the ESPN scribes detail. Still, the player atop our 2014 Free Agent Power Rankings harbors lingering ill feelings over Cavs owner Dan Gilbert’s reaction to his 2010 departure, despite a degree of reconciliation between the two as time has passed, according to Windhorst and Stein.

The Cavs are centering their case for LeBron on their capability for growth and improvement not just this summer but in years to come, with as many as three first-round picks in 2015 and young, team-controlled talent, like Kyrie Irving and Andrew Wiggins, Windhorst and Stein write. Cleveland is planning to point to Brendan Haywood‘s contract as another of their weapons, as the ESPN duo explains. Haywood, who’s headed to Cleveland via trade, has a salary of more than $2.2MM for 2014/15, but the final season of his contract is a non-guaranteed salary of more than $10.5MM, a vestige of Haywood having been claimed off amnesty waivers in 2012. That bloated non-guaranteed salary makes Haywood’s deal a valuable expiring contract this coming season or, as Windhorst and Stein point out, a weapon for a sign-and-trade next summer.

The Cavs don’t possess the cap flexibility to give James a max contract as their books currently stand. Rather than waiving Anderson Varejao‘s partially guaranteed contract to create the necessary cap space, they prefer to deal Jarrett Jack, as Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reported Sunday. They have a deal in place to trade Jack to the Nets provided the teams can find a third club willing to absorb Marcus Thornton, according to other reports.

Heat president Pat Riley will reportedly meet this week with James in an effort to keep him in Miami. The Heat have eyed significant free agents along the lines of Marcin Gortat, Kyle Lowry, Luol Deng and even Carmelo Anthony, but they don’t think they need to add a star to convince James, Wade and Bosh to re-sign, according to Sean Deveney of The Sporting News. Instead, they’re merely looking for upgrades in the roles that Mario Chalmers, Udonis Haslem and Shane Battier have played in the past few years, Deveney writes.

Heat Big Three Will Give Riley Time To Upgrade

July 1st, 2014 at 12:48am CST by Zachary Links

12:48am: In an update to his story, Wojnarowski writes that Bosh, Wade, and Udonis Haslem have the framework of deals in place to remain with Miami, arming Riley with his limitations within the salary cap to sign talent, league sources told Yahoo Sports.

“Everybody has their [contract] number and has left a little bit of room to let [Riley] maneuver,” one source briefed on the contract discussions said.

With that bit of space, Riley plans to look into free agents including Marcin Gortat and Marvin Williams.

8:16pm: As free agency starts, LeBron James, Chris Bosh, and Dwyane Wade plan to give Pat Riley a window to enact his plan for upgrading the team’s supporting cast, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter).

Of course, much of what Riley can do will depend on how much breathing room he has to operate with. There was some hope that James would take less than the max deal to help the Heat reload, but earlier today we learned that’s not in the cards. LeBron met with Wade and Bosh to discuss salaries over the weekend, so it will be up to Wade and Bosh to take discounts if the Heat are going to add a free agent of note this summer. Both Bosh and Wade, along with LeBron, took less than the max to sign with Miami in 2010, so it remains to be seen if they’ll take another pay cut.

Teams will be blowing up all three of their phones when the clock strikes midnight tonight, but LeBron, Wade, and Bosh will give Miami an opportunity to prepare a battle plan before they consider going elsewhere.

Haslem Opts Out, Wade And Bosh To Follow?

June 28th, 2014 at 10:13am CST by Cray Allred

Udonis Haslem has opted out of the the final year of his contract, tweets Ethan J. Skolnick of Bleacher Report. Skolnick suggests that the move is a part of a concerted strategy by the Heat’s Big Three to provide cap flexibility in Miami, and that Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh will exercise their early termination clauses for the same purpose. Haslem will forgo $4.6MM in salary for 2014/15 in hopes of re-signing a multi-year deal that rewards him financially while giving the Heat some much needed breathing room as it seeks to retain and build around its championship core (all Twitter links).

As soon as LeBron James terminated his contract with Miami for this season, the onus shifted to the Heat management and players to find a way to convince the league’s best player of their viability as a long-term contender. Haslem shares representation with Wade and Bosh, and had the trio opted to remain on their original contracts, there would have been virtually no room for team president Pat Riley to significantly improve the roster outside of re-signing aging veterans.

