Miami Heat Blog – Page 140 – NBA Blog

Blazers sign Shavlik Randolph

The Portland Trail Blazers have signed forward Shavlik Randolph, it was announced today by General Manager Kevin Pritchard.

Randolph, 26, rejoins the Trail Blazers after averaging 1.8 points, 1.8 rebounds and 3.7 minutes in 10 games with Portland last season.

Portland was allowed to sign Randolph and bring its roster to 16 players after the NBA awarded the team its second hardship exemption of the season on Tuesday.

The Duke University product has career averages of 2.4 points, 2.5 rebounds and 8.3 minutes in 91 games (seven starts) with Philadelphia, Portland and Miami.

Randolph (6-10, 240) appeared in two games for Miami this season, netting two points, seven rebounds and a blocked shot in 23 minutes before being waived on Dec. 14.

He will wear No. 42 with the Trail Blazers.

Dwyane Wade shooting is off

Israel Gutierrez of the Miami Herald reports:

Everyone who has seen [Dwyane] Wade play more than once is trying to figure out why, exactly, a player in his prime with an improving team around him is having the worst shooting season of his life.

The scientists are coming from his own front office (that would be Riley) and national and local experts alike, all of them attempting to devise the perfect theory for the most unusual development in what has been an otherwise predictable season.

Everyone seemed to have settled on the conditioning theory, because it seems to make the most sense.

This season, Wade is not coming off an Olympic run, and he is not coming off a summer where he built his legs back up from scratch, and he is not playing with as much to prove as he did last season, when he led the league in scoring and was third in MVP voting.

Heat waive Shavlik Randolph

The Miami Heat announced today that they have requested waivers on forward Shavlik Randolph.

“Shavlik was the ultimate professional,” said Heat President Pat Riley. “He always brought an absolute effort, dedication and discipline to the court each and every day. We wish him nothing but the best.”

Randolph, a 6’10”, 236-pound forward, appeared in two games with the Heat this season totaling two points, seven rebounds and one block in 23 minutes of action. Over the course of his five-year NBA career, he has appeared in 91 games (seven starts) averaging 2.4 points, 2.5 rebounds and 8.3 minutes while shooting 44.7 percent from the field.

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LeBron James done talking about 2010 free agency

The AP reports:

Frustrated by the repeated questions about his future, LeBron James said Wednesday that he won’t talk about his possible free agency next summer until after this season.

The Cleveland star and reigning NBA MVP said before the Cavaliers’ game against Orlando that all the talk is “getting old.”

“This free agent talk is getting old. It’s getting old and I think I’m going to stop. Tonight will be the last time I answer any more free agent questions until the offseason,” James said.

“I think I owe it to myself, and I owe it to my teammates. It’s just getting old. I’m focusing on this season, and this is going to be a really good season for us. I don’t want anymore distractions for my teammates, for my organization, for my family. This will be the last time I answer a free agent question for the rest of the year.”

The official InsideHoops.com opinion is that it’s most likely LeBron winds up re-signing with the Cavs in 2010. Talk of him going to the Knicks, or maybe the Heat or elsewhere also could be legit. But there’s no reason to think LeBron knows for a fact where he’d go. It makes sense to wait until the time comes and see the roster situation on all these teams before having a sure opinion. He’d probably love to star in New York’s Madison Square Garden, but only if he’ll be surrounded by real ballers, not fill-in guys that drag him down.

Alan Ogg dies

The AP reports:

Alan Ogg, a 7-foot-2 shotblocker who played for UAB and spent parts of three seasons in the NBA, died Sunday from complications from a staph infection, a university spokesman said. He was 42.

UAB spokesman Norm Reilly said Ogg died at UAB Hospital.

Ogg averaged around 2.2 points per game in his short NBA career.

Condolences go out to his friends and family.

Shaq still pursuing law-enforcement work

Mark Puente of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports (via blog):

Predators lurking for local children on the Internet could soon be talking to a 7-foot-1 undercover deputy.

The Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy is reviewing paperwork to determine whether Cavaliers center Shaquille O’Neal is eligible to carry a gun and a sheriff’s five-point badge.

Cuyahoga County Sheriff Bob Reid last week notified the state agency, which determines officers’ eligibility, that he intends to deputize O’Neal if approved by the state, according to records obtained by The Plain Dealer. O’Neal held law-enforcement commissions in Arizona, Virginia and Florida. Reid declined to comment until the process is complete.

If O’Neal is approved, he would need to complete 36 hours of police training within six months and take the Ohio police examination to maintain the appointment, said Holly Hollingsworth, spokeswoman for the Attorney General. He would also have to pass a test on a shooting range.

