Miami, July 19 – Not everything is clear heading into the upcoming season for recently acquired HEAT guard Mike Miller. Miller, who signed with the HEAT on July 16, doesn't know if he will be starter or a reserve. And with no team practices, he's still not totally familiar with the HEAT's system or schemes yet.
But with the Big Three of Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, and Chris Bosh as his teammates, one thing is clear--he will be open, and a lot.
"There should be a lot of open looks," Miller said during Monday's teleconference with Miami media. "There's no question about it."
The 10-year pro ranked second in the NBA last season with the Washington Wizards, connecting on a career-best 48 percent from downtown. Despite spending all but one season of his NBA career as a starter--the lone exception being when he came off the bench 65 times for the Grizzlies during the 2005-06 season--Miller said Monday that he is not opposed to playing a reserve role again.
Miller was the runaway winner for 2005-06 Sixth Man of the Year.
He also admitted that when he signed with the HEAT last week that HEAT President Pat Riley did not mention his specific role on the team.
"We haven't discussed it," he said. "We discussed the possibilities of the kind of team we could put out there at different times of the game, if you want to go big, want to go small."
If coming off the bench means playing behind Wade and James, the former Rookie of the Year said his is fine with that.
"Yeah, I think we can chalk those guys in as the starters," he jokingly said. "It'll probably be a role that I'll play and I have no problem with that.
"I don't think it will be a hard adjustment," he continued. "I think the sixth-man role was something that was fun for me, anyways. I think it's something that obviously is different than starting.
Signing with the HEAT pairs Miller up with college roommate and teammate, Udonis Haslem. The two helped lead Florida to the 2000 NCAA title game against Michigan State. Miller said the two former Gators have talked for years about the chance to be teammates one more time.
"To give us a chance to do it again, it's just an exciting time. He's one of my best friends, obviously, one of favorite teammates of all time."
The two may have come up short on college's biggest stage. Now the duo must focus in on the NBA's biggest prize--an NBA Championship.
"We felt like we had some unfinished business at Florida," he said.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
HEAT Signs Juwan Howard
MIAMI, July 20 – The Miami HEAT announced today that they have signed free agent forward Juwan Howard. Per club policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.
“This is a great addition for us,” said HEAT President Pat Riley. “We feel that Juwan’s ability to play both the four and five spot will be complimentary to what we have put together. He also gives us incredible professionalism and is a perfect fit behind Chris Bosh and Udonis Haslem.”
“This is a great opportunity in order to play in the City of Miami for the HEAT organization,” said Howard. “I’m looking forward to working hard this upcoming season and contributing in any way I can toward the success of the team both on and off the court.”
After 14 years, Pat Riley finally has Juwan Howard. Howard joined the Miami Heat on Tuesday, signing a deal that won't raise the ire of NBA officials - unlike his first agreement with Riley. In July 1996, Howard signed a $100 million, seven-year contract with Miami that was ultimately voided by the league because the Heat had gone over the salary cap.
After all this time, Riley thinks Howard will fit his team again. And for a veteran's minimum salary, the NBA won't complain either.
Dwyane Wade on Late Night
Dwyane Wade went on Jay Leno last night to recruit 84-year old legendary comedian Don Rickles to the Miami HEAT. The NBA superstar also polished off some his own vintage rap for the audience. L2MS
Monday, July 19, 2010
All The Changes And The Heat Still Need A True Point Guard
LeBron James will play some point guard for the Miami Heat. So will Dwyane Wade, as he has throughout his NBA career. Mike Miller will likely do some ballhandling as well.
Thing is, none of them are true point guards.
And that means this Heat summer of change still has some things left to address -- particularly finding a starter at the point spot.
Mario Chalmers is under contract, Carlos Arroyo is expected to re-sign with the Heat and there's some talk of a possible Miami reunion with 2006 title-team point guard Jason Williams. Whomever it is, the next starter for the Heat will inherit the keys to what could be one of basketball's most dynamic offenses with Wade, James and Chris Bosh.
Chalmers' offseason took a hit when he badly sprained his left ankle while working out earlier this month, and he could be in a cast for up to three more weeks. When training camp opens in late September, he's expected to be fully ready to work.
"I think Mario is someone we're going to depend on a lot,'' Wade said.
Thing is, none of them are true point guards.
And that means this Heat summer of change still has some things left to address -- particularly finding a starter at the point spot.
Mario Chalmers is under contract, Carlos Arroyo is expected to re-sign with the Heat and there's some talk of a possible Miami reunion with 2006 title-team point guard Jason Williams. Whomever it is, the next starter for the Heat will inherit the keys to what could be one of basketball's most dynamic offenses with Wade, James and Chris Bosh.
