Miami Heat Blog – Page 93 – NBA Blog

Dwyane Wade begins book tour

It won’t be difficult to play “Where’s Wade?” this week. Dwyane Wade is about to hit New York like a cyclone with the start of his book tour.

“A Father First: How my life became bigger than basketball” will be released Tuesday, which also is when the Miami Heat’s All-Star guard will storm Manhattan.

From Letterman to Calvin Klein, from ESPN to CNN, Wade is about to enter a whirlwind week that culminates with three South Florida book signings this coming weekend.

Two weeks after that, training camp will open.

For Wade, it starts Tuesday on ABC Radio, continues with two segments alongside Barbara Walters, Whoopi Goldberg and Joy Behar on “The View,” then a book signing on 5th Avenue, a mid-afternoon media session at the NBA Store, a late-afternoon taping of “The Late Show with David Letterman” and an ESPN fashion panel followed by an ESPN book party at Lincoln Center.

And that’s just Tuesday.

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

Dwyane Wade discusses LeBron vs Jordan

‘Michael is the greatest player I’ve ever seen play. I think LeBron is in that conversation of one day becoming. It’s all speculation, in a sense. He has a long way to go. He knows that. He has one championship. Michael has six! There’s a lot to say about that.

‘‘LeBron is a dominant player. . . . But Michael Jordan is the greatest of all time.’’

— Reported by Dan Cahill of the Chicago Sun-Times

LeBron James would happily make Space Jam 2

LeBron James is constantly being compared to Michael Jordan.

And if James’ dreams come true, you’ll be able to compare their acting skills on top of everything else.

On Sunday, James was fielding questions from his Twitter followers, when one asked if the three-time MVP loved the movie, Space Jam.

James offered this reply: “I love that movie. Wish I could do Space Jam 2!”

— Reported by CSN Philly

Wade thinks Heat will keep evolving

To a degree, Wade said it is essential that he, James and Chris Bosh continue to evolve, that each add enough nuance to their games that it forces Spoelstra to reach the level of creativity he achieved last season.

“You never know what player is going to start off and be playing a certain way and you switch things up a little bit,” Wade said. “But we have that luxury, because we have not only three marquee players, but we have a lot of other players on our team that’s very capable, highly capable, and very good.”

And there will be decisions to be made, from how to maximize [Ray] Allen’s role in the rotation, as stressed during his recruitment, to where to play [Rashard] Lewis, with length suited for the power rotation but a frame more befitting a perimeter player.

“So our plan to come out,” Wade said, “is, let’s get together as a team, let’s get our team defensive concepts down, let’s get our offensive continuity down and we’ll see what comes out of that.”

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

Heat bring in Josh Harrellson for workout

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

Wade says best is yet to come for LeBron

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

Miami Heat draft pick Justin Hamilton to play in Europe

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

Danny Granger says Heat deserved to win championship

Like everybody else in the Pacers organization, Granger is eager for the season to start after they were eliminated by Miami in six games in the second round of the playoffs last season.

“Still not over it,” Granger said laughing about losing to the Heat. “I’m over it. It happens. They were the better team. I think they deserved to win the championship. That’s the way it goes. We have to get better.”

The Eastern Conference will be better next season.

Brooklyn, Boston, New York and the Pacers are expected to be in the mix for seeds 2-4 in the East.

— Reported by Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star (Blog)

Paul Pierce discusses Ray Allen leaving Boston

Paul Pierce discusses Ray Allen leaving the Celtics

Boston Celtics captain Paul Pierce admitted he’s a “little bitter” about Ray Allen’s decision to go to Miami and said it will be “weird” going up against him on opening night next season, but Pierce expressed gratitude for what Allen brought to Boston, including helping the Celtics win a title.

“Ray made the best decision for him,” Pierce told the team’s official website Thursday in his first public offseason comments during a video interview. “That’s what it’s all about: You get in these situations, you become a free agent, and you make a decision based on what’s best for you and your family. Ray will always be a brother for me. If it wasn’t for him, I probably wouldn’t be wearing a championship ring. So the things he was able to do for this organization, will never be forgotten.”

Asked if he’s talked to Allen since he spurned Boston’s two-year, $12 million offer to sign with Miami for half the value, Pierce said, “A couple texts. I’m a little bitter that he went to Miami, but he’s still a brother of mine.”

— Reported by Chris Forsberg of ESPN Boston

Pat Riley says Heat want but do not need to add a center

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