The Miami Heat announced today that they have signed free agent center Jamaal Magloire. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed. According to multiple reports it’s either for the league minimum, or close.
Scroll down for InsideHoops.com’s opinion on the news.
“We are very fortunate to be able to come to terms with Jamaal Magliore,” said HEAT President Pat Riley. “We feel that he will dramatically support our post position. He is an excellent rebounder with a big body. On the defensive end he will plug up the paint and the offensive end he can score. We feel that this is definitely the right place for him to re-energize his career.”
A former NBA All-Star (2004), Magloire has averaged 8.6 points, 7.2 rebounds, 1.03 blocks and 24.2 minutes during an eight-year NBA career which has included stints with the Hornets (Charlotte: 2000-02 and New Orleans: 2002-05), the Milwaukee Bucks (2005-06), the Portland Trail Blazers (2006-07), the New Jersey Nets (2007-08) and the Dallas Mavericks (2007-08). In his 537 NBA regular season games he has connected on 47.9 percent of his field goal attempts. Additionally, Magloire has appeared in 36 postseason contests and has averaged 9.1 points, 6.3 rebounds, 1.11 blocks while hitting 47.7 percent of his field goal attempts.
Four times in his career the 6’11”, 265-pound center has appeared in all 82 games during a season and five times in the past seven seasons he has played at least 81 games. His best season occurred during the 2003-04 campaign with the New Orleans Hornets where he was selected as an Eastern Conference All-Star and averaged career highs in both points (13.6 ppg) and rebounds (10.3 rpg) and was one of just 11 players in the NBA that season to average a double-double. He topped the Eastern Conference in scoring in the 2004 NBA All-Star Game with 19 points. Magloire finished the 2003-04 season ranked among the NBA leaders in offensive rebounding (5th), overall rebounding (7th) and field goal percentage (tied for 27th).
Magloire split the 2007-08 season between the New Jersey Nets and the Dallas Mavericks. He saw action in 31 games (two starts) and averaged 1.8 points, 2.9 rebounds and 9.2 minutes.
InsideHoops.com editor says: Magloire is worth a shot. For whatever reason he seems to have gotten worse almost each season since his All-Star year. But he’s worth adding for the minimum. Mark Blount, who isn’t very good, is still the better center right now. It would be a pleasant surprise for the Heat if Magloire can overtake him. And there’s a chance that power forward Udonis Haslem winds up getting used as an extremely undersized center. I actually would enjoy seeing that; Haslem at center, Mike Beasley at power forward, Shawn Marion at small forward, playing fun small-ball. If the other team’s center is especially big and good then they could sit Haslem quickly, or slide him to the four quickly, and put in a real center. Anyway, Magloire is a low-risk addition.
