Is Miami a basketball town or not?

Surprise. It’s like any other NBA city.

You have some diehard fans, the casual fans and a lot of people who just wind up with a ticket somehow. Some cities have more of one of those categories, some have less, most have a bit of a balance between all three. But here’s a constant in pretty much all of these cities: If the team doesn’t put out a good product the people, whether they’re “true” fans or bandwagon fans, stay away from the games. Yes, even in such cities where fans are held in higher regard because their teams have more history like Boston or Philadelphia. Imagine that.

Let’s take a glance at attendance figures in tandem with a team’s wins and losses. (Yes I know teams aren’t the most accurate when it comes to this, but since all teams do it then it’s fair game.) [Read more →]

The Heat have signed their 14th player this offseason. Apparently this contract is only partially guaranteed (there can be upwards of 20 players in training camp before the final 15 are set). Here is the official press release:

The Miami HEAT announced today that they have re-signed free agent forward Shavlik Randolph. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Randolph has appeared in 95 career NBA games (seven starts), averaging 2.4 points, 2.4 rebounds and 8.3 minutes while shooting 44.7 percent from the field. He appeared in six games for the HEAT and Portland Trail Blazers during the 2009-10 season, and averaged 2.3 points and 2.3 rebounds in 8.8 minutes.

The Duke University alum was previously signed by the HEAT as a free agent on September 28, 2009 and after appearing in two games, was later waived on December 14, 2009. He was then signed by Portland on December 30, 2009, appearing in three games for the Trail Blazers and was waived on January 6, 2010. Portland then signed Randolph to a 10-day contract on January 8. He re-signed with the HEAT on April 6, 2010.

Seems like I left Las Vegas a week too soon as LeBron James is enjoying his time there with his new Heat teammate Dwyane Wade, as well as Chris Paul, and together have been busy hanging with Team USA and enjoying themselves out on the town.

From Heather Turk at the Examiner: [Read more →]

I got to thinking after reading a post from Henry Abbott (a/k/a the Godfather of the TrueHoop Network) on Thursday asking the following: Is Miami a basketball town?

I’ve only lived here five years, but I love the city and I think I’ve picked up what it’s all about. And because of that, I think it’s a harder question to answer than just picking a sport.

[Read more →]

When you’ve carved your roster down to two players, a number of signatures is naturally to be expected. But the last two weeks have been hard to keep up with as an observer.

From MiamiHeat.com, the order goes as such:
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The Miami Heat have released this official press release:

The Miami HEAT announced today that they have re-signed guard Carlos Arroyo. Per club policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“By re-signing Carlos, we feel we have accomplished another big step in adding to this team,” said HEAT President Pat Riley. “Carlos showed last season that he was one of the most competitive and efficient point guards in the NBA, and we are happy to have him back.”

Arroyo has appeared in 505 career games (148 starts) over eight seasons. During his career, with six NBA teams, he has averaged 6.9 points, 3.2 assists, 1.7 rebounds, and 18.7 minutes, while shooting 43.8 percent from the field and 80.5 percent from the foul line. He has scored in double-figures on 160 occasions, and has registered 60 multi-steal games.

During the 2009-10 season, Arroyo appeared in 72 games (35 starts) for the HEAT, averaging 6.1 points, 3.1 assists, 1.8 rebounds and 22.0 minutes, while shooting 47.5 percent from the field and 84.4 percent from the foul line. He set the HEAT single-season franchise record for assist-to-turnover ratio (4.17), which ranked second in the NBA last season, and registered a career-high in field goal percentage.

Arroyo originally signed with the HEAT as a free agent on October 12, 2009.

The day before his first NBA contract was signed with the Miami Heat, I spotted Dexter Pittman relaxing on the team’s day off at the Thomas & Mack Center in the UNLV campus. He was laughing and joking around with a group of friends and would have blended in the crowd if it wasn’t for that 6’10”, 300 pound frame. Perhaps his good mood was due to his impending status as an official member of the Miami Heat and the chance to play with Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and LeBron James.