Chalmers' offseason took a hit when he badly sprained his left ankle while working out earlier this month, and he could be in a cast for up to three more weeks. When training camp opens in late September, he's expected to be fully ready to work.
"I think Mario is someone we're going to depend on a lot,'' Wade said.
Doubters, naysayers serve as motivation for Wade
Dwyane Wade is keeping track. He's heard analysts say this Miami Heat lineup will be a flop. He's heard other players lash out over the way LeBron James made his decision. He's heard executives from other teams list Boston and Orlando as the teams to beat in the Eastern Conference.
All duly noted in Wade's mind.
He's not bothered nor angered, he says. But at the Summer Groove charity game Wade co-hosted Sunday with Alonzo Mourning, he acknowledged that when the Heat convene for training camp in late September, the naysayers will serve as motivation for himself, for James, for Chris Bosh and everyone else inside the reloaded Miami locker room.
"My whole career is built on fuel,'' Wade said. "It's always been there. It's not going to change what I do with my life. It's not going to change the way I am as a person. But it fuels you. And we all need that. Every athlete, every competitor needs something to fuel them. It's going to happen throughout the year.''
After an offseason with little time to relax, Wade got back to doing what he prefers Sunday - playing basketball. With a dozen NBA pals, Wade entertained a crowd of about 15,000 fans in a glorified exhibition of dunking, 3-pointers and a halftime concert by Flo Rida. Common, the Grammy-winning rapper, was on one bench and boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. coached Wade's team.
Mayweather wouldn't talk about the status of talks with Manny Pacquiao for the fight that the boxing world most wants to see. But ask him about the prospects of Wade, James and Bosh playing together, and Mayweather spoke volumes.
"Hopefully, LeBron James has the same chemistry with the Heat that he had with the Cavaliers,'' Mayweather said. "Maybe a little bit better.''
James wasn't there for the festivities Sunday, nor was Bosh. But there has clearly been a giant spike in Heat buzz since they all announced they would play together. Outside the arena for the charity, parking lots that typically charge $10 a spot for NBA games wanted $20. Fans begged for autographs, and Wade said there was more excitement than after the 2006 title.
"It's going to be crazy,'' former Heat forward Dorell Wright said.
He would know.
Wright was one of the players who left Miami this summer to make room for all the upgrades to the roster. He's a close friend of Wade, who is a godfather to Wright's son. But when Golden State made Wright an offer, he decided that it was time for a new beginning.
"I'm just glad I'm getting out of the way,'' Wright said.
The new nameplates are already up in the Miami locker room. "James 6'' and "Bosh 1'' have already been installed just down from Wade's cubicle. The proximity of the stars, within about 12 feet of each other, isn't sitting well with Wade, who joked the new arrangement won't work.
It's his lone complaint of the summer.
The Heat kept Udonis Haslem, Joel Anthony and Jamaal Magloire, traded Michael Beasley and added Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Mike Miller. Deals with Magloire and Juwan Howard will be announced later this week. Carlos Arroyo is on the cusp of returning, and James Jones said Sunday that he'll be coming back as well - even though it'll be at a lower salary.
"I have to come back. This is not something I could pass up,'' Jones told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. "This is too much of an opportunity to bypass.''
In a few days, Miami has gone from a young team to a veteran one with title aspirations.
"When it comes to the top players and the excitement of players, you can't put a price tag on experience and we're bringing that in with guys like Juwan and Big Z and Mike Miller and of course UD coming back,'' Wade said. "We went last year and the last two years of having a pretty young team of guys. Now we're a veteran-type team.''
And that team will have a bulls-eye, Wade said. He expects that when the NBA schedule comes out in a few weeks, teams around the league will check first to see when they're playing the two-time defending champion Los Angeles Lakers, then when they'll face the Heat.
"We're not even the champions but we're going to get that kind of attention from teams,'' Wade said. "It's a respect factor.''
That "respect factor,'' as he put it, is what matters more than any doubters.
Wade knows what Miami will have in the locker room, and to him, that's more important than what any outside entity might say about the Heat summer of 2010.
"I'm not really concerned about what people say any more,'' Wade said. "I've made my comments. Inside here, we know how competitive we're going to be. At the end of the day, we've got to play the game of basketball. We'll all see then. There's not much to say.''
All duly noted in Wade's mind.
He's not bothered nor angered, he says. But at the Summer Groove charity game Wade co-hosted Sunday with Alonzo Mourning, he acknowledged that when the Heat convene for training camp in late September, the naysayers will serve as motivation for himself, for James, for Chris Bosh and everyone else inside the reloaded Miami locker room.
