Tag Archive for: NBA

Dan Dakich the latest to slander Erik Spoelstra

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We don’t know how Jorge Sedano puts up with this.

Sedano, born in Miami and raised on local radio, is now in Los Angeles, and doing some sideline and analyst work for ESPN.

This gives him the great opportunity — or misfortune — to share a broadcast with the likes of Dan Dakich. You may remember Dakich from all those Heat-Pacers battles, since he’s an Indiana broadcaster who likes to talk about his Sno-Cone.

Now this…

Poor Jorge.

You can argue against Erik Spoelstra being a top-3 coach; last season, his performance didn’t warrant nearly that high a ranking.

But to say he’s “just a guy” is ludicrous. He’s the second-longest tenured coach in the NBA for a reason.

And then there was this foolishness from Dakich, about how anyone wins with LeBron.

Spoelstra has been an easy target for years, while Brad Stevens is beloved, and it’s confusing.

 

It’s funny about Miami fans.

They’re all over Spoelstra for his rotations — last season they had some cause — but then they are all over anyone who doesn’t recognize Spoelstra’s general competence.

Especially when that someone sounds as cartoonish as Dakich on this subject.

 

 

Miami Heat fans need a Herro… and a Xanax

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Prefacing this by saying we love you all.

(We need you, anyway.)

But Miami Heat fans can be a little neurotic at times.

Maybe it was the insanity of the Big 3 years, which raised expectations to an unreasonable level. But lately, it seems like Heat fans are always on edge, and always extreme.

The latest example is the Tyler Herro situation.

When Pat Riley and the Heat made the Herro pick a couple of weeks ago, the majority of Heat fans freaked out. The entire crew of Miami Heat Beat threatened to quit. The poll I posted on @5ReasonsSports ran 70-30 or more against the selection. You all were comparing Herro to Jimmer Fredette and creating new “washed” memes for Riley.

You weren’t very nice.

And now, after a few impressive summer league games — and yes, they’ve been impressive — now I’m being bombarded with questions about why the Heat haven’t signed Herro yet.

Enough that I felt compelled, from out here in Las Vegas, to address it.

Of course, this is why most of you are doing it.

If Herro remains unsigned, he can be traded without waiting out the 30-day window.

Now, I understand the differing opinions about Westbrook. For me, everything should be on the table for Westbrook other than Bam Adebayo, who was out here watching from the Heat bench yesterday — and then wasn’t allowed back in the building right away by security because he wasn’t wearing a name badge (I’m serious; he’s 7-feet tall; and he was polite, of course). I like Justise Winslow a lot, and I’m intrigued by Herro, but Adebayo is the unique piece on the Heat roster, a big who fits the modern game perfectly and is also a perfect Heat culture fit.

But even if you’re against the Westbrook deal under most circumstances (and I get the reasons for that too), let’s have some perspective. I watched Herro struggle to shoot early against a Chinese team that wouldn’t get much run at the local JCC. I’m enamored by his shooting form (high and quick), and I’ve been impressed by his aggressiveness, especially in transition. He appears to be more than a shooter.

Heat officials have told me that Herro is further along than they expected. They’re telling me, not the league, so I don’t think they’re just trying to pump his value. They like him.

But come on.

This is summer league we’re talking about.

And this is an All-Star we’re talking about, in Westbrook.

Let’s let it play out.

And stop freaking out.

 

Craziest night in NBA history? Tweet recap from Vegas

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While some of you were sleeping….

The NBA never does.

Especially when most of it is in Las Vegas.

I am too, with my phone, so I went on a bit of a tweetstorm after the news came that everyone was waiting for but no one expected (especially a bunch of “insiders” who should be outside the industry at this point).

First, after the Miami Heat essentially won the trade war by dominating China (there goes our Tyler Herro, with 23 points in 23 minutes), and Zion Williamson made his summer league debut (which included a casual 360 degree windmill in warmups and later a minor knee injury) and we had an earthquake here (felt it in my room after I had returned at halftime of the Pelicans game), we had a different kind of Kawhi-nd of disturbance.

Leonard is a Clipper. And so is Paul George. And Jerry West sent the next 3,000 Clippers picks to the Thunder. And the Lakers just gave away the rest of their cap space to continue the KCP era. And the Heat are more likely to act now, I think. And a bunch of other crazy stuff.