Though his production at the Summer League was limited because of a minor injury, his talent and potential were evident regardless. If he can continue to work hard and develop under the Heat training staff Pittman will soon be regarded as one of the steals of the second round of the 2010 NBA Draft.

When his contract was finally announced, he could hardly contain his excitement with a large grin. “Excited and ready to go to work for the Heat,” Pittman said. “Being an official member of the Heat is a blessing. There was nervousness and butterflies and saying ‘OK, I’m a part of Wade County. So it’s time to go to work so I can help those guys the best way I can.’” [Read more →]

Fourteen years later, the Miami Heat are trying again and signing Juwan Howard. Here is the official press release:

The Miami HEAT announced today that they have signed free agent forward Juwan Howard. Per club policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“This is a great addition for us,” said HEAT President Pat Riley. “We feel that Juwan’s ability to play both the four and five spot will be complimentary to what we have put together. He also gives us incredible professionalism and is a perfect fit behind Chris Bosh and Udonis Haslem.”

“This is a great opportunity in order to play in the City of Miami for the HEAT organization,” said Howard. “I’m looking forward to working hard this upcoming season and contributing in any way I can toward the success of the team both on and off the court.”

Howard has appeared in 1,116 career games (898 starts) with seven teams over 16 seasons. During his career, he has averaged 14.3 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 32.1 minutes while shooting 47.0 percent from the field and 76.3 percent from the foul line. During the 2009-10 season, Howard averaged 6.0 points, 4.6 rebounds and 22.4 minutes, while shooting 50.9 percent from the field and 78.6 percent from the foul line in 73 games (27 starts) for the Portland Trail Blazers. He scored in double-figures 16 times and grabbed 10-plus rebounds seven times.

Howard, who will wear #5 for the HEAT, was originally drafted with the fifth pick in the 1994 NBA Draft by the Washington Wizards. He spent six-plus seasons in Washington before being traded to the Dallas Mavericks in a mid-season trade during the 2000-01 season. He was then sent to Denver the following season before signing with the Orlando Magic as a free agent during the 2003-04 season. He was acquired by the Houston Rockets during the 2004-05 season and spent three seasons there, before making stops in Dallas (2007-08), Minnesota (Summer of 2007), Denver (2008) and Charlotte (2008-09). He signed with Portland as a free agent in 2009 and spent one season there, before signing with the HEAT as a free agent.

Three players that were on the Heat’s radar are choosing other teams for bigger paychecks instead of the veteran minimum and the chance for a ring in Miami.

Raja Bell, the 33 year old former FIU star, is signing with the Utah Jazz, one of his former teams in a long NBA career. He signed a three year contract worth about $10 million which is far more than he could have signed here in Miami, though he had expressed a strong interest in playing for the Heat (even going so far as to say they were his first choice) earlier in the offseason before LeBron James and Chris Bosh were added to the roster. But with this contract in all likelihood his last one in his career the offers, including one from the Los Angeles Lakers, were out of the Heat’s price range. [Read more →]

Yet another contract has been signed today…

MIAMI,FL – The Miami HEAT announced today that they have re-signed center Jamaal Magloire. Per club policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“Re-signing Jamaal is a testament to his work ethic and his desire to win,” said HEAT President Pat Riley. “Over the past two seasons in Miami, he has been an asset to this team, in terms of being a role model for our younger players, with his professionalism and his strong locker room presence.”

Magloire has appeared in 628 career games (313 starts) over 10 seasons. He has averaged 7.7 points, 6.7 rebounds, 0.94 blocks and 22.4 minutes while shooting 48.0 percent from the field and 64.5 percent from the foul line. He was named a reserve for the Eastern Conference for the 2004 All-Star game and was a one-time selection as Eastern Conference Player of the Month in April 2004.

During the 2009-10 season, Magloire averaged 2.1 points and 3.4 rebounds, while shooting 50.4 percent from the field in 23 games as a reserve. His 16.2 rebound average per 48 minutes was tops on the HEAT.

Magloire was originally signed by the HEAT as a free agent on Sept. 2, 2008 and re-signed again on July 22, 2009. The Canadian native was originally drafted in the first round (19th overall) of the 2000 NBA Draft by the Charlotte Hornets.