Category: Miami Heat Blog

There is no limp, no outward sign of the surgery on his right knee three weeks ago.

Whether Udonis Haslem makes it back for the Oct. 1 start of Miami Heat training camp has yet to be determined, but the veteran power forward said Thursday that last month’s procedure provided both physical and mental relief.

“I’m three weeks in now. I feel pretty good, actually,” he said during a promotional appearance at the Microsoft specialty store at Town Center. “It wasn’t as bad as we thought it was. I was fortunate. It was mostly just a cleaning, a lot of scar tissue, a couple of loose pieces in there, cleaning out the MCL.”

Haslem, 33, played during the second half of the regular season and then the playoffs with what was thought to be a torn right meniscus.

Reported by Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Alonzo Mourning spent Thursday morning at the NBA’s Rookie Transition Program in New Jersey talking to prospects about “the journey that they’re about to take.”

But it is a journey that is about to unfold in South Florida that has the former Miami Heat center and current Heat executive intrigued.

With the Heat a day earlier announcing the signing of free-agent center Greg Oden to a two-year contract, Mourning found himself captivated by the possibilities of the 25-year-old injury-plagued center.

“Extremely excited, extremely excited,” he said by phone, “because I understand the potential that he has.”

Mourning confirmed that he was among those in the organization who helped recruit Oden in recent months.

“I had some words with him, yes,” he said. “We were able to spend some time together.”

Reported by Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel

His September wedding in San Diego is the stuff of TMZ and People Magazine. His free agency next summer could eclipse the attention of when he previously entered the market in 2010.

But, for now, LeBron James is asking for a little space.

Please.

At least that’s the message from his Facebook and Twitter posts overnight.

On his Facebook page, as Sunday turned to Monday, the Heat forward posted:

“Man it’s hard to go out and have a good time these days! It’s cool though, it’s part of my life. Wouldn’t change anything(just saying). Been in the spotlight since I was 15. Sometimes u just wanna STOP!! But I refuse cause I have a commitment to the youth to inspire them!! That will keep me pushing forward and focused alone.”

Reported by the South Florida Sun-Sentinel

LeBron James is seriously considering running for president of the National Basketball Players Association, multiple sources told ESPN.

James is giving a run “some very heavy thought,” one source said.

The biggest consideration for James will be the time commitment being the union president would require. James has limited time to give because of sponsorship and charity commitments in addition to playing. Deep playoff runs with the Miami Heat the past three seasons have also been taxing.

Still, James has been investigating the issue with advisers and fellow players this summer.

“It’s a very important position for where things are going,” a source close to James said.

Reported by Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com

The Miami Heat did it again.

They won the competition for Greg Oden, another free agent multiple teams were chasing. And they got him to take less money than was being offered elsewhere. This has happened time and time again over the past four summers and it’s a central reason they’re two-time champs who are the oddsmakers’ favorite to do it again.

Because they got Oden at their price and on their terms — assuring Oden that he’ll be brought along slowly with an eye toward the playoffs, above all else — the Heat have set this up as an all-reward, no-risk transaction.

Oden’s story is well known. The five knee surgeries, the no games since December of 2009, a grand total of 82 games since being drafted No. 1 in 2007. Because of all that there is hardly any meaningful way to project what Oden will be for the Heat this season.

In an effort to put some sort of perspective on him, stories about Oden’s return have recently included what his player efficiency rating was for a 21-game stretch in 2009. This, of course, has virtually no value now. Even the workouts Oden had for various teams recently, which were controlled by him and done at relative low speed, hold little predictive value.

Reported by Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com

Despite James winning consecutive championships and most valuable player of the year awards, the talk remains on his next move.

You don’t hear any discussions about the Heat possibly becoming the first team to three-peat since the Los Angeles Lakers in 2002, no one is talking about James perhaps ending his career in Miami.

Instead, there is only speculation of James playing everywhere from Dallas to Los Angeles to New York to even returning to Cleveland.

“I guess it’s a byproduct of the way the league is right now,” Chicago Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said.

“There’s always going to be speculation. That’s sort of the nature of the league. But he’s property of the Heat right now and no one can really talk about it.”

This should all sound familiar. James endured a similar struggle during the 2009-10 season, his first experience as a free agent.

Reported by Shandel Richardson of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel