Category: Miami Heat Blog

The Miami HEAT announced today that they have signed forwards Rodney Carney and Robert Dozier to their training camp roster.

Carney has appeared in 299 career NBA games (48 starts) with four different teams and averaged 5.9 points, 2.0 rebounds and 15.4 minutes while shooting 42.2 percent from the field, 33.8 percent from three-point range and 70.4 percent from the foul line. Additionally, he has appeared in six career NBA postseason games, all with Philadelphia, averaging 5.0 points, 1.2 rebounds and 1.17 steals in 14.0 minutes of action.

Carney, the 16th overall selection of the 2006 NBA Draft, played two seasons (2006-07 & 2007-08) with Philadelphia before playing with Minnesota during the 2008-09 season. He then re-joined the 76ers for the 2009-10 season before splitting 2011-12 between Memphis and Golden State. Last season, Carney appeared in 31 games for the Liaoning Jiebao Hunters of the Chinese Basketball Association and averaged 21.9 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.16 blocks, 1.13 steals, 1.0 assists and 31.4 minutes while shooting 44.2 percent from the field, 32.7 percent from three-point range and 80 percent from the foul line.

Dozier, originally drafted by Miami in the second round (60th overall) of the 2009 NBA Draft, appeared in three games (all starts) with the 2012 HEAT Summer League team totaling 11 points, 11 rebounds, four assists, four steals and a block in 54:35 minutes of action. He spent last season with Cholet Basket of the France ProA League appearing in 22 games and averaged 9.5 points, 5.4 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 23.5 minutes while shooting 56.1 percent from the field, 33.3 percent from three-point range and 72.1 percent from the foul line.

Dozier spent the 2010-11 season with PAOK Thessaloniki of the Greece A1 League and the 2009-10 season with VAP Kolossos of the Greece A1 League. Prior to that, he played four seasons at the University of Memphis appearing in 148 career games (111 starts) and averaged 9.3 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.54 blocks, 1.1 assists and 25.0 minutes. He became just the seventh player in school history to record at least 1,000 points and 900 rebounds. Among Memphis leaders, he finished third in games played, fifth in blocks (228), sixth in rebounds (961) and 13th in points (1,381).

The HEAT’s roster now stands at 20.

Dwyane Wade Injury Update

Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade’s participation will be limited at least during the first week of training camp because of his offseason knee surgery.

Camp begins Saturday at AmericanAirlines Arena, and the team’s preseason media day will be held Friday.

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra met with reporters Thursday to discuss a wide range of topics, including the statuses of Wade and Mike Miller, who each finished the team’s championship run with injuries.

Wade, who played with pain and swelling in his knee throughout the playoffs, underwent surgery on his left knee July 9 – forcing him to miss the Olympics. Miller, who was limited by a sore back for most of the postseason, has undergone rehabilitation throughout the offseason.

— Reported by Joseph Goodman of the Miami Herald

With the Miami Heat still sorting through roster possibilities five days before the start of training camp, former University of Miami guard Jack McClinton was among those working out Monday at AmericanAirlines Arena.

With teams allowed to carry up to 20 players during training camp, the Heat remain two spots below the maximum.

In addition to McClinton, also working in the team’s pre-camp sessions were Heat 2009 second-round pick Robert Dozier, the forward out of Memphis, and swingman Chamberlain Oguchi, who had an impressive offseason with the Nigerian national team at the London Olympics.

— Reported by Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Hakeem Olajuwon training with LeBron James paid dividends

This was in the late summer of 2011, and LeBron was still in full seeker mode in the aftermath of the Heat’s NBA Finals collapse against the Dallas Mavericks.

Ripped for disappearing when it mattered most, mocked for still finding himself without a championship eight seasons into his pro career, LeBron reached out to a veritable Mount Olympus of basketball greats as the NBA lockout dragged on.

He met with Magic Johnson, spoke with Isiah Thomas and tried unsuccessfully to set up a chat with Larry Bird.

However, it was the Hakeem Sessions that paid the most obvious dividend.

How many times during the Heat’s 2012 championship run did LeBron turn his back to the basket and spin past a helpless opponent for an easy score?

How many times during his third league MVP season did LeBron exchange the easy and the familiar of the perimeter for the rugged and the raw of the low post?

And how many times in those final three matchups, against the Pacers and the Celtics and the Thunder, did

LeBron help the Heat climb back from daunting series deficits with moves right out of the Olajuwon repertoire?

Spinning, dipping, up-and-unders?

Cheetah-like drop steps followed by thunderous slams?

And yes, even a handful of feathery fadeaways along the baseline, a move so familiar Olajuwon will soon be releasing a full line of lifestyle gear, including personally designed basketball shoes, in its honor.

The Dream Shake.

“I saw all of the moves we worked on,” Olajuwon, 49, says proudly. “When you work with a player, the satisfaction is in knowing that now, when it counts, when it is valued, he is executing.”

— Reported by Michael Berardino of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Micky Arison is the richest man in Florida, according to Forbes. He’s worth about $5 billion, which places him 68th among the world’s wealthiest people.

H.Wayne is on the list and so is the Glazer family. Tony Montana is not on the list, so take it for what it’s worth.

— Reported by Joseph Goodman of the Miami Herald (Blog)

The Miami HEAT announced today that they have signed center Josh Harrellson.

Harrellson appeared in 37 games (four starts) for the New York Knicks last season averaging 4.4 points and 3.9 rebounds in 14.6 minutes of action while shooting 42.3 percent from the field, including 33.9 percent from three-point range. In his four starts, he averaged 10.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, 1.00 blocks and 30.8 minutes while shooting 46 percent from the field. He scored a career-high 18 points in a 104-84 victory at Charlotte on April 26 and posted a 14-point, 12-rebound double-double at Sacramento on December 31, helping New York capture the 114-92 win. He appeared in five postseason games with New York during the Opening Round of the 2012 NBA Playoffs against the HEAT and totaled 10 points and eight rebounds in 25 minutes.

Harrellson, drafted in the second round (45th overall) by the New Orleans Hornets in the 2011 NBA Draft,  played three seasons at the University of Kentucky after transferring from Southwestern Illinois Junior College. He appeared in 94 games (40 starts) for the Wildcats and averaged 4.7 points and 4.7 rebounds in 15.8 minutes while shooting 55.1 percent from the field.

The HEAT’s roster now stands at 18.

Three months later, he’s still in one piece, his limbs attached to all the right places. For the first time with the Miami Heat, Mike Miller might actually start a regular season in uniform.

After considering retirement during the NBA Finals and then contemplating back surgery at the completion of the Heat’s championship run, Miller is up and running and looking forward to the Sept. 29 start of training camp at AmericanAirlines Arena.

“I’m feeling pretty good,” he said Saturday.

Instead of gaining a $2.9 million injury exception for a replacement player, the Heat apparently will have the real thing, with Miller hoping to pick up where he left off, which just happened to be with seven 3-pointers in the Game 5 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder that gave the Heat their second championship.

— Reported by Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Chris Bosh said he’s open to returning as the center of attention.

One of the Miami Heat’s big three with LeBron James and Dwayne Wade, Bosh told ESPN.com that he expects to open the 2012-13 as the team’s starting center.

“It’s becoming natural to me,” Bosh told ESPN.com. “I have a very unique opportunity to do something very special for myself and my team. I think all the time that you have to evolve and get better. This is me evolving as a player.”

— Reported by the Sports Xchange