Hoops Rumors

The Suns, Lakers and Heat have all mortgaged significant future assets and spent a lot of money to make themselves better in the present, yet none of the three won 50 games in the regular season and they combined to win just two playoff games before being eliminated in the first round, writes John Hollinger of The Athletic. As Hollinger details, all three teams face difficult … [Read more...] about And-Ones: All-In Teams, Second Apron, Paris, Larkin

A source tells Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald that they anticipate 34-year-old All-NBA Heat small forward Jimmy Butler will look to nab a two-year, maximum-salaried contract extension with Miami, worth $113MM, before the start of the 2024/25 season. The theoretical deal would kick in for 2025/26. Butler has a $52.4MM player option for that year, which an extension would … [Read more...] about Heat Notes: Butler, Herro, Trade Assets, Bam

The Heat’s season ended in an appropriate way Wednesday night — with another new starting lineup. Injuries have forced coach Erik Spoelstra to juggle his rotations since training camp, and he unveiled his 37th starting unit in Game 5 at Boston, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Rookie Jaime Jaquez was unavailable because of a hip injury he suffered in Game 4 and … [Read more...] about Heat Notes: Wright, Offseason Decisions, Butler, Draft

Holding a commanding 3-1 lead against an injury-riddled Heat team, the Celtics may not need any more contributions from Kristaps Porzingis to get through the first round of the playoffs. But Boston’s odds of winning a title this spring would take a serious hit without a healthy Porzingis available in future rounds. After the Celtics announced on Tuesday that Porzingis would … [Read more...] about Celtics Notes: Porzingis, Horford, White, Tatum

A recent TNT report (video link) indicated that Kevin Love might be considering retirement