"My whole career is built on fuel,'' Wade said. "It's always been there. It's not going to change what I do with my life. It's not going to change the way I am as a person. But it fuels you. And we all need that. Every athlete, every competitor needs something to fuel them. It's going to happen throughout the year.''
After an offseason with little time to relax, Wade got back to doing what he prefers Sunday - playing basketball. With a dozen NBA pals, Wade entertained a crowd of about 15,000 fans in a glorified exhibition of dunking, 3-pointers and a halftime concert by Flo Rida. Common, the Grammy-winning rapper, was on one bench and boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. coached Wade's team.
Mayweather wouldn't talk about the status of talks with Manny Pacquiao for the fight that the boxing world most wants to see. But ask him about the prospects of Wade, James and Bosh playing together, and Mayweather spoke volumes.
"Hopefully, LeBron James has the same chemistry with the Heat that he had with the Cavaliers,'' Mayweather said. "Maybe a little bit better.''
James wasn't there for the festivities Sunday, nor was Bosh. But there has clearly been a giant spike in Heat buzz since they all announced they would play together. Outside the arena for the charity, parking lots that typically charge $10 a spot for NBA games wanted $20. Fans begged for autographs, and Wade said there was more excitement than after the 2006 title.
"It's going to be crazy,'' former Heat forward Dorell Wright said.
He would know.
Wright was one of the players who left Miami this summer to make room for all the upgrades to the roster. He's a close friend of Wade, who is a godfather to Wright's son. But when Golden State made Wright an offer, he decided that it was time for a new beginning.
"I'm just glad I'm getting out of the way,'' Wright said.
The new nameplates are already up in the Miami locker room. "James 6'' and "Bosh 1'' have already been installed just down from Wade's cubicle. The proximity of the stars, within about 12 feet of each other, isn't sitting well with Wade, who joked the new arrangement won't work.
It's his lone complaint of the summer.
The Heat kept Udonis Haslem, Joel Anthony and Jamaal Magloire, traded Michael Beasley and added Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Mike Miller. Deals with Magloire and Juwan Howard will be announced later this week. Carlos Arroyo is on the cusp of returning, and James Jones said Sunday that he'll be coming back as well - even though it'll be at a lower salary.
"I have to come back. This is not something I could pass up,'' Jones told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. "This is too much of an opportunity to bypass.''
In a few days, Miami has gone from a young team to a veteran one with title aspirations.
"When it comes to the top players and the excitement of players, you can't put a price tag on experience and we're bringing that in with guys like Juwan and Big Z and Mike Miller and of course UD coming back,'' Wade said. "We went last year and the last two years of having a pretty young team of guys. Now we're a veteran-type team.''
And that team will have a bulls-eye, Wade said. He expects that when the NBA schedule comes out in a few weeks, teams around the league will check first to see when they're playing the two-time defending champion Los Angeles Lakers, then when they'll face the Heat.
"We're not even the champions but we're going to get that kind of attention from teams,'' Wade said. "It's a respect factor.''
That "respect factor,'' as he put it, is what matters more than any doubters.
Wade knows what Miami will have in the locker room, and to him, that's more important than what any outside entity might say about the Heat summer of 2010.
"I'm not really concerned about what people say any more,'' Wade said. "I've made my comments. Inside here, we know how competitive we're going to be. At the end of the day, we've got to play the game of basketball. We'll all see then. There's not much to say.''
Heat agree to terms with James Jones
A league source says that the Miami Heat have convinced forward James Jones -- who they just bought out two weeks ago to clear additional cap space for LeBron James and Chris Bosh -- to return to the Heat next season. Terms of the new deal were not immediately available.
Miami bought out the final three years of Jones's five-year, $23 million deal, paying approximately $1.8 million to Jones this year to get out of the rest of his old deal, which would have paid him $4.65 million next season. The savings gave the Heat enough cap space to convince James and Bosh to take less than maximum deals to join Dwyane Wade next season. The 29-year-old Jones had played his last two seasons in Miami but was injured for large stretches of the last two seasons.
When healthy, Jones has been a strong 3-point shooter, including a career-high 44 percent from behind the arc in 2007-08 with Portland. He would provide Miami with a solid role player who could relieve either Wade or James at either wing position
Heat continue to fill roster by re-sign Magloire
Center Jamaal Magloire has re-signed with the Miami Heat for the coming season.
It'll be the third season Magloire spends with Miami, which wanted him back to bolster its depth inside. Magloire has averaged 7.7 points and 6.7 rebounds per game in his 10 NBA seasons with one All-Star appearance.
Magloire averaged 2.1 points and 3.4 rebounds, while shooting 50.4 percent from the field in 23 games as a reserve for Miami last season.
He becomes the 10th player to sign with Miami for 2010-11, including the fourth center.
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