Could the Butler signing backfire on the Heat?

The Miami Heat signed rookie Da’Sean Butler to a two-year, $1.3 million contract on Monday.

Butler’s minimum salary contract will pay him $473,604 and $788,872, respectively, for this season and next. The first season is $300,000 guaranteed. The second season is fully unguaranteed, becoming 50% guaranteed if he is not waived before June 20, 2011, and becoming fully guaranteed if he is not waived before opening night of next season.

The contract offer is surprising to put it nicely, but unwise is a more accurate description.

Butler will be competing for the 15th and final roster spot with Patrick Beverley (who received a fully-guaranteed two-year, $1.3 million contract) and Kenny Hasbrouck (who has a $250,000 partial guarantee).

But he is not healthy. And he figures not to be for quite a while. Butler continues to rehab from the devastating knee injury he sustained in the Final Four of last season’s NCAA tournament.

Doctors originally thought Butler could be cleared for some basketball activity by the beginning of the NBA season. But the 6-foot-7 swingman had a setback with his surgically repaired left knee in July, leading to a second surgery that further pushed back when he could return to the court.

“I couldn’t tell you when I’ll be back,” says Butler. “I’ve been trying to find out from my doctors and trainers when would be the perfect time and I get the same answer every time. Everybody’s body is different, so when you’re better, you’re better. You’ll know when you’re better and we’ll know you’re better. So, they will let me know when I’m good to go and I’m fine to do something. All I can do is just wait it out.”

Butler was presumably signed so that his rehab process could be directed by the Heat training staff. Ironically, however, the signing makes it substantially more unlikely he will ever play for the Heat. Read more…

The Bird vs. Ford standoff could get ugly. Could it provide an opportunity for the Heat?

The Pacers have been trying to trade point guard T.J. Ford for nearly two years now, which is impressive considering Ford didn’t join the team until July of 2008. That would imply the Pacers almost immediately figured out that Ford wasn’t the right fit in Indianapolis. No team, however, has been willing to take on the remainder of T.J.’s four-year, $33 million contract he signed with the Toronto Raptors in the summer of 2006.

Now, with the acquisition of point-guard-of-the-future Darren Collison, the Pacers have taken a new approach in trying to sever ties with Ford. The team is trying to negotiate a buyout. The Pacers want Ford to take a reduced payoff of $5.0 million. But Ford has resisted.

It’s hard to blame him. T.J. is owed $8.5 million this season. He didn’t pick up his player option just two months ago in order to leave $3.5 million on the table in what could very well be his final lucrative contract.

Perhaps he will ultimately take a little less to be set free and see if he can land a backup job somewhere else. At this point, however, that would likely be for the $1,069,509 minimum salary, so it would be foolish to think he will take a significant discount (certainly not the 41% discount proposed).

The Pacers face another conundrum as well. They need the roster room. Indiana’s roster is already at the fifteen-player regular season limit and the team apparently wants to add second round pick and training camp invitee Magnum Rolle to the mix.

It will be interesting to see how the situation plays itself out. Ford seemingly has all the leverage, not the Pacers. The team could very well be forced to waive him outright. At that point, he’d be free for the taking.

Should the Miami Heat take an interest? Read more…

Rudy is unhappy in Portland due to limited playing time and the coaching style of Nate McMillan.

Many of us feel that Rudy Fernandez would be a nice addition for the Miami Heat. The 6’6″ Spaniard set an NBA rookie record two seasons ago by making 159 three-pointers. But he’s not just a shooter. Fernandez has proven that he’s a multi-faceted, talented basketball player.

He desperately wants out of Portland, and the Blazers have reportedly conceded. At the urging of Rudy and his agent, the Blazers have engaged in trade discussions to deal the disgruntled, once-popular shooting guard. The Blazers have also since signed free agent shooting guard Wesley Matthews to a five-year contract, making Rudy’s tenure in Portland even more tenuous.

According to Frank Isola of the New York Daily News, Rudy has five teams he’d like to be traded to: the Bulls, Celtics, Knicks, Nets and Heat.

Although Miami could surely use a player like Fernandez, it’s not like Rudy has any say in the matter; he’s simply given the Blazers a list of teams he’d be interested in playing for, which means Portland still would need to work out a trade if they’re going to oblige.

New Portland General Manager Rich Cho has set his trade demands high. He is reportedly seeking young talent, a first round draft pick, or some combination of two in return.

I’ve spoken to [agent] Andy [Miller] and I’m aware of Rudy’s feelings. But at the end of the day we are going to make the best decision for the franchise.