While Bosh has maintained his willingness to accept a reduced deal in order to keep the team in tact, Wade has been mum on his decision. Wade stands to sacrifice the most by terminating his deal, as he would give up over $41.8MM over the next two years in salary. That’s a number he is very unlikely to fetch on the open market, especially after a poor showing in the Finals despite regimented rest to keep him fresh throughout the year.

Heat Likely To Pursue Carmelo Anthony

June 12th, 2014 at 3:23pm CST by Charlie Adams

3:23pm: Bosh tells Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald that he, Wade and James have never discussed the idea of recruiting Anthony to join them on the Heat, casting the idea of all four playing together next season as “very, very unlikely.”

THURSDAY, 8:13am: Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel downplays the notion of Miami making a run at Anthony, writing in his mailbag column that while the Heat are thinking about trying to sign him, the same is true of Miami and virtually every other potential free agent. Winderman doesn’t think the stars would give up enough money to make the possibility feasible within the Heat’s budget.

WEDNESDAY, 6:52pm: The Heat will attempt to turn their “big three” into a “big four” by making a run at Carmelo Anthony this summer, sources tell Brian Windhorst and Marc Stein of ESPN. ‘Melo holds a player option for the 2014/15 season that he would need to decline before Miami could purse him in free agency, and we heard earlier today that Knicks were pitching a run at LeBron James in the summer of 2015 to try and persuade ‘Melo into sticking around in New York.

In order for such a scenario to come to fruition, James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh would need to exercise the early termination options in their contracts this summer and then re-sign with the team at a discount. Reports have suggested that the trio of All-Stars were interested in opting out to search of more lucrative deals, but sources tell Stein and Windhorst that the “leading players” of the team, presumably the Big Three, have started to explore their options for creating sufficient financial flexibility to make a run at ‘Melo feasible.

Since the only contract guaranteed to be on Miami’s books next year is Norris Cole‘s $2MM pact, the Heat could find themselves with more cap room than any other team this summer. Cooperation from Udonis Haslem and Chris Andersen, both of whom possess player options, is instrumental in the pursuit of Anthony as well, but it’s certainly feasible the Heat find a way to clear enough room to make Anthony a tempting offer.

James, Wade, Bosh, and Anthony have at least discussed the idea of playing together one day, writes Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated (on Twitter), who also tweets that while the idea of the quartet of stars joining forces might be a hard one to swallow, it isn’t out of the realm of possibility. Meanwhile, Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio opines via Twitter that there’s “no way” ‘Melo joins the Heat this summer. If ‘Melo were to sign in Miami this offseason, the Heat would lay claim to four of the top five selections of the 2003 draft.

And-Ones: Young, Cavs, Pistons, Turner

April 13th, 2014 at 8:18pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Kentucky freshman James Young hasn’t made a decision on if he’s entering the NBA Draft yet, reports The Kentucky Advocate Messenger. Young’s godfather, Sean Mahone said, “I am not even certain what the deadline is for deciding. That shows how we are not fixated on the draft. That is just an innocent admission of where we are and what we have been thinking about. It’s just been chaos the last few weeks during this incredible run with a lot of late night worries and anxiety and then some great, great moments. That was our focus, not next year.”

Southeast Rumors: Haslem, Brand, Magic

April 4th, 2014 at 4:01pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Hawks can go a long way toward the playoffs if they win at home tonight against the Cavs, while a loss puts Atlanta in trouble. The Southeast Division could have as many as four teams in the playoffs, with the Heat leading the way, as usual. Here’s the latest on the Heat and their division rivals:

A source tells Bleacher Report’s Ethan Skolnick that the Heat fielded offers for Udonis Haslem before the deadline this year, and Mario Chalmers and others in the locker room are glad the team didn’t deal away Haslem and mess with its chemistry.
Elton Brand still hasn’t made up his mind about returning for a 16th NBA season next year, tweets Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The Hawks center will be a free agent at the end of the season.
The players the Magic acquire in the offseason could determine whether the team continues its experiment with rookie Victor Oladipo at point guard, coach Jacque Vaughn told reporters, including Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel.