Heat hope to land star-crossed forward
By Terry Brown
NBA Insider
Tuesday, July 22
Updated: July 22
11:03 AM ET
With Travis Best becoming a free agent, the Miami Heat need a point guard. Considering Eddie Jones' injuries, the Heat need a backup shooting guard. With Caron Butler already playing small forward, and power forward Brian Grant being forced to play center, the Heat still need someone to play power forward. Or center.
With the Sun Sentinel reporting that Pat Riley and restricted free agent Lamar Odom could be meeting as early as today, what the Heat are saying is that they need someone who can run the offense, hit a few 3-pointers, grab a bunch of rebounds and, well, be the star of a team that won only 25 games last year.
They really need Odom.
Odom
Yes, he's been injured several times over the last two seasons. Maybe as many times as he's been suspended for violating the league's drug policy. But over four seasons with the Los Angeles Clippers, Odom averaged 15.9 points, 7.3 rebounds, 4.6 assists, 1 steal and 1.2 blocks on 44 percent shooting. He also hit 197 triples on 31 percent shooting from beyond the arc.
Remember, those are averages. He's done much better in each category when he isn't icing down an ankle or knee or wrist or hiding his face underneath a towel after testing positive for something that was definitely a negative to his financial viability in the market.
How else could the Heat, offering as much $10 million per season for six years, be the Clippers' only competition for his services when this kind of talent could fetch several teams interest at a couple million more per year.
Let's not forget, Anthony Carter led the Heat in the assists category last year at 4.1 per game. Jones was next at 3.7. Best followed with 3.5. As for rebounding, Grant pulled down a healthy 10.2, but 7-footer Vladimir Stepania, also a free agent, could manage only seven per game. Malik Allen, another free agent, could muster only 5.3.
With Jones pulling up lame, a 6-foot-7 rookie was shoved into the starting lineup. He did better than expected, but Rasual Butler is still Rasual Butler and 50 triples over a full season at 29 percent isn't going to do it.
Add an average season from Odom to the Heat lineup and he quickly becomes the team's leader in assists and second in rebounding. In his second season in the NBA, he drilled 80 3-pointers.
As good as Caron Butler was last season as the team's only hope, Odom was still better during his rookie season while sharing the spotlight.
Caron Butler (2003)
Rookie Season: 15.4 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 2.7 apg, 1.7 spg, 0.4 bpg, 41 percent shooting
Lamar Odom (2001)
Rookie Season: 16.6 ppg, 7.8 rpg, 4.2 apg, 1.2 spg, 1.2 bpg, 43 percent shooting.
And his next season, he was even better, averaging 17.2 points, 5.2 assists, blocking 1.6 shots and shooting 46 percent from the field.
Those are the kind of numbers that you make room for, especially when you need a point guard, shooting guard, forward and/or center with $12 million suddenly in cap space.
The Los Angeles Times is reporting the Heat will offer as much as $10.9 million per season to the star-crossed small forward who has left a trail of controversy stretching from UNLV, a college he never even played for, to Rhode Island to Los Angeles to, the Heat hope, Miami.
Brand
The problem, though, is that the Clippers seem just as enamored with Odom as are the Heat and, in all probability, will match Miami's forthcoming offer just as they did with Elton Brand.
Of course, the Heat were hoping Gilbert Arenas would accept the Los Angeles offer, the Clips would match Maggette's from Utah and maybe even Andre Miller's from Denver if that didn't work out and thereby tie up so much money that they couldn't possibly keep Odom, too.
Offering Brand a near-max deal and forcing the Clippers' hand may have been part of the strategy since Pat Riley has been after Odom since 1999.
But Arenas moved on to Washington. The Clippers let Michael Olowokandi go to Minnestoa for the midlevel exception and they still claim they'll match any offers for Maggette and Odom.
Meanwhile in Miami, the Heat continue searching for a guard who can play forward or the other way around.
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Peep Show
By Terry Brown
NBA Insider
Tuesday, July 22
Updated: July 22
10:05 AM ET
Miller
Denver Nuggets: Brad Miller likes money. The Nuggets, though, are hoping he likes Denver even more. The Denver Post is reporting that the team has made an official offer to the center for six years at $49 million after the Utah Jazz offered him $55 million over the same amount of time. "Guys in the NBA do make a lot of dollars. It takes a special guy to take a little less to play in a place where he wants to play," GM Kiki Vandeweghe said to the Post. "(Nuggets signee) Andre Miller is one of those guys, and I believe Brad is one of those guys, too." All parties, it seems, agree that Miller wouldn't take less money to stay with his current team, the Indiana Pacers. "We've done everything we can do," CEO Donnie Walsh said. "We've had the whole franchise working on this for a very long time. There's just no way to do it."
