Category: Miami Heat Blog

A person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press that Dwyane Wade called an hourlong meeting with players after his Team Wade pulled out a 141-140 overtime victory over Team LeBron. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because talks were to remain private, saying Wade, Chris Paul and Miami Heat player representative James Jones fielded questions about the status of negotations.

The person also said Wade has taken “a more active role” in talks about a new labor deal of late and that he urged players to be “informed rather than accept any deal.”

Before the meeting, Carmelo Anthony said the lockout is “sad all the way across.”

“It’s sad for us as players. It’s sad for the whole NBA. It’s sad for the fans of the NBA. It’s sad for our personal fans. So we want to keep giving back like this,” Anthony said.

Virtually all the players in Saturday’s game shared a similar sentiment. The game drew a sold-out crowd of 4,000 to Florida International University, where Basketball Hall of Famer — and past NBA players’ association president — Isiah Thomas is the Panthers’ coach.

— Reported by Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press

A normal day’s take at Bayside’s Los Ranchos steakhouse is roughly $7,000. On Miami Heat game nights, the restaurant usually clears a hefty $12,000.

At the Four Seasons on Miami’s Brickell Avenue, visiting NBA teams often book dozens of rooms at the $400-a-night hotel — with basketball-related revenues topping a half-million dollars per year.

And at Tickets of America, located across the street from the AmericanAirlines Arena, Heat basketball is its lifeblood. Owner Michael Lipman deals heavily in the floor seat market, with playoff passes reaching the tens of thousands of dollars.

But these are anxious times for all three businesses, as the prolonged NBA labor dispute this week reaches a critical stage. Due to the three-month-long lockout, the entire preseason has been scrapped. And if the owners and players’ union do not carve out an agreement Monday — a dubious prospect, at best — the first two weeks of the regular season are likely lost. The first home game is scheduled for Nov. 3.

That means no LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.

No lines out the door at Los Ranchos, no lengthy room service bills at the Four Seasons, and quiet telephone lines at Lipman’s ticket shop.

— Reported by Adam H. Beasley of the Miami Herald

The “LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh present the South Florida All-Star Classic” sponsored by 1-800-411-PAIN on Saturday, Oct. 8, at U.S. Century Bank Arena on FIU’s Modesto A. Maidique campus will be carried by CBS4 (WFOR-TV) and MyTV33 (WBFS-TV).

The game will be simulcast on CBS4 and MyTV33 beginning at 7:30 p.m. in the Miami-Ft. Lauderdale area. Once CBS4 switches to network primetime programming at 8:00 p.m., MyTV33 will continue to carry the game in its entirety. The game will also be streamed worldwide on the web via CBSMiami.com from start to finish.

“I am pleased to have CBS 4 as a broadcast partner for the South Florida All-Star Classic,” FIU Head Basketball Coach Isiah Thomas said. “This is a great event and this partnership will give our fans, who were unable to buy a ticket to the sold out event, an opportunity to watch some of the world’s best basketball players in action.”

Originally slated for 7:00 p.m., the contest has been pushed back to a 7:30 p.m. tip, with doors for the event opening at 5:30 p.m.

Proceeds from the event will go towards Mary’s Court Foundation; a foundation established in honor of Coach Thomas’ mother, the late Mary Thomas.  A portion of these contributions will support FIU’s First Generation Scholarship Fund. This Fund provides critical financial aid to students who will be the first generation in their families to earn a college degree.

According to multiple sources, staffers in the basketball operation – in coaching, training, scouting, equipment, media relations and so on — were presented with an option last fall, after the Heat had already signed James, Wade and Chris Bosh and was selling tickets at an unprecedented pace. To guarantee retention during a potential lockout, they had to accept the across-the-board 10 percent pay cut, from the lockout’s July 1 start through Sept. 30. On Oct. 1, that pay cut would grow to 25 percent through Mar. 31 or until the lockout ended, whichever came first. If the lockout lasted past Mar. 31, which would surely cancel the season, the reduction would rise to 50 percent.

Since Micky Arison has a reputation for treating employees well, many staffers were surprised and disappointed by the measures. While it amounts to more lost money for the likes of Pat Riley and Erik Spoelstra – both of whom did take cuts, according to two sources – it hurts those on the lower levels more. And, in the case of many, including scouts, there has been little real change in their duties, at least so far.

— Reported by Ethan J. Skolnick of the Palm Beach Post.

SI.com and the AP report:

Miami Heat stars LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh are planning to host about 20 NBA players for a charity game in early October.

An official announcement is expected Wednesday, but Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel reported Tuesday that the All-Star exhibition is set for Oct. 8 at 7 p.m. ET on the campus of Florida International University, where Basketball Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas is a coach.

It will be the first time James, Wade and Bosh take the court together since last season’s NBA Finals, but it will be just the latest in a series of exhibitions with NBA players this offseason while the league is in a lockout. James has appeared in several of those contests, including one on Sunday in Philadelphia, and New Orleans point guard Chris Paul is set to host one in his hometown of Winston Salem, NC on Oct. 1.

Chris Broussard of ESPN the Magazine reports:

A number of NBA players are slated to join the Miami trio on the court, including fellow Heat teammate Mario Chalmers, the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, the New York Knicks’ Carmelo Anthony, Amare Stoudemire, the New Orleans Hornets’ Chris Paul, the Washington Wizards’ John Wall, the Atlanta Hawks’ Jamal Crawford and Joe Johnson, the Houston Rockets’ Jonny Flynn, the Los Angeles Clippers’ Eric Bledsoe, the Dallas Mavericks’ Caron Butler, the Memphis Grizzlies’ Rudy Gay, the Boston Celtics’ Rajon Rondo, the Philadelphia 76ers’ Lou Williams, the Golden State Warriors’ Dorell Wright, and the Portland Trail Blazers’ Wesley Matthews and free agent Eddy Curry.

Cleveland Cavaliers first-round picks Kyrie Irving and Tristan Thompson also are possible participants in the game.

Irving and Thompson are waiting to see if a spot opens up, a source told ESPN.com’s Brian Windhorst. Other rookies, the source said, were interested but there’s no room in the game for other first-year players. There’s no interest in 15-player rosters because players want to be able to play in the game and not sit on the bench.

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