This is one of the few things Shaq appears to take pretty seriously. He’s pursued it for a long time. But I still doubt he does it full-time after his NBA basketball career wraps up in a few years. Helping the law will probably be a side-hobby for the big fella.

Heat sign Carlos Arroyo

The Miami HEAT announced today that they have signed free agent guard Carlos Arroyo. According to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, the deal is for one year and is not a guaranteed contract.

Arroyo, 6’2”, 200 pounds, has appeared in 433 regular season NBA games (113 starts) and averaged 7.0 points, 3.3 assists and 1.7 rebounds in 18.2 minutes while shooting 43.2 percent from the field, 31.8 percent from three-point range and 80.1 percent from the foul line. The seven-year NBA veteran spent last season with Maccabi Tel Aviv (Israel), appearing in 28 games averaging 15.3 points, 5.8 assists, 3.7 rebounds and 1.29 steals in 31.1 minutes of action. Prior to his stint in Israel, Arroyo spent his NBA career with Toronto, Denver, Utah, Detroit and most recently appeared in 161 games (25 starts) with the Orlando Magic over the course of three seasons from 2005-08. Additionally, he has appeared in 29 postseason NBA games and averaged 2.3 points and 1.9 assists in 8.5 minutes of action.

According to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, “Coach Erik Spoelstra said Arroyo was one of several candidates considered. Heat President Pat Riley stressed last week that because of concerns about the dollar-for-dollar luxury tax on excessive payroll, the Heat only would offer non-guaranteed, one-year contracts to such candidates. For a player of Arroyo’s experience, that is $1.1 million. Arroyo’s contract would not become fully guaranteed until Jan. 10.”

Arroyo, a Puerto Rican native, helped lead the Puerto Rican Men’s National Team to a Bronze medal in the Olympic qualifying tournament in 2003 and also led the national team to a sixth place finish in the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. In 2001, he became just the fifth player from Puerto Rico to play in the NBA.

During his colligate career in Miami at Florida International University, Arroyo became just the second player in school history to score at least 1,600 career points. He finished his FIU career setting school records with 459 assists and 177 steals. He also ranked second in school history in three-point field goals made (174), third in field goals made (562) and third in free throws made (302).

Arroyo will wear number 8.

Jamaal Magloire, Jonas Jerebko suspsended for fight

Detroit Pistons forward Jonas Jerebko and Miami Heat center Jamaal Magloire have been suspended without pay for their roles in an altercation that took place during Monday night’s preseason game, it was announced today by Stu Jackson, NBA Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations.

Magloire has been suspended two games for instigating the altercation and striking Jerebko in the face, and Jerebko has been suspended one game for retaliating and striking Magloire in the face. The incident occurred with 5:04 remaining in the fourth quarter of Detroit’s 87-83 win over Miami at The Palace of Auburn Hills.

Jerebko and Magloire will serve their suspensions commencing with the first game of the 2009-10 NBA regular season in which they are eligible and physically able to play.

NBA tells bench players stay seated so fans can see

Good NBA seats are expensive. Fans shelling out big money to sit near the court should expect a good view of the action.

But what about when players get off the bench and remain standing for a while? On the one hand, it’s nice to see guys cheer their teammates. On the other, these giants prevent fans from seeing what they paid to see.

The Cavs are one team with players who remained standing a lot, and now the league office has reportedly taken action.

Brian Windhorst of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports:

The NBA has issued a memo to its teams directing players on the bench to remain seated during games. Game officials will be keeping a closer eye and will issue faster warnings and possible technical fouls if not followed. Players are permitted to cheer, but standing during regular-game action and blocking the fans’ views apparently isn’t going to be allowed.

That goes for Tuesday night’s first preseason game at The Q, where the Cavs will host the Charlotte Bobcats in the first of eight practice games before the season opener.

The Cavs weren’t exactly thrilled that their custom has been legislated.

“It is hard to take that out of the game,” LeBron James said. “Part of the game is emotions, your teammates are all you have. That was part of the reason we played great basketball, because we cheered each other.”

I support the league protecting the paying fan’s view.

Oct 5: Pistons 87, Heat 83

The AP reports: Austin Daye’s physique has always drawn comparisons to Tayshaun Prince. It only took the Detroit Pistons rookie two quarters to bring Prince’s most famous moment to mind. In the second quarter of Detroit’s 87-83 preseason victory over Miami, Daye ran down Dwyane Wade to block what appeared to be an uncontested layup—a play very similar to Prince’s game-winning block of Indiana’s Reggie Miller in the 2004 playoffs… Dwyane Wade led Miami with 18 points in 26 minutes, but wasn’t happy with Miami’s defense, which allowed the Pistons to shoot 47.6 percent from the floor.