San Antonio Spurs: San Antonio and New York are trying to get a third and/or fourth party to facilitate a trade involving Latrell Sprewell and Keith Van Horn. The New York Daily News is reporting that several teams have been mentioned but nothing final as several players, including Sprewell, are expecting to be moved in the near future.
Milwaukee Bucks: Larry Stotts may be the current coach of the Atlanta Hawks but that isn't stopping him from interviewing for the same position in Milwaukee. "Obviously, I'm interested in the Bucks job," Stotts said to the Journal Sentinal. "Hopefully I will have a chance to come up and talk to Larry (Bucks general manager Larry Harris) sometime this week." The Hawks, in a state of ownership flux, have given permission to Stotts to talk to the Bucks, who may also be looking at Dallas Mavericks assistant and former Bucks star Sidney Moncrief, current Orlando Magic assistant and former Bucks standout Paul Pressey, Sacramento Kings assistant and Milwaukee native Terry Porter, and former Bucks and Philadelphia 76ers assistant Mike Woodson, according to the Journal Sentinal.
Ratliff
New York Knicks: Theo Ratliff wants to be a Knick. The Knicks want Ratliff to be their center. The problem, though, is that the Hawks, Ratliff's current team, are still kind of fond of him even if the feeling isn't mutual. "He's miserable beyond belief," a source told the N.Y. Post. Also complicating the situation is the interim status of almost every Hawk employee while ownership issues are dealt with. "I'm not getting into discussions we may or may not have had," interim GM Billy Knight said to the Post. "We're not trading Theo. We plan to keep him. Centers are hard to come by."
New Orleans Hornets: Alvin Gentry recently became an assistant coach in New Orleans and finally persuaded his new team to take his old back-up center Sean Rooks. "We got to talking about it and I think Bob liked him, and Tim," Gentry said in the Times-Picayune. "He gives you a lot more things than score. He spreads the floor and, when the guy has to step out and guard him, it's going to create lanes for guys like Baron Davis and Jamal Mashburn." The deal will last one season.
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By Terry Brown
NBA Insider
Tuesday, July 22
Updated: July 22
11:03 AM ET
With Travis Best becoming a free agent, the Miami Heat need a point guard. Considering Eddie Jones' injuries, the Heat need a backup shooting guard. With Caron Butler already playing small forward, and power forward Brian Grant being forced to play center, the Heat still need someone to play power forward. Or center.
With the Sun Sentinel reporting that Pat Riley and restricted free agent Lamar Odom could be meeting as early as today, what the Heat are saying is that they need someone who can run the offense, hit a few 3-pointers, grab a bunch of rebounds and, well, be the star of a team that won only 25 games last year.
They really need Odom.
Odom
Yes, he's been injured several times over the last two seasons. Maybe as many times as he's been suspended for violating the league's drug policy. But over four seasons with the Los Angeles Clippers, Odom averaged 15.9 points, 7.3 rebounds, 4.6 assists, 1 steal and 1.2 blocks on 44 percent shooting. He also hit 197 triples on 31 percent shooting from beyond the arc.
Remember, those are averages. He's done much better in each category when he isn't icing down an ankle or knee or wrist or hiding his face underneath a towel after testing positive for something that was definitely a negative to his financial viability in the market.
How else could the Heat, offering as much $10 million per season for six years, be the Clippers' only competition for his services when this kind of talent could fetch several teams interest at a couple million more per year.
Let's not forget, Anthony Carter led the Heat in the assists category last year at 4.1 per game. Jones was next at 3.7. Best followed with 3.5. As for rebounding, Grant pulled down a healthy 10.2, but 7-footer Vladimir Stepania, also a free agent, could manage only seven per game. Malik Allen, another free agent, could muster only 5.3.
With Jones pulling up lame, a 6-foot-7 rookie was shoved into the starting lineup. He did better than expected, but Rasual Butler is still Rasual Butler and 50 triples over a full season at 29 percent isn't going to do it.
Add an average season from Odom to the Heat lineup and he quickly becomes the team's leader in assists and second in rebounding. In his second season in the NBA, he drilled 80 3-pointers.
As good as Caron Butler was last season as the team's only hope, Odom was still better during his rookie season while sharing the spotlight.
