February 7
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
columnist Ira Winderman
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How do you make the best of a bad situation? Example A could be the New Jersey Nets. Even as New Jersey chases infamy with its inglorious record, a case could be made that no team could stand better positioned for 2010 free agency. Depending, of course, on how the ball bounces. In a draft lottery that sets up as all-or-nothing as when the Chicago Bulls landed their point guard of the future in Derrick Rose in 2008, walking away from their home-state lottery in Secaucus with Kentucky guard John Wall could change everything for the Nets. While Miami Heat President Pat Riley has been touting his team as the only major player in free agency with both space for a max player and a max talent ..."
February 7
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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This not only should not have been this difficult, it can't be. Not with a night off the day before and two days off to follow. Now with the Chicago Bulls not only lacking sidelined center Joakim Noah, but also suspending forward Tyrus Thomas for one game for conduct detrimental to the team And not with Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra vowing before the opening tip, "I think we'll have energy for tonight." On a three-game trip that opened against the Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers, this was the red-circle game, the one the Heat had to have if it wanted any chance of going into the All-Star break with a winning record. Now that can't happen, with Saturday's 95-91 loss at the United ..."
January 17
Memphis Commercial Appeal
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Griz coach Lionel Hollins experimented with his lineups for a second straight game, allowing at least four reserves to play together at once Saturday night against the San Antonio Spurs. Hollins, who used a five-man substitution Friday night, said he's trying to develop an otherwise offensively challenged bench. "I've been working with them to see if we can have a five-man group go into the game," Hollins said. "It's something I want to look at." Meanwhile, the Griz haven't abandoned their quest to potentially add another player through free agency or trade. Memphis is one of several teams showing interest in Miami Heat swingman Dorell Wright. The Heat appears to be faced with the choice ..."
January 6
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Miami Heat center Jermaine O'Neal, who sat out Monday's rout of the Atlanta Hawks with ongoing hip and groin issues, went through aggressive shooting drills and corrective exercises Tuesday, but did not practice, leaving his status for Wednesday's game against the Boston Celtics at AmericanAirlines Arena in doubt. "It's not a serious injury, but it's a groin/hip, so those are always a little bit tricky,'' coach Erik Spoelstra said. "It's day to day. He wanted to play last night . . . and is feeling better.'' With a 10-day, six-game road trip to open Friday against the Phoenix Suns, it is more likely that O'Neal will miss his fifth game of the season, and that Joel Anthony again will start, ..."
December 30
Miami Herald
columnist Isreal Gutierrez
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Let's see if this song and dance sounds familiar. A big-name player on the wrong side of his prime becomes available. The Heat, a team that seems to get thrown into every possible rumor, again is considered a possibility because, well, there's a big name available and the Heat has tradable contracts. Fans get into the mix and become enamored with the idea of acquiring the player, which leads to wild ideas that would sound fantastic if this were a fantasy league and not the NBA. It has happened so often with the Heat, and apparently we're dancing again, this time the player being Tracy McGrady. He wants out of Houston, and the Rockets want the same, so here come the ideas of sending ..."
December 14
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Limited to seven minutes in Friday's loss to the Dallas Mavericks due to a strained right hamstring, Miami Heat starting small forward Quentin Richardson was held out of Sunday's game against the Memphis Grizzlies at AmericanAirlines Arena. Richardson was injured while attempting to defend a 3-pointer by Omri Casspi at the close of the third quarter last Sunday in Sacramento. "The problem with hamstring injuries and groin injuries, you can feel like you're 100 percent," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said of playing Richardson on Friday night. "And that's the problem, you can't really tell until you get into full-contact, unpredictable movements of basketball.""
December 1
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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"These," Erik Spoelstra said, "can be some season-changing moments." No, the Miami Heat's forward-thinking coach was not talking about this current skid of five losses in his team's last seven games, but rather the four-game western swing that opens Tuesday night against the Portland Trail Blazers. At 9-7, and with its next three against the Blazers, Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Lakers, teams with a combined 37-15 record, the Heat faces the possibility of falling below .500 for the first time this season. "Out there there's not going to be anybody else but ourselves," Spoelstra said, "and we're going to have lean on each other and trust each other, come together. "It's a great ..."
November 29
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Center Jermaine O'Neal said the delicate balance between team and family could take him away from the Miami Heat in coming days. O'Neal, who rushed back from a family emergency in South Carolina to make it to Friday's game against the Washington Wizards just over two hours before tipoff, said the situation with his seriously ill uncle could have him back in Columbia in coming days. "It could be a situation where it could take me away from the team," he said after Saturday's practice at AmericanAirlines Arena, as the Heat prepared for Sunday's game against the visiting Boston Celtics. O'Neal's circumstances are compounded by the Heat leaving Monday morning for Portland, Ore., where a ..."