I’m too tired to recap the rest, so here are some tweets.

Make of them what you will.

 

 

Dwyane says hello, J-Rich says goodbye

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It’s not official official until July 6th, when the NBA’s free agency moratorium ends, but everyone knows Jimmy Butler is coming to the Miami Heat — including the guy most responsible for recruiting him here.

So Dwyane Wade, who had warm sentiments for outgoing players Josh Richardson and Hassan Whiteside on social media, went back to Instagram to let Butler know publicly what he’s surely been telling him privately.

With a little mockery of course.

Meanwhile, Richardson was at the Miami Pro-Am, watching his now-former teammate (but still close friend) Bam Adebayo and others.

Richardson received an ovation.

This came after Rook 2 thanked the Miami fans in a way they always wished that LeBron James had.

That was a little different from Whiteside’s departing thoughts — which the wife of new Heat center Meyers Leonard had some fun with.

Welcome to Miami, Elle.

 

 

Heat do the impossible, deal Whiteside, get value

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“There are obstacles, but there are no obstacles.”

It didn’t make sense when Pat Riley said it a little over a week ago. In fact, it was so odd that it made some Miami Heat fans angry.

Anyone want to offer Riley an apology?

He told you that the Heat could move their worst contracts if necessary.

(He also told you that Hassan Whiteside would come to camp and compete and that  Goran Dragic was his starting point guard, but I told you to ignore all of that.)

 

Today, Riley and the Heat dealt one of the worst fits for their culture in recent memory, sending Whiteside to Portland for Meyers Leonard and Maurice Harkless. Who the Heat got back almost doesn’t matter, though both Leonard and Harkless are better complimentary fits here, provided neither is dealt elsewhere. The point here is, Whiteside had to go. It was long past time. And it was unfair to Erik Spoelstra to put him through another season of managing his situation.

We agree with that more than this…

 

It’s not surprising that the Blazers wanted Whiteside. They wanted to max him in 2016, when the Heat probably should have let them. And Jusuf Nurkic, their center, may miss significant time with a major injury. Whiteside is close with the Blazers’ elite backcourt, Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum.

It saves something else.

Us from having to watch players who didn’t care enough consistently.

Do you like the trade?

Apparently.

It’s polling 97-3 in favor on the @5ReasonsSports account.

The Jimmy Butler trade is now a Juwan-like mess

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There’s this perception that things comes easy for the Miami Heat, because of the historic coup of 2010.

That’s not really true, though.

Alonzo Mourning’s kidney disease, right as Pat Riley had given him an enhanced supporting cast.

Chris Bosh’s blood clots, on the very day Riley traded for Goran Dragic for pick-and-pop perfection.

And, of course, way back when, the time Riley said he had to go to a proctologist to get the 10-foot pole taken out of his rear, when David Stern took Juwan Howard away because of a salary cap technicality. The Heat did rebound well by scooping up Dan Majerle, and making some contending runs.

So here we are once more.

We thought Jimmy Butler was being sign-and-traded to the Heat, and he still might be, but there’s now a major snap. The Dallas Mavericks, the third team in the deal, weren’t on the same page as Miami. And reporters in Dallas say, because of it, the Mavericks’ current critical role in executing the overall deal is over.

At first, it appeared Goran Dragic was going to Dallas, though Dragic’s agent had not been informed.

But then…

And so…

This from the resident cap expert who focuses on the Heat:

 

More from other reporters, including the national guy who is most connected in Dallas:

But this is already so far down the road…

We will continue to update.

But the Heat appear to be stuck. They simply cannot allow the trade to be called off. Too much damage will be done to the fan base, but also to the players.

How do you bring your guys back now?

What do you tell Miami?

We, um, messed up?

The Miami Heat are acquiring Jimmy Butler

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It took the length of a pregnancy term.

It took lots of lists — most of which were wrong early — about where Jimmy Butler wanted to play.

It took Butler getting traded to Philadelphia, away from Tom Thibodeau.

It took a remarkable farewell season from his buddy Dwyane Wade that impressed Butler mightily.

It took Pat Riley getting back on the beam.

We’ll find out what else it took, other than Josh Richardson, soon.

But for now, we know this:

Jimmy Butler is now the best player on the Miami Heat.

