Heat 2012 Off-Season Thread

[Wade2Bosh]

Its Heat week on NBAtv.

Today is the Knicks/Heat series, tomorrow is the Pacers/Heat series, Thursday is Celtics/Heat, Friday is the Finals, then on Saturday is all of them, back to back.

[Wade2Bosh]

Jace is gonna freak out when he reads this

Alex Kennedy ‏@AlexKennedyNBA

Hassan Whiteside worked out for the Heat today. He'll remain in Miami through Thursday, working out for Pat Riley and the coaching staff.

[Wade2Bosh]

Another training camp body signed

Marc J. Spears ‏@SpearsNBAYahoo
.@MiamiHEAT has agreed in principle to sign free agent guard Garrett Temple to a contract, a source tells Y! He played in Italy last season.

[Wade County]

Originally Posted by Wade2Bosh

Jace is gonna freak out when he reads this

Should just lock Hassan and Dex in the gym and see who wins. Drop the one that doesn't.

I laughed when I read that though - Jace's boy!

All we need now is more P-Bev for Smithi. Atleast he has Varnado.

[Jace]

Oh shit. I kinda like what I've seen from Temple. He played well against us on the Rockets a season or two ago. Tall wing who can play the point. No shot to make it (though we did say that about Terrel).

Originally Posted by Dee-Zy

This is one of the things that amaze me from you guys on this board.

I think it is clear as day that I am a die hard Heat fan but there is no way for me to know what those games were.

I 'think' that I might know what the OKC game is. I think we played very badly against them away but killed them at home?

As for the others, no clue, esp the philly game.

I don't know how you guys can keep tabs so well.

Remember, most west teams we only played once last year, so the Suns, Rockets, and Spurs games were the only time we played them. I remember the Suns game because it was supposed to be easy, but we were down 10 in the fourth and went on a crazy run to seal the victory. The Spurs game was without Dwyane (and Manu), we trailed the entire first half, and made a crazy comeback in the second, behind LeBron brilliance and MM's 6-6 (all from 3) in his first game of the season after the preseason hernia surgery.

Didn't remember much about the Houston game, turned out it was because it was the last home game of the season, and my attention was already on the playoffs (the starting lineup for that game was LeBron with Cole, Jones, Haslem, and Pitt). HOU was fighting for a playoff spot, so it was amazing that we won.

The Philly game kind of blended in with the other 3 times we played the, but after watching it, I remembered it. I believe something fairly significant happened in that game that I can't remember at the moment. I probably would've picked that game in Philly where we came back late amid UD/LeBron jumpers.

The OKC game was the only national one they picked, if I'm not mistaken. Was a good, hugely hyped game against our future Finals opponent after they had previously whooped our ass. I remembered it as one of Battier's few great regular season games.

Originally Posted by Wade2Bosh

Jace is gonna freak out when he reads this

Seriously though, I'm not surprised they finally looked his way. We're kicking every tire attached to a 7(ish)-foot body while we wait on someone more enticing. Even though I've always, and especially now, liked his potential better than Pitt's, I see him as a long shot to actually leapfrog Pitt (and even Varnado and Gladness) into the final 15. I'm not sure where his skills/game are at right now after spending the first part of his career in the hell hole known as Sac-town (franchise, not the city), and he'll have limited opportunities to impress. Hopefully he at least gets a training camp contract, because I think his athleticism, height, and length will make him stand out amongst our center crop. Measurement-wise, he's exactly an inch taller than Pitt at 6-10.5 barefoot, with an inch longer wingspan (7-7, which would be as wide as anyone's in the league as far as I know). To further compare, Bosh is a quarter-inch shorter with a 3.5-inch shorter wingspan.

What would set him apart would be his quickness/athleticism compared to Pitt and the others. Ira recently made the suggestion that the Heat are looking for a Joel replacement to move his contract. Hassan would be a major upgrade physically, considering he's almost a bigger Joel with a decent offensive game and rebounding ability. Would be all about developing him.

The more I type about him the more I feel like we can't pass him up. Assuming he's healthy, he's a physical specimen. But as much as I believe our organization thinks pragmatically, they do have a tendency to err on the side of familiarity. Its nice to have an 18th man going into camp to really root for, at least. I remember going into that draft having pipedreams about drafting Hassan and later signing Bosh, envisioning our own Twin Towers. Obviously now, Hassan would project to be a back up, but both have the footspeed to play PF, so they could obviously play together. Must admit I have a warm fuzzy feeling thinking about him in his Heat practice gear...

Quick draftexpress blurb to remind folks what I like

Hassan Whiteside is one of the more intriguing players in this draft, and you can see why from his situations statistics.

With a usage of 12.8 possessions per-game that ranks him just above average, Whiteside scored on a very solid 56.8% of his overall touches and turned the ball over at a low 13% rate.

Whiteside received just 27% of his touches in the post, one of the lowest marks on our center rankings. Despite that fact, he scored 61.1% of those touches, good for third on our list. He was fouled on 16.1% of those shots, ranking him second. Whiteside was able to make a nice impact on the block despite his lack of lower body strength, showing a nice hook shot and unique touch for a player his age.

Outside of the post, Whiteside used his length to generate 2.9 possessions per-game from offensive rebounds (3rd). Showing impressive versatility, 26% of Whiteside’s shot were jumpers, the top mark in our sample. Making 40% of those shots and finishing at a highly respective 64.1% clip, Whiteside is one of the most unique talents in this draft. His ability to score from the outside at his height is incredible, he was one of the most impressive shot blockers in the NCAA last season, and shows the potential to score in multiple situations.

