Category: Miami Heat Blog

Looking to fill their final spot on the roster, the Miami Heat hosted a workout for free agent center Josh Harrellson on Thursday morning, a league source told ESPN.com. The 6-foot-10 big man was waived last week by the Houston Rockets in order to make room for newly signed guard Carlos Delfino.

Harrellson averaged 4.4 points and 3.9 rebounds while shooting 33.9 percent from downtown last season as a reserve big man for the Knicks before being traded this offseason to the Rockets in a package for center Marcus Camby.

— Reported by Tom Haberstroh of ESPN.com

All LeBron James has done so far this year is win the NBA’s MVP award for the third time, an NBA Finals MVP trophy to go along with that one, his elusive first championship and a second Olympic gold medal.

Dwyane Wade thinks his Miami Heat teammate is just getting started.

With the start of Heat training camp now just six weeks away, Wade said on Friday that he expects James to be even better this coming season now that the will-he-ever-win-a-championship question has been forever put to rest.

“That monkey is off his back and now he’s just playing basketball,” Wade said while taking a break from his annual fantasy camp, where fans pay up to $12,500 to get a four-day luxury taste of NBA life. “I think we’ll see a better LeBron James – scary to say, three-time MVP – than we’ve seen. And it’s because all he has to do is play basketball now. He doesn’t have to worry about what he hasn’t done. It’ll always be something, but he’s got the biggest one off his back.”

— Reported by the Associated Press

As predicted by Pat Riley, Heat draft pick Justin Hamilton will soon be stashed away in Europe.

It sounds better than being banished.

Riley mentioned “stashing” Hamilton in Europe after the draft and on Wednesday the second-round pick signed to play in Croatia with Cibonia Zagreb of the Adriatic League. A 7-foot center, Hamilton started two games for the Heat’s summer league team in Las Vegas after being drafted with the 45th pick of the second round. He was expected to make the team.

— Reported by Joseph Goodman of the Miami Herald

On a roster that has only Joel Anthony and Dexter Pittman under contract at center, Miami Heat President Pat Riley has reiterated that he sees no need to aggressively pursue a veteran in free agency.

“We definitely are going to continue to look for somebody in that spot, but unless there’s an injury, we really don’t need a center,” Riley said during an appearance on WQAM.

Among veteran big men who remain available are Darko Milicic, Chris Andersen, Jermaine O’Neal, Ben Wallace, Lou Amundson, Joel Przybilla and Andray Blatche. But as he has since the Heat won the 2012 NBA championship with Chris Bosh as the team’s starting center, Riley said he believes the team is covered at the position.

“We signed Chris, basically, in my mind, fully in my mind, not in the back of my mind, he was probably going to be our center in critical situations,” Riley said on the Joe Rose Show. “And, so, Chris Bosh is a power forward, he’s a Tim Duncan-type player, but when you watch the San Antonio Spurs play, Tim is in the middle. That’s all there is to it.”

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

With the pressure of winning his first NBA title off his back, LeBron James and the Miami Heat are looking to repeat next season and they wasted no time in the off-season adding more talent to the fold to strengthen their roster. With the signings of sharp-shooter Ray Allen and former Wizards forward Rashard Lewis, the Heat brought on veteran scorers who can spread the floor with their ability to shoot the ball, especially from three-point range.

Allen, the NBA’s all-time leader in three-point shots made, still has a lot of game left in his 37-year old legs, coming off a season in which he averaged 14 points a game in Boston. When in a zone, Allen is one of the most feared jump shooters in the game. Allen has shot an impressive 40 percent from beyond the arc for his career and he would likely come off the bench as the Heat’s sixth man next season. James, last season’s MVP of the league, and guard Dwyane Wade are two of the best in the league at breaking down defenders — and with Allen perched on the wing waiting to stroke a three, the Heat’s offense is vastly improved.

— Reported by CSN Washington

Juwan Howard said Friday that he is still deciding whether he wants to return for a 19th NBA season, although the direction he’s leaning might be indicated by his being the first player back in the Heat practice gym once the title celebrations had slowed down a bit.

“I still have the itch,” Howard said while appearing at a Heat “Learn to Swim” event for children. “I still have the passion and the love for the game. More importantly, I still like staying in shape and I can’t sit on my behind. I’m still iffy as far as if I want to come back and play or not, but I’ll tell you one thing — once I decide, I want to be ready. So I am working out … ready for whatever happens.”

Howard turns 40 next Feb. 7.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Mike Miller believes his balky back can improve without surgery, and he’s planning to help the NBA champion Miami Heat defend their crown next season.

Miller limped through much of this past season, his back pain so severe at times that he couldn’t even sit on the Heat bench during games. He has been consulting with Miami neurosurgeon Dr. Barth Green throughout this offseason, and the expectation now is that a combination of rest and rehabilitation should be enough to get him ready to play again.

“No retirement,” Miller said Tuesday.

Miller made an appearance for about 600 children at a basketball camp he sponsored, walking in to roars from the kids and chants of his last name. And when told that Hialeah, a city just north of Miami, believes it was the epicenter of the biggest party to celebrate the Heat championship, Miller tipped his hand as to his future plans.

“Then let’s party again next year,” Miller said.

— Reported by the Associated Press