Miami
Philip Maymin
Basketball News Services
Players must be waived today for them to be eligible to join the playoff roster of any other team, so that means it's the final countdown for Wesley Person and his buyout talks. If he wants to join an interested team such as Denver in anticipation of their postseason success, he must be waived today; does that mean he should be willing to give up some money? Yup.
From a negotiation point of view, Person is not doing so well. The Heat do need to clear up a roster spot in order to bring in Alonzo Mourning, but they have two choices: waive either Person or Wang Zhi Zhi. So from their point of view, if they cannot come to an agreement on the numbers with Person, the worst case is they pay both his and Wang's full remaining salaries and waive one of them. From Person's point of view, he has a lot to lose if he is not waived by today. He would not be able to join a playoff team and so he would not be able to raise his stock for when he becomes a free agent.
Person's agent has put the odds at 50-50 that the shooter will wear a Denver uniform this season. As expected by the above logic, the negotiations are moving slowly. Person has virtually no leverage and would almost surely have to agree to a discounted buyout if he wants to leave Miami.
NEXT GAME
The Heat (42-16, first in the Southeast) visit the New Jersey Nets (25-32, third in the Atlantic) on Thursday, March 3rd. The game starts at 7:30pm Eastern and will be broadcast on Sun Sports and NBA League Pass.
TEAM NOTES
The only way to secure great seats for this year’s playoffsis to purchase season tickets for next year.
INJURY UPDATE
Steve Smith(back),Qyntel Woods(knee), andDorell Wright(knee) are all on the injured list.Shaquille O'Neal(knee) is day-to-day and is questionable for Thursday's game.
Our own Sheherazad Abdullah ofHoopsworld.comwrites: Miami exchanged forward Malik Allen for guard Steve Smith of the Bobcats. This trade has not only added to the team’s depth but has also created the ability to buyout guard Wesley Person’s contract, and this move should be finalized within the next few days.The buyout would be very important because it will create the roster space needed in order to be able to bring Alonzo Mourning back to Miami.
David DuPree ofUSA Todaywrites: The San Antonio Spurs will be the next NBA champions, according to most readers responding to this week's question — what teams will reach the Finals and who will win. A majority of readers say Shaquille O'Neal and the Miami Heat will represent the East, while others say it will be the Detroit Pistons who fall in the Finals.
Michael Cunningham ofThe Sun-Sentinelwrites: This is the time of year when the basketball world views of Heat center Shaquille O'Neal and coach Stan Van Gundy finally might be in harmony.With 23 games until the playoffs, O'Neal's internal clock, set to the meandering rhythm of a postseason veteran whose body takes a yearlong beating, could be about to go off. That could put him in sync with Van Gundy, whose all-out, all-the-time approach hasn't been universally adopted by his players.
Dave Joseph ofThe Sun-Sentinelwrites: Shaquille O'Neal was sitting in an empty locker room one afternoon when he said matter-of-factly, "I'm half hip-hop, half corporate." Hours after practicing with Heat teammates, O'Neal was explaining how he maintains a balance between NBA legend and hip-hop artist. "On the way to the basketball court I want to be like L L Cool J," he says. "I got the chain, the name buckle. I got the big boom box and I'm like him. Now when I get to the court, I take all that off, throw it in my bag, put on my [sneakers], and now I want to be like Dr. J. I know when to be hip-hop and when to turn it off." Then, as if addressing the CEO of a major company, O'Neal says, "Yes, sir, Mr. Paul Allen. Yes, sir, Mr. owner of Starbucks. You know what I'm talking about, but some of these guys can't do that."