The Blazers have already rejected two proposals from the Bulls. Chicago is said to have offered to absorb Rudy’s salary for next season while sending a future first-round pick to the Blazers. They’ve also reportedly offered up James Johnson. But Portland is holding out for better offers. Read more…

Patrick Beverley signed a two-year minimum salary contract with the Heat on Monday

The Miami Heat signed Patrick Beverley to a two-year, $1.3 million contract on Monday.

That much we know.

What we don’t know is why. Why did the Heat elect to sign him so soon? And why oh why did they fully guarantee it?

Beverley now becomes the only player in the league to have tried out for his team, get rejected, and subsequently receive a multi-year guaranteed contract the following season.

The Heat now has 15 players with fully guaranteed deals. Beverley, however, still has no guarantee he will make the opening night roster.

Beverley was drafted No. 42nd overall by the Los Angeles Lakers in 2009. His draft rights were immediately traded to the Heat in exchange for a 2011 second-round draft pick and $1.5 million in cash.

He didn’t make the team last off-season, instead signing a two-year, €420,000 contract (about $555,000) with Greek powerhouse Olympiakos. In 41 games of Greek League and Euroleague play with the team, Beverley contributed 3.9 points, 2.4 rebounds, 1.1 assists as a reserve, while shooting 55.7% from the field and 29.0% from distance.

A scrappy, defensive-minded guard, Beverley figures to battle in training camp, which opens September 28, with Kenny Hasbrouck for the final spot on the Heat’s regular season roster. Hasbrouck, who finished last season on the Heat’s inactive list, outplayed Beverley last month with the Heat’s summer-league team in Las Vegas. Read more…

The final contract details are in.

Here’s a look the specifics for all sixteen players currently under contract to the Heat:

Lebron James and Chris Bosh were each signed-and-traded to a six year, $109,837,500 contract in July 2010. They will each make $14,500,000 this season, with the maximum allowable 10.5% annual raises thereafter. Each contract contains an Early Termination Option after the fourth season and a Player Option after the fifth season, effectively allowing the player to re-enter free agency prior to both the fifth and sixth seasons of his deal. Each contract also contains a 15% trade bonus. The contracts were added utilizing cap space. James will be 32 and Bosh will be 31 at the end of their contracts.

Dwyane Wade was re-signed to a six-year, $107,565,000 contract in July 2010. He will make $14,200,000 this season, with the maximum allowable 10.5% annual raises thereafter. His contract also contains an Early Termination Option after the fourth season and a Player Option after the fifth season, as well as a 15% trade bonus. The contract was signed utilizing cap space. Wade will be 34 at the end of his contract.

Mike Miller was signed to a five-year, $29,000,000 contract in July 2010. He will make $5,000,000 this season, with the maximum allowable 8.0% annual raises thereafter. His contract contains a Player Option after the fourth season, as well as a 15% trade bonus. The contract was signed utilizing cap space. Miller will be 35 at the end of his contract.

Udonis Haslem was signed to a five-year $20,300,000 contract in July 2010. He will make $3,500,000 this season, with the maximum allowable 8.0% annual raises thereafter.His contract contains a Player Option after the fourth season, as well as a 15% trade bonus. The contract was signed utilizing cap space. Haslem will be 34 at the end of his contract.

Joel Anthony was re-signed to a five-year, $18,250,000 contract in July 2010. He will make $3.3 million this season. His contract contains a Player Option after the fourth season. The contract was signed utilizing Joel’s Bird rights. Anthony will be 32 at the end of his contract. Read more…

Da’Sean Butler had played his way into a sure first-round draft selection with a spectacular senior campaign at West Virginia last season, sinking six game-winning shots, earning second-team All-America honors, and leading the Mountaineers to the Final Four for the first time since 1959. With a first round selection comes the virtual guarantee of becoming a multi-millionaire.

And then one fateful play changed the course of Da’Sean’s career. With a little less than nine minutes remaining in the Mountaineers’ national semi-final match-up with eventual champion Duke on April 3rd, Butler drove to the basket and collided with the Blue Devils’ Brian Zoubek. Moments later, the senior forward lay on his back clutching his left knee, writhing in pain caused by a torn ACL, a sprained MCL and two bone bruises.

The image of head coach Bob Huggins consoling his fallen superstar was simultaneously touching and perhaps just a bit uncomfortable. But we can all certainly empathize. Instead of beginning preparation for a potential spot in a starting rotation somewhere in this league, Butler found himself instead fighting for any place at all. Read more…

Mikhail Prokhorov is a newcomer to the NBA, as the billionaire owner of the soon-to-be Brooklyn Nets. At 45 years of age, Prokhorov is Russia’s second richest man, with an estimated net worth of $13.4 billion. Apparently, he is also a classy guy in defeat.