November 24
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Erik Spoelstra had the opportunity Sunday against the Hornets. Quentin Richardson still was out and Udonis Haslem was back from the strained left shoulder that had sidelined him for two games. But instead of inserting Haslem into the starting lineup and shifting Michael Beasley to small forward, the second-year coach remained with James Jones as his starting small forward. In two games in place of Richardson, Jones is 3 of 10 from the field, 1 of 7 on 3-pointers, with eight rebounds and five assists. In his two starts, before he was sidelined with his back spasms, Richardson, amid dwindling minutes, was 3 of 6 from the field, with five rebounds and two assists. And in the two games ..."
November 21
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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As one of the NBA's prime 2010 free-agent targets, Toronto Raptors forward Chris Bosh found Friday his turn to be asked about the allure of the Miami Heat's cap cash. "It's all a part of the business. I understand it's going to happen," he said of the questioning, in advance of the teams' meeting at Air Canada Centre. "I think LeBron kind of said it best. You have to be respectful of my teammates and make sure I focus on this season, no matter what happens." Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James reiterated during last week's visit to AmericanAirlines Arena that he did not plan to discuss his impending free agency for the balance of the season. Bosh reiterated Friday that he "doesn't ..."
November 20
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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The next stop on the Miami Heat's 2010 free-agency tour might just have an interested applicant, after all. In advance of the Heat's Friday's game in Toronto, Raptors power forward Chris Bosh, an impending free agent, was ask by AOL's Fanhouse about the possibilities of playing alongside Dwyane Wade next season in South Florida. "Anything is possible, I guess," Bosh said. "I guess that seems to be an attractive place, you know, playing with Dwyane and playing in Miami and everything. I guess if they had the right chemistry, the right guys, that they could persuade guys to get there. But we'll see.""
November 11
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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In a wide-ranging discussion before Tuesday night's game against the Washington Wizards at AmericanAirlines Arena, Miami Heat owner Micky Arison touched on a variety of pressing team issues, including his belief that Dwyane Wade and Pat Riley have long-term futures with the team, and plans to eventually hand over the franchise to his son, Nick. While downplaying 2010 free agency as a subject that he believes has overwhelmed the significance of the current season, Arison also said he believes he will retain his star guard during that phase of the offseason. "I have every indication from Dwyane that this is where he wants to be," Arison said, with Wade holding an opt-out clause at season's ..."
October 23
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Guard John Lucas was released Thursday by the Miami Heat, shortly before non-guaranteed contracts for the coming season began requiring partial payment. The Heat, however, retained power forward Shavlik Randolph, leaving its roster at 15 players, the maximum teams can carry during the regular season. Lucas, Randolph and point guard Carlos Arroyo were the only players on the roster without contracts guaranteed for the entire season. Despite solid performances off the bench early in the preseason, Lucas' role became minimized once Arroyo was acquired last week to provide veteran depth. "It was tough," coach Erik Spoelstra said. "He made it all the way to the last day. He's a great kid. He ..."
October 22
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Apparently Dwyane Wade can turn it on when he wants. Wednesday night, in the Heat's home exhibition finale, Wade wanted. So he scored 14 of the Heat's first 20 points and had 19 by halftime of what turned into a 99-93 victory over the Grizzlies at AmericanAirlines Arena. "I wanted to be aggressive, get my rhythm," he said. Feisty to the point that he was arguing with replacement referees who likely will be replaced by the real thing in time for next week's season opener, Wade pushed and prodded his teammates all the way back from what was an 18-point first-quarter deficit. Wade entered with a 16.3 preseason scoring average on 38.6-percent shooting, coming off of a bruised left calf that ..."
October 21
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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The Miami Heat moved in advance of the league's Oct. 31 deadline when Tuesday it picked up the 2010-11 rookie-scale options on the contracts of 2008 first-round pick Michael Beasley and 2007 first-round pick Daequan Cook. Had the Heat failed to make such a move, each would have become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season. With both working on relatively low-cost contracts, the Heat, even with its desire to maximize its salary-cap space for 2010 free agency, decided to move forward with the options. Beasley, who will earn $4.6 million this season, his second in the league, is now guaranteed a $5 million salary in 2010-11. Cook, who will earn $1.4 million this season, is now ..."
October 16
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Returning close to his college roots, Miami Heat forward Michael Beasley spoke before Thursday night's 97-81 exhibition victory over the New Orleans Hornets about maturity and opportunities lost. Asked by those who covered him during his lone college season at Kansas State whether he might have been better off staying on campus for at least one additional year, Beasley did not necessarily disagree. "Now that I look back on it," he said, "maybe that would have helped. But I can't look back." A year removed from an uneven start to his pro career, Beasley said he is comfortable where he is in his second season with the Heat. "I'm just living my life right now, letting everything fall into ..."