Caron Butler (2003)
Rookie Season: 15.4 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 2.7 apg, 1.7 spg, 0.4 bpg, 41 percent shooting
Lamar Odom (2001)
Rookie Season: 16.6 ppg, 7.8 rpg, 4.2 apg, 1.2 spg, 1.2 bpg, 43 percent shooting.
And his next season, he was even better, averaging 17.2 points, 5.2 assists, blocking 1.6 shots and shooting 46 percent from the field.
Those are the kind of numbers that you make room for, especially when you need a point guard, shooting guard, forward and/or center with $12 million suddenly in cap space.
The Los Angeles Times is reporting the Heat will offer as much as $10.9 million per season to the star-crossed small forward who has left a trail of controversy stretching from UNLV, a college he never even played for, to Rhode Island to Los Angeles to, the Heat hope, Miami.
Brand
The problem, though, is that the Clippers seem just as enamored with Odom as are the Heat and, in all probability, will match Miami's forthcoming offer just as they did with Elton Brand.
Of course, the Heat were hoping Gilbert Arenas would accept the Los Angeles offer, the Clips would match Maggette's from Utah and maybe even Andre Miller's from Denver if that didn't work out and thereby tie up so much money that they couldn't possibly keep Odom, too.
Offering Brand a near-max deal and forcing the Clippers' hand may have been part of the strategy since Pat Riley has been after Odom since 1999.
But Arenas moved on to Washington. The Clippers let Michael Olowokandi go to Minnestoa for the midlevel exception and they still claim they'll match any offers for Maggette and Odom.
Meanwhile in Miami, the Heat continue searching for a guard who can play forward or the other way around.
-------------------------------------
Peep Show
By Terry Brown
NBA Insider
Tuesday, July 22
Updated: July 22
10:05 AM ET
Miller
Denver Nuggets: Brad Miller likes money. The Nuggets, though, are hoping he likes Denver even more. The Denver Post is reporting that the team has made an official offer to the center for six years at $49 million after the Utah Jazz offered him $55 million over the same amount of time. "Guys in the NBA do make a lot of dollars. It takes a special guy to take a little less to play in a place where he wants to play," GM Kiki Vandeweghe said to the Post. "(Nuggets signee) Andre Miller is one of those guys, and I believe Brad is one of those guys, too." All parties, it seems, agree that Miller wouldn't take less money to stay with his current team, the Indiana Pacers. "We've done everything we can do," CEO Donnie Walsh said. "We've had the whole franchise working on this for a very long time. There's just no way to do it."
San Antonio Spurs: San Antonio and New York are trying to get a third and/or fourth party to facilitate a trade involving Latrell Sprewell and Keith Van Horn. The New York Daily News is reporting that several teams have been mentioned but nothing final as several players, including Sprewell, are expecting to be moved in the near future.
Milwaukee Bucks: Larry Stotts may be the current coach of the Atlanta Hawks but that isn't stopping him from interviewing for the same position in Milwaukee. "Obviously, I'm interested in the Bucks job," Stotts said to the Journal Sentinal. "Hopefully I will have a chance to come up and talk to Larry (Bucks general manager Larry Harris) sometime this week." The Hawks, in a state of ownership flux, have given permission to Stotts to talk to the Bucks, who may also be looking at Dallas Mavericks assistant and former Bucks star Sidney Moncrief, current Orlando Magic assistant and former Bucks standout Paul Pressey, Sacramento Kings assistant and Milwaukee native Terry Porter, and former Bucks and Philadelphia 76ers assistant Mike Woodson, according to the Journal Sentinal.
Ratliff
New York Knicks: Theo Ratliff wants to be a Knick. The Knicks want Ratliff to be their center. The problem, though, is that the Hawks, Ratliff's current team, are still kind of fond of him even if the feeling isn't mutual. "He's miserable beyond belief," a source told the N.Y. Post. Also complicating the situation is the interim status of almost every Hawk employee while ownership issues are dealt with. "I'm not getting into discussions we may or may not have had," interim GM Billy Knight said to the Post. "We're not trading Theo. We plan to keep him. Centers are hard to come by."
New Orleans Hornets: Alvin Gentry recently became an assistant coach in New Orleans and finally persuaded his new team to take his old back-up center Sean Rooks. "We got to talking about it and I think Bob liked him, and Tim," Gentry said in the Times-Picayune. "He gives you a lot more things than score. He spreads the floor and, when the guy has to step out and guard him, it's going to create lanes for guys like Baron Davis and Jamal Mashburn." The deal will last one season.
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