Miami Heat Blog – Page 43 – NBA Blog

Hornets, Grizzlies, Heat trade moves Courtney Lee to Charlotte

Charlotte Hornets General Manager Rich Cho announced today that the team has acquired guard Courtney Lee and cash considerations from the Memphis Grizzlies in a three-team trade. As a part of the trade, Charlotte will send forward P.J. Hairston and two second-round draft picks (Charlotte’s 2018 second-round pick and Brooklyn’s 2019 second-round pick) to Memphis and guard Brian Roberts to the Miami Heat. As part of the trade, Memphis will also receive forward/center Chris Andersen and two second-round draft picks from Miami.

“We are excited to be adding a quality veteran wing player to our roster in Courtney Lee,” Cho said. “Courtney has proven to be a team defender, a consistent outside shooter and a solid scorer in our league for the past eight years. Particularly in terms of experience, he adds depth to our roster in a position of need for us and we expect him to fit in to our system and contribute right away.”

The 22nd overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft, Lee is in his eighth NBA season. He has played in 572 career games (332 starts) for the Magic, Nets, Rockets, Celtics and Grizzlies. A Western Kentucky product, Lee has career averages of 9.7 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 27.2 minutes, while shooting .450 from the field (2106-4677), .383 from beyond the three-point line (587-1531) and .845 from the free-throw line (725-858).

Lee played in 51 games for Memphis this season, starting 37, with averages of 10.0 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 29.2 minutes. He shot .458 from the field (192-419), .370 from beyond the three-point line (51-138) and .826 from the free-throw line (76-92). Lee scored in double figures in 25 of 51 games and has hit multiple three-point field goals in 14 games this year.

“Chris Andersen was absolutely essential in our 2013 NBA Championship run,” said HEAT President Pat Riley. “We want to thank him for his contributions and we wish him nothing but the best, he will always be considered part of the HEAT family. Brian Roberts has been on our radar and we felt it was important to solidify our point guard position due to the injury of Tyler Johnson. We feel like we did that with the addition of Roberts and we would like to welcome Brian to Miami.”

Andersen (6-10, 245) holds career averages of 5.5 points (.533 FG/.653 FT), 5.1 rebounds and 1.47 blocks in 17.8 minutes in 663 games (31 starts) over 14 seasons with the Denver Nuggets, New Orleans Hornets (now Pelicans) and Miami Heat. The 37-year-old owns postseason averages of 5.4 points (.644 FG/.692 FT), 4.8 rebounds and 1.26 blocks in 17.0 minutes in 69 games for Denver and Miami.

A native of Long Beach, Calif., Andersen won an NBA Championship with Miami in 2013 and was instrumental in the Heat’s championship run, averaging 6.4 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.10 blocks in 15.2 minutes in 20 games and setting an NBA postseason record by shooting .807 (46-of-57 FG) from the field.

Hairston (6-6, 230) owns career averages of 5.8 points (.341 FG/.833 FT) and 2.4 rebounds in 17.5 minutes in 93 games (45 starts) in two seasons with Charlotte. The 23-year-old has averaged 6.0 points (.359 FG/.810 FT) and 2.7 rebounds in 19.5 minutes in 48 games (45 starts) for the Hornets this season.

After leading the University of North Carolina in scoring as a sophomore, Hairston joined the NBA Development League and became the first D-League player ever to be selected in the first round of the NBA Draft when Charlotte drafted him 26th overall in 2014. He averaged 21.8 points (.453 FG/.358 3P/.870 FT), 3.5 rebounds and 1.50 steals in 32.3 minutes in 26 games (15 starts) for the Texas Legends and was named to the 2013-14 D-League All-Rookie Second Team.

Roberts is in his fourth NBA season and his second with Charlotte. Roberts signed with the Hornets as a free agent on July 23, 2014, and saw action in 102 games with averages 6.1 points and 2.0 assists in 16.3 minutes per game. He holds career averages of 7.4 points, 2.6 assists and 1.5 rebounds per game in 18.5 minutes per game over the course of 252 contests (57 starts).

Dwyane Wade sees All-Star as teachable moment for kids

Here’s the Palm Beach Post sharing a different perspective for all the fun and glory that is NBA All-Star weekend:

Flanked by his nephew Dahveon, whom he is raising, son Zaire and at the post-game media session Sunday, Wade said he hopes the kids are paying attention to what he did to earn his spot in Toronto.

“These are great moments that hopefully they remember,” Wade said. “Whatever they choose to do in life, they understand how important family is.

“I understand how important it is to take them along the journey and give them something to see, something to strive for. I want them to strive for greatness and strive to be the best. I’m showing them that year after year their dad is one of those people. They see the work I put in behind the scenes, and I think it’s great that they get to see me be here with some of the game’s greatest players that they love and respect. They know their dad is right there with them, so it’s cool.”

Chris Bosh will miss 2016 NBA All-Star events

The Miami HEAT announced today that Chris Bosh has sustained a strained right calf and will not participate in Saturday’s Three-Point Shootout competition or play in Sunday’s NBA All-Star Game.

“I am honored to be selected to participate in the All-Star Weekend festivities, and will still be here to support my fellow East All-Stars,” said Bosh. “But I will also use this weekend to try to heal and focus on the second half of the HEAT season.”