October 13
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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In search of veteran depth at point guard, the Miami Heat didn't have to look far. Instead, after short drive from his Pinecrest home, former Florida International standout Carlos Arroyo joined the Heat in time for Monday's practice at AmericanAirlines Arena. "The opportunity kind of came quick," said an enthused Arroyo. "Ever since I was in college, I always wanted to be a part of the Heat. I went to school here. My wife's from here." Out of the NBA since ending the 2007-08 season with the Orlando Magic, Arroyo spent last season with Euroleague power Maccabi Tel Aviv in Israel. Determined to stay closer to home and get back into the NBA, he agreed to a one-year, non-guaranteed contract, ..."
October 8
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Jermaine O'Neal immediately made sure to quell the concerns. "Not the knees," the Heat center before Wednesday night's 90-86 preseason loss to the Orlando Magic at Amway Arena, "it's not the knees." But it was a game played in the injury absence of O'Neal, and considering the 14th-season veteran's history, that's always a concern. "I'll be back at practice ready to go on Friday," O'Neal said, with the Heat expected to be given Thursday off, before beginning preparations for Sunday's home exhibition opener against the Spurs. "I have no doubt in my mind that I'll be ready to rock and roll at a high level come Sunday." O'Neal has been limited since being kicked in the left foot during the ..."
October 7
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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"Nothing," he says, "surprises me. I've seen it all." Really? Someone this youthful, someone born in the '80s, this whirl of energy who has made Heat training camp so lively? That, behind the barely-filled-out beard, scarcely can be the face of experience. But it is. And it has seen plenty. John Lucas III hardly is the oldest or most-experienced player on the Miami Heat's preseason roster. But combine the stories of each of the 17 others in the group and you would have a difficult time matching what the 26-year-old point guard has lived. A father whose brilliant NBA skills were ravaged by alcohol and cocaine, his whereabouts often unknown for days by his family. A college teammate gunned ..."
September 25
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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wo weeks after Miami Heat President Pat Riley said the team may have to hold veteran center Jermaine O'Neal out of some practice sessions this season, the team added two more big men to its roster for training camp. With O'Neal likely to be given time off during two-a-days to rest his legs, the Heat has added former San Antonio Spurs center Anthony Tolliver and Georgia Tech rookie Alade Aminu to its roster for camp, which opens Monday at AmericanAirlines Arena. Tolliver, 6-9, went undrafted out of Creighton in 2007, splitting 2007-08 between the NBA Development League and the German League. He appeared in 19 games last season with San Antonio, averaging 2.7 points. He also had a 10-day ..."
September 24
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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The Miami Heat appears on the verge of completing its training-camp roster, with plans to sign 6-foot-9 forward Andre Brown to a one-year, non-guaranteed contract. Brown, who appeared in four games early last season with the Charlotte Bobcats, after playing for the Memphis Grizzlies in 2007-08 and Seattle SuperSonics in 2006-07, worked out for the Heat for two weeks earlier this summer. Agent Mark Bartelstein said Heat President Pat Riley had expressed continued interest in getting Brown into camp, which opens Monday at AmericanAirlines Arena. "They've liked him for a while," Bartelstein said. "Pat and I have talked about Andre quite a bit for years." Bartelstein said he placed Brown with ..."
September 23
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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John Lucas III, son of former NBA guard John Lucas, is on the verge of receiving a contract from the Miami Heat to attend the team's training camp. The younger Lucas, a 6-foot point guard who went undrafted out of Oklahoma State in 2005, has been working out at AmericanAirlines Arena along with journeyman forward Shavlik Randolph, who also is expected to receive a contract in time for Monday's start of camp. Lucas split last season between Colorado of the NBA Development League and a team in the Spanish League. He played the previous season in the Italian League, but the two seasons before that he played for the Houston Rockets, including 47 appearances there in 2006-07. Lucas attended ..."
September 11
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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The Miami Heat's will-work-for-food portion of its personnel process included tryouts recently by two players vying for a spot in the team's power rotation. Former Arkansas center Steven Hill, who appeared in one game last season with the Oklahoma City Thunder, and center Paul Davis, who spent the past three seasons with the Los Angeles Clippers, are the latest to receive auditions. Despite the presence of Jermaine O'Neal, Jamaal Magloire, Joel Anthony, Udonis Haslem and Michael Beasley on the roster, Heat President Pat Riley said he is looking to add at least one more power player before the Sept. 28 start of training camp at AmericanAirlines Arena. Even with O'Neal spending recent weeks ..."