Miami Heat Blog – Page 134 – NBA Blog

LeBron gets no. 6 from Mario Chalmers

Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports:

Heat point guard Mario Chalmers has handed over No. 6 to LeBron James, after wearing it during his first two NBA seasons. He instead will wear No. 15.

For Chalmers, it isn’t exactly a sacrifice. He wore No. 15 while playing collegiately at Kansas and wanted to wear it after being acquired by the Heat in the second round of the 2008 NBA Draft, but Heat center Mark Blount was wearing it at the time.

Chalmers wanted to switch last season back to No. 15, after Blount was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the offseason, but made his intentions known too late. The Heat instead kept the number open for a future change.

James has worn No. 23 during his first seven seasons, but announced, after a November appearance last season at AmericanAirlines Arena that he planned to shed the number out of respect to legendary guard Michael Jordan.

Report: Heat will trade Michael Beasley to Timberwolves

The Miami Heat have landed LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade, and they will reportedly soon say goodbye to forward Michael Beasley.

The move will help clear salary cap space for the Heat.

According to Marc Stein of ESPN on Twitter, “Miami has agree to a trade with Minnesota that will send Michael Beasley to the Wolves. Wolves-Heat deal, sources say, calls for ‘Sota to absorb Beasley into cap space and send its 2011 second-round pick to Miami to seal deal.”

Miami has been actively seeking a Beasley trade for a while now, so this comes as no huge surprise. They want as much money as possible to pay their trio of stars, and then will have to fill in the blanks with a supporting cast built mostly from players who will accept the league’s minimum salary depending on their years of service.

Dwyane Wade, Pat Riley react to LeBron James joining Heat

Miami HEAT President Pat Riley and HEAT guard Dwyane Wade released the following statements tonight:

PAT RILEY: “We are thrilled that LeBron James and Chris Bosh have decided to come to Miami to join forces with our truly great player, Dwyane Wade. We are looking forward to the opportunity of building something that our fans in Miami will be proud of for a long, long time. The journey is just beginning.”

DWYANE WADE: “I am thrilled to welcome LeBron James to the HEAT family. I look forward to playing alongside LeBron, Chris Bosh and our teammates, and together representing the great city of Miami. There’s magic in the number 3. This is the beginning of new chapter in HEAT history and very exciting for both fans of the Miami HEAT and the NBA.”

Cavaliers GM Chris Grant Statement on LeBron James leaving

“We believe in this team, this organization, this community, and what we will do to compete at the highest level. We believe in the new coach and leader we have in Byron Scott, and the world class basketball organization and positive and strong culture we’ve established. Dan Gilbert and our ownership group are firmly committed to reaching our goals and succeeding on the court and in the community, at the highest level.”

“Our fans stepped up and showed their support, to a degree unlike anywhere else. We are fortunate to have the support of the best fans in the NBA. That passion and dedication will be rewarded. We will work relentlessly to continue to build a team that will contend. A team that will win championships. We are all competitors and our one goal is to win, that and Dan Gilbert and our ownership team’s commitment and investment in this organization and community are constants that will not change.”

LeBron James signs with Miami Heat

LeBron James announced on national television Thursday night that he is signing with the Miami Heat

The free agent NBA superstar forward has spent his entire career with the Cleveland Cavaliers, but he’s decided to join Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in South Beach.

It’s a gathering of two superstars in LeBron and Wade and a star in Bosh.

The three know each other’s games quite well and familiar with their strengths and weaknesses.

Carlos Boozer will join Bulls

The AP reports:

Carlos Boozer is headed to the Chicago Bulls.

A person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press that the two-time All-Star forward agreed to a deal on Wednesday and is leaving the Utah Jazz after six seasons. The person, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the contract doesn’t become official until Thursday, did not reveal the terms…

With about $30 million in salary cap room, the Bulls were looking to make a big splash in free agency after back-to-back first-round playoff exits.

Adding Boozer strengthens their standing in the Eastern Conference and maybe makes them more attractive to James.

Kevin Durant signing 5-year Thunder extension

Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant is signing a five-year contract extension.

The young superstar quietly revealed the news on Twitter Wednesday morning, one day before the start of the NBA free agent signing period.

According to ESPN, the five-year deal is for $86 million. It will keep him with the Thunder through the 2015-16 season. Durant still has one season left on his rookie deal.

According to the Oklahoman, Durant’s deal is guaranteed through the 2015-16 season and has no player option. It is worth between $85M-$86M depending on the 2011-12 salary cap.

The NBA world is busy waiting to hear where LeBron James is going to sign. Multiple reports today said that the Miami Heat are expected to land both Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.

Durant last season averaged 30.1 points, 7.6 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.0 blocks per outing. He played in all 82 regular season games.

Read fan reaction and discuss your own opinion in this forum topic.

Opinion: I am cool with LeBron James announcing signing decision on TV

Thursday night at 9 p.m. ET, Cleveland Cavaliers free agent LeBron James will announce to the world which team he is signing with. The event will be a one-hour special.

The teams who may win LeBron’s services are the Cavs, Bulls, Heat, Knicks, Nets and Clippers. And I listed those squads in order of who I think has the best shot to get him.

I believe that LeBron’s signing is worthy of being on national television. Simply because everybody cares about it. The world wants to know. So, put it on TV!

That’s it. There’s nothing more to it.

There’s a good chance I will not pay particularly close attention to the early stages of the special. It could be great stuff, but as someone who follows this stuff closely and covers it for a living, I probably already know everything that’ll be said. There will probably be some cool highlights to glance at. I’ll keep it on in the background with the sound up while I work on my laptop or something.

But, I will listen. And when the announcement does come, I’ll rotate my desk chair and stare right at the TV. So will you. And that’s why it deserves to be televised.

UPDATE: It appears LeBron plans on making his decision early, within about 10 minutes. We’ll see!

–Jeff

Shawn Marion plays in World Series of Poker

SportsDayDFW.com reports:

While a number of the NBA’s finest are trying to secure millions in the free agent market, the Dallas Mavericks’ Shawn Marion is trying to get millions in a different way: at the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas.

Marion participated in Day 1 of the Main Event on Monday. Due to the growing popularity of the event, there are four separate “Day 1s” where players begin the tournament. Monday’s was the first possible day to start. A number of other athletes and celebrities will also try their hand over the next three days. According to a report in USA Today, former Cowboy legends Emmitt Smith and Troy Aikman will both play during Thursday’s Day 1 action.

Cavs meet with free agent LeBron

Brian Windhorst of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports:

LeBron James’ free agent meetings are in the homestretch, the Cavaliers hoping the focus is on the “home” part.

The Cavs met with James for around 90 minutes Saturday, making perhaps their final pitch to re-sign him in a meeting that focused on the team’s familiarity with the star and his comfort level with the franchise.

New coach Byron Scott, general manager Chris Grant, assistant general manager Lance Blanks and owner Dan Gilbert were the principals in the meeting. In addition to presentations from Scott and Grant about their plans, sources said the Cavs also planned to show James a cartoon featuring him and his friends as characters.

It was made in a Family Guy style, which is one of James’ favorite shows, and featured some inside jokes related to the team. Those who know James personally know that he loves cartoons, inside jokes and cheap laughs. The central part of the Cavs’ pitch is that they know him the best.