Heat need better three-point shooting

Here’s the Miami Herald with insight on a Heat limitation that makes it harder for the team to be all they can be:

Because opponents don’t fear several of the Heat’s perimeter shooters, Chris Bosh said Heat players are being left unguarded on the perimeter far more than ever before in his 5 1/2 years here. He said trying “to get in that upper part of the East, it’s tough to do that without shooting.”

Though he says “I’m always a believer in making due with what you have, we could always use another shooter. Everybody could. It’s a perceived weakness we have and it’s something we have to get over.”

The Heat, scanning the trade market for a three-point shooter, is making 32.3 percent of its threes, 28th in the league and among the lowest in team history. Miami’s 15-win teams in its first season (1988-89) and in 2007-08 both shot threes better than this one.

Hassan Whiteside suspended for elbowing Boban Marjanovic

Miami Heat center Hassan Whiteside has been suspended one game without pay for throwing an elbow and making contact with the head of San Antonio Spurs center Boban Marjanovic, it was announced today by Kiki VanDeWeghe, Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations.

The incident, for which Whiteside was assessed a Flagrant 2 and ejected, occurred with 9:35 remaining in the fourth quarter of the Spurs’ 119-101 win over the Heat at AmericanAirlines Arena on Feb. 9.

Whiteside will serve his suspension when Miami plays the Atlanta Hawks on Feb. 19 at Philips Arena.

To view the play, click on this link.

Hassan Whiteside happy to be back in action

Here’s the South Florida Sun Sentinel reporting on Heat center Hassan Whiteside, whose game was cut short on January 20 and just returned to action last night:

It wasn’t about working back into a lather, again breaking into a sweat under the brightest lights. Those were the residuals. For Hassan Whiteside, getting back on the court meant the opportunity to again soak up what has transformed his life with the Miami Heat over the past year.

“I really missed playing basketball,” the shot-blocking, dunking-on-people center said after returning from a six-game injury absence in Wednesday night’s victory over the Dallas Mavericks. “A lot of times, you don’t realize how much you miss the game. I know I was just out for like a week and a half, I can’t imagine being out any longer.”

So he worked the coaching staff like he works the paint, essentially posting up coach Erik Spoelstra.

“I was expecting him to play in Charlotte,” Spoelstra said of Friday’s third and final stop of this three-game trip. “That was the plan.

“He really wanted to give it a go right now, so we gave him the green light.”

Dwyane Wade doing big things lately

On Jan. 19, Heat guard Dwyane Wade scored two points in 21 minutes during a loss to Milwaukee, the second time in his career he had played that much and scored that little in a regular-season game. He missed the next game with shoulder soreness, a loss to Washington, Miami’s sixth defeat in seven games. Since then, however, Wade has gotten back on track — as has the Heat. Wade is averaging 23.6 points (on 50.0 percent shooting), 6.4 assists and 4.4 rebounds in his last five games, lifting Miami to a 4-1 record and victories in its last four. Wade is now tied with Bernard King for 42nd place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list (19,655 points). Miami (27-21), which trails Chicago (26-20) by percentage points for third place in the Eastern Conference, puts its season-high winning streak on the line Tuesday at Houston (8 p.m. ET, NBA TV).

Heat guard Tyler Johnson will undergo shoulder surgery

The HEAT announced today that guard Tyler Johnson will undergo rotator cuff surgery in his left shoulder. The procedure will take place this Wednesday, February 3 at Doctors Hospital in Miami and be performed by HEAT team physician Dr. Harlan Selesnick.

Johnson has appeared in 36 games (five starts) with the HEAT this season averaging 8.7 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 24.0 minutes while shooting 48.8 percent from the field.

Goran Dragic tech and ejection rescinded

Here’s the South Florida Sun Sentinel reporting on Heat point guard Goran Dragic, who is averaging a modest 11.3 points and 5.3 assists in 31.4 minutes per game this season:

The NBA confirmed Tuesday to the Sun Sentinel that the second of the two technical fouls called on Miami Heat Goran Dragic during Sunday’s victory over the Portland Trail Blazers has been rescinded.

Because of that decision, the league also confirmed that Dragic’s first career NBA ejection also has been rescinded, with that ejection the result of being called for two technical fouls in the same game.

Dragic was called for the first of his two Sunday technical fouls with 4:48 to play in the third quarter of the 116-109 victory over the Trail Blazers. He acknowledged that he used harsh language while disputing the officiating during that sequence. He then was called for his second technical foul with 1:37 to play in that quarter, which he contended was for asking referee James Williams, “What?”

Heat deny shopping Hassan Whiteside

Here’s the Miami Herald reporting on Heat center Hassan Whiteside, who is having a fantastic season as his value rises:

Heat officials firmly denied a report that Miami is shopping Hassan Whiteside in an effort to acquire Kings center DeMarcus Cousins or Rockets center Dwight Howard.

And although there have been cases during Pat Riley’s 21-year tenure that the team denied talks, and then a deal was consummated, this time it has good reason for citing a report as implausible.

Specifically, it relates to Whiteside’s contract, which is virtually worthless to an acquiring team, unless that team is trying to make a title run with him this season.

He’s making just $981,348 this season, meaning that Miami would need to include several other contracts just to get anywhere near the necessary salary for Howard ($22.8 million) or Cousins ($15.8 million).

And, as is the predicament for the Heat now, any team acquiring Whiteside would not have his “Bird Rights,” meaning that it would need to use salary cap space to re-sign him.