He wanted to be here. He didn’t want Houston, even though it was close to home. He didn’t really want LA. He didn’t want to be a third option in Philadelphia.

He wanted to be here.

He’s here.

And he’s here for a while, at a rich price, though not for five years at $191 million as it could have been.

The cost? We’re getting that. But it will definitely include Josh Richardson.

 

And we’re hearing the Heat aren’t close to done.

There was always a plan, and a plan after the plan. There was a belief that if Butler wanted to move to Miami, players and money could be moved.

How good will the Heat be?

Hard to say.

But they matter again.

I’ll be on WSVN-7 between 11 and 11:30 p.m. tonight.

Jimmy Butler is in Play for the Heat… Duh.

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When is news not news?

When we’ve been saying it for months.

Jimmy Butler has had the Miami Heat first on his list since roughly September, when we told you that, and others weren’t including them in his final four. It didn’t happen then, but it wasn’t because he didn’t want it to. It was because Thibs was playing the role of George in Seinfeld, wanting to get fired.

Butler is a free agent now, and it’s unclear why anyone is surprised he still may want to be here. (I would take out the “may” but I’ll hedge a little, until he meets with the Heat.)

Well, now that meeting is finally happening, and while the Heat aren’t in ideal position in terms of cap space, they’ve been signaling that if Butler just says he wants to play for them, they can figure something out. They have the best cap guy anywhere in Andy Elisburg, and Pat Riley was clear in his end-of-season presser that he was waiting for a star to get disgruntled and become available. After all, this is how he’s gotten nearly every core piece of his Heat tenure, with the exception of Dwyane Wade. Zo. Timmy. Shaq. Mash. And yes, Bron and CB. All wanted out of where they were, for one reason or another.

Riley is a scavenger more than he’s a nester.

And now he has an important ally.

Dwyane Wade is not only close to Butler, but he is no longer close to tampering trouble, since he is no longer employed by the Miami Heat.

So this came Friday night, with Wade somewhere in the Orient.

Hmm. That seemed out of nowhere.

Or maybe it’s not.

Maybe it’s calculated.

Because this was the response.

Just a little chop-busting between buddies on Twitter?

Nah.

The Heat know what they’re doing here. Wade knows what he’s doing.

Because today, Saturday, came this:

 

Because who the hell wants to play with Chris Paul?

Anyone in NBA history?

And this:

It’s all so remarkably coincidental.

We told you months ago “something’s coming.”

Just a little early, maybe?

 

Five Reasons doesn’t embarrass itself at media game

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We don’t watch well.

The Miami teams lose every time we hold a watch party.

But maybe we play better.

Five Reasons Sports and Miami Heat Beat each entered teams in the 2019 Miami Heat media challenge today at AmericanAirlines Arena. We had enough players — 14 — that we sacrificed David Friedman right after the birth of his boy Wade, giving him to CBS4 because they needed a player and we needed luxury tax savings.

Both teams started 2-0, with Chris Cochran (part-time producer of the Five Reasons flagship) anchoring the Five Reasons defense, and Alphonse Sidney and Giancarlo Navas being phased out of the Miami Heat Beat rotation.

But like the modern day Heat, both teams regressed to the mean right as they were set to clash in the semifinals, each losing its final two games and being eliminated.

Highlights?

You want highlights?!

You really don’t, but here are some:

Me doing my best Jax Show:

While also pulling my Coach Sko act:

And some more:

The Jimmy Butler chatter is back (Thank God!)

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Something to liven up your slow sports time.

Nothing gets Miami Heat fans more excited — other than an Udonis Haslem angry Instagram post — than a good transaction rumor.

Especially one that involves Jimmy Butler.

You remember October and November? It was Butler all the time, and we played into that — after all, I was the one who kept reporting strong mutual interest when the big national guys were writing and re-writing Butler’s lists.

Anyway, it’s back. And it fits the whole narrative of some star needing to force his way here, which Pat Riley alluded to during his press conference right after the season.

We covered it on today’s podcast.

You can hear it here:

 

Of course, the issue now is making it happen.

Because there’s three elephants in the room, named Waiters, Whiteside and Johnson that crowd out a lot of options.

But you can bet we’ll be here to cover it and overcover it until Jimmy puts on his Clippers jersey.

And maybe not stop then.