The Nets were one of the teams shut out of the Lebron James sweepstakes after James’ whirlwind free agent courtship, but Prokhorov says he has no problem with the superstar’s decision to play for the Miami Heat. In fact, he offers James his best.

Prokhorov sent the following letter to the USA Today:

The players are signed, the “Decision” is made, but the passions around this year’s extraordinary class of NBA free agents refuses to die down. What surprises me is the amount of negative commentary directed at the three top free agents (especially LeBron James) who decided to play on the same team and to create a great franchise together. Of course, any club owner dreams of having those players, including me, but all questions of how the announcements were made aside, I respect their choice, and no one has the right to judge them.

I want to say that I support LeBron, the best athlete in the NBA. He had a truly difficult choice to make. Any move he made was sure to be viewed as wrong, and to leave many unhappy fans. Basing his decision on achieving results on the basketball court shows that the sportsman won the day, not the showman or the businessman. What is wrong with that?

We are seeing the birth of a new, dynamic team with such star players, and all of us can await the new season with great anticipation. I wish them success and give them my moral support. I will be happy for us to beat the Miami Heat in the conference finals, maybe not this season, but in the very near future. Read more…

Bryan Colangelo lashed out against his former All-Star power forward, Chris Bosh, yesterday.

Raptors general manager Bryan Colangelo went on the air yesterday, now three weeks after his former All-Star power forward decided to leave Toronto in favor of the Miami Heat, and basically declared that Chris Bosh quit on his team during the stretch run of the regular season.

After seemingly being a lock for a playoff spot midway through last season, the Raptors collapsed amidst a more difficult second half and missed the postseason by just one game. Bosh missed all of the twelve total games he missed throughout the season during the second half.

Talking on radio station FAN 590 in Toronto, Colangelo said Bosh wasn’t the same player toward the end of the year. He also complained that Bosh took an excessive amount of time returning from injury, an apparent reference to the seven games Bosh missed in February with a sprained ankle.  Read more…

House re-joins the Heat after a 7-year pause, in which he played for 8 teams

Eddie House is now officially the latest addition to the Miami Heat rotation, and a very good one at that that.

The three-point specialist has agreed on a two-year contract at the veteran minimum of $1,352,181 and $1,399,507, respectively, with the second season a player option.

The story for Eddie is a now a common one on this Heat roster. He passed on more lucrative deals elsewhere. The Bulls were thought to have been the front-runners for House, with the Celtics also in play to bring him back. Instead, he has chosen to re-join the team that originally drafted him out of Arizona State with the 37th overall pick ten years ago.

House is a perfect fit in the Heat rotation. He will serve as a high-energy spark off the bench. I can’t stress enough how important it is to surround three superior defense-collapsing playmakers with a gaggle of superior three-point shooting specialists. The Heat now has three legitimate threats – Eddie House, Mike Miller and James Jones.

House does one thing exceedingly well – shoot. He can shoot set shots, shots off the dribble or falling away, and is an elite free throw shooter. His jump shot is all there, particularly in all-important clutch situations, and his lightning quick release (as well as the height he jumps to shoot it) means that he can always get it away. Read more…

It took 14 years, 7 teams, 4 trades, 3 free agent signings, 2 repeat pit stops, 1 buyout and 1 outright release, but he has finally found his way back to Miami. Roster spot number twelve belongs to Juwan Howard.

The union brings full circle the most agonizing and controversial contract situation in the history of Miami’s basketball franchise. Howard officially joined the Heat on Tuesday, signing a one-year minimum salary contract that will pay him $1,352,181. David Stern won’t raise any red flags this time around.

Fourteen years ago, when the Heat signed and subsequently lost Howard due to alleged salary cap violations, an incensed Pat Riley declared:

The day that Juwan Howard signed a contract with the Washington Bullets is the day I hit a new low in my 30 years in the NBA. I knew that once he signed that contract, we would probably never get him back, even if we took it to the Supreme Court and won it, because he wanted to stay in Washington. It’s very disconcerting to invest $100 million in a player, to go that far, know that you’re going to fight to keep him, and they just run to another deal.

Apparently, all is forgiven. Today, a more even-tempered Riley commented:

We feel that Juwan’s ability to play both the four and five spot will be complementary to what we have put together. He also gives us incredible professionalism and is a perfect fit behind Chris Bosh and Udonis Haslem.

The signing is nonetheless a head-scratcher. This time around, Howard is no longer the talent he was once thought to be. At 37, his athleticism is in a rapid state of decline. He is old and slow. He can’t rebound. He can’t defend. If he doesn’t knock down his line-drive jump shot, he serves no real purpose on the court. And barring an injury to Chris Bosh or Udonis Haslem, he’s not likely to see any time on it.

Read more…