Miami Heat Blog – Page 134 – NBA Blog

Derek Fisher will stay with Lakers

Ramona Shelburne of ESPN Los Angeles reports:

Derek Fisher has decided to stay with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Credit Kobe Bryant with the assist.

“I have decided to continue with Kobe, continue with our teammates and the fans of Los Angeles,” Fisher said in a statement. “While this may not be the most lucrative contract I’ve been offered this offseason, it is the most valuable. I am confident I will continue to lead this team on and off the court. Let the hunt for six begin.” …

“Kobe Bryant asked me to stay but supported whatever decision I made. He and I have played together for 11 seasons, came into the league together as kids, and has been loyal to me even when others had doubts. We have won five championships together.”

Cavaliers will not push tampering charge

Marc Stein of ESPN reports:

The Cleveland Cavaliers have no plans to push for an NBA probe into the circumstances that led to LeBron James joining Team USA colleagues Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami, according to sources with knowledge of the team’s thinking.

NBA commissioner David Stern said Sunday that the league would investigate the Heat’s signings of James and Bosh for any illegal negotiating or planning before free agency officially started if the Cavaliers or Toronto Raptors make that request.

Reached Sunday by ESPN.com, Stern said: “Whenever a team lodges a tampering charge, it is investigated.”

The Cavaliers declined official comment Sunday, but one source briefed on Cleveland’s intentions told ESPN.com that — in the wake of owner Dan Gilbert’s vitriolic open letter to Cavs fans that slammed James for leaving his home-state team — the organization wants to try to keep the focus from here on its post-James future as much as possible.

Bulls have no negative words for LeBron

John Jackson of the Chicago Sun-Times reports:

Like other teams in other cities, the Bulls went all-in to try to get LeBron James and suffered a major setback when James decided to join the Miami Heat to form the Bigger Three with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.

But unlike some of those other spurned teams — especially the Cleveland Cavaliers — the Bulls had no harsh words for James and offered no regrets about any decision they made in the free-agent process.

”In our dealings with [James], he was terrific,” general manager Gar Forman said. ”He was professional, we really enjoyed the time we had to spend with him and there was nothing [negative].”

Raptors sign-and-trade Chris Bosh to Heat

The Toronto Raptors announced Friday they have acquired two first-round draft picks and a trade exception from the Miami Heat in exchange for forward Chris Bosh. The Raptors facilitated a sign-and-trade with Bosh.

InsideHoops.com will post details of Bosh’s contract this weekend.

“We all just witnessed an unprecedented moment in professional sports as these three young stars have joined forces in an attempt to completely transform this league. We are certainly sorry to see Chris leave, but we are planning to use these acquired assets to retool our roster and evolve as an organization,” said Raptors President and General Manager Bryan Colangelo.

The Raptors reacquired their own 2011 first-round pick originally sent to the Heat on February 13, 2009 (trade of Jermaine O’Neal and Jamario Moon for Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks) and Miami’s 2011 first-round draft choice (lottery protected).

Bosh was selected fourth overall by Toronto in the 2003 NBA Draft. He has career averages of 20.2 points, 9.4 rebounds, 1.2 blocks and 37.0 minutes in 509 games, including 497 starts. He is the all-time franchise leader in points (10,275), total rebounds (4,776), offensive rebounds (1,369), defensive rebounds (3,407), free throws made (2,997), blocks (600), minutes (19,813), games started (497) and double-doubles (239).

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.