With the beginning of free agency just a few days away, its no surprise that there are little tidbits of rumors and information starting to find their way into the hands of the media. The Sun-Sentinel reported on Monday that the Heat had been working with free-agent center Eddy Curry, who has barely played over the past three seasons.
Last year he sat out the entire season and was eventually made part of the trade that sent Carmelo Anthony to the New York Knicks. Curry went to the Minnesota Timberwolves, who shortly after the trade bought out his contract. While never playing a minute, he still made $11.3 million last season. I think its safe to say that he is going to make significantly less then that in the coming season.
Curry has been known for his poor work ethic and on more then one occasion showed up for training camp out of shape. Doing so two straight years caused him to lose his starting job for the Knicks and even completely falling out of Mike D'Antoni's rotation. I don't think anyone was surprised to see him get traded out of New York, and when the T-Wolves bought out his contract before he could ever play a game for them, I figured at the time that it was just a sign that Curry was still not putting in the effort.
He has played a total of just 10 games over the past three seasons, and to be honest I'm a little surprised that Pat Riley is this interested. However, I always trust Riley's opinion and if he thinks that Curry would be a good addition to the Heat then I have to give him the benefit of the doubt. I'm sure we'll get more information when free agency officially begins on July 1st.
The reason that Miami is able to talk to him is because he didn't finish the season on anybody's roster after being bought out by the T-Wolves. For what its worth, Curry is represented by the same agency that Dwyane Wade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh are represented by. The 6'11" center has also worked out in Chicago with trainer Tim Grover, the same guy who is known for his work with D-Wade.
Curry started his career with the Chicago Bulls and showed steady improvement before being traded to the Knicks in 2005. His second season in New York was the best of his career as he averaged 19.5 points and 7.0 rebounds in 81 games, but it went downhill after that. At this point we'll just have to wait and see if anything more develops from his workouts in Miami, but I know Pat Riley isn't going to allow himself to look foolish, so should Curry find his way onto the roster, I'm sure it will mean that we wont be seeing the same guy that lost his job in New York.