This is why I love his potential here. He wouldn't just be a hustle big who has to stand near the basket. He'd give us our only "live" option who can also block shots and play big. He has a nice face up game, like Bosh is too quick for most centers, and a nice touch both with his jump shot and around the basket.

If he's filled out enough, he could be an intriguing option to throw at Howard, a big who has the height, length, and athleticism to at least somewhat keep him with Dwight, while also having the touch to keep him from camping in the paint on the other.

****. JUST SIGN HIS ASS.

[-33-]

Jace, I almost feel lik you need an annotated bibliography to follow a post that detailed!

On a sad note, we missed out on the potential savior at center (again)...

Earl Barron and the Washington Wizards have agreed upon a non-guaranteed training camp deal, according to sources.

Barron most recently played in the NBA with the Warriors in 11-12, but has since played in both the Philippines and Puerto Rico.

Barron is a seven-foot center out of Memphis.

Via Adrian Wojnarowski/Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter)


Read more: http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap...#ixzz26DBngvxs

The one that got away...HOW IS SPO NOT SCOUTING THE PHILIPPINES?!?!?!?!??!?!!?!

[Jace]

Can't help myself sometimes.

And yeah, when I read that Barron tweet I was praying to see "Miami HEAT" before I got to "Washington..."

Oh btw, Terrel apparently turned down offers from Spain and a team called the Cleveland Cavaliers or something for a non-guaranteed deal here. Not sure if the "Cavs" offer had a guarantee.

[Jace]

Should be noted, the training camp 20 is almost locked down

1. LeBron
2. Wade
3. Bosh
4. Allen
5. Chalmers
6. Battier
7. Lewis
8. Miller
9. Haslem
10. Cole
11. Joel
12. Jones
13. Pittman

14. Harris
15. Varnado
16. Gladness
17. Dozier
18. Temple

19. Whiteside?
20. Harrellson?


Might actually be the first time I'm familiar with all 20 players. Surely if they do have 20 before camp and someone pops up they're interested in, they could easily waive a Temple or Gladness, but it looks to be almost all set.

[Dee-Zy]

Ah, I remember the Spurs game now.

I think they are games that if I watch again, I would remember but just like that, I wouldn't.

[Jace]

Battie-boy, honing the sky hook.

Q: With the addition of both Mickell Gladness and Jarvis Varnado, which I think nobody could've assumed, does that spell the end for Big Pitt? I still think the Heat have something in Terrel Harris and would be foolish not to squeeze him in. -- Zak, Coconut Creek.

A: All I know is I spoke to an agent who said Pat Riley expressed disappointment to him about Dexter Pittman's inability to reach prime conditioning. Look, this team ate Eddie House's contract last season, so it's not as if a minimal guarantee is a complete guarantee. When rating the Heat's big men, it seems as if Gladness already is held in higher esteem among the coaching staff, so it could come down to Pittman working his way back onto the roster. An argument could be made that Josh Harrellson and Hassan Whiteside also would add more than Pittman.

Tim Reynolds also said during one of his twitter Q&As that he believes Gladness has a better chance to make the roster than Pittman. I've been saying for awhile Pitt's weight has seemed to continue fluctuating throughout his pro career, and needless to say he was disappointing during summer league. Perhaps all that is catching up to him. My hope is bringing in all these Cs to compete with him doesn't just light a temporary fire under his ass that gets extinguished in Mountain Dew and milkshakes once he makes the final cut.

Here's my dream 15

Chalmers / Cole
Wade / Allen / Harris
James / Battier / Miller
Haslem / Lewis / Dozier
Bosh / Anthony / Harrellson / Whiteside

Cutting JJ and Pitt since the former is too old, one-dimensional, and redundant/obsolete here, and the latter doesn't so much fit the team's ideal style, on top of being thoroughly disappointing. Cole, Harris, Dozier, Whiteside, and Harrellson would form a surprisingly, decently promising young core to replace some of our aging role players in a few years, a few of which fit our running game nicely.

[Wade2Bosh]

I'd rather keep JJ than Dozier. Dozier could always be back at any moment. The rest i'd be more than happy with.

Alex Kennedy ‏@AlexKennedyNBA
In a recent interview, free agent Matt Barnes said that he's talking with the Dallas Mavericks, Miami Heat and Los Angeles Clippers.

Gotta love the Heat. They do their due diligence and speak to nearly everybody who is available.

[Adam]

No way we cut JJ. He's a solid contributor (on the biggest stages no less) and he has a contract we don't need to needlessly take a loss on. I'm skeptical any of those other guys can even make the roster let alone contribute to the team in NBA playoff games like JJ has.

[Wade2Bosh]

Liz Mullen ‏@SBJLizMullen
LeBron James is leaving CAA to be represented by his childhood friend Rich Paul, who is also leaving CAA, sources said. #NBA

..

[Jace]

Ira Winderman
3 minutes ago

Remember, LeBron has opt out in 2014 offseason. A new agent (agency) would only start collecting on new contract.

Current deal runs through end of 2015-16, if James bypasses 2014 and 2015 ETO/player option opportunities.


Ira Winderman
8 minutes ago

@SBJLizMullen word of LeBron leaving CAA significant. It would means he, Bosh, Wade no longer under same umbrella.

Wade and Bosh remain with Henry Thomas of CAA. It would be second agent switch of James' career.

Was pretty sure he was going to opt out, along with the other 2, in 2014 anyway. This just would seem to further seal it, so his agent starts getting paid.

[Wade County]

I always assumed all 3 would opt out if things didnt work out in 2014...but that all of a sudden doesnt feel all that far away.

Sure hope LBJ doesnt 'Cav' us, but who knows, maybe he will. Atleast we got a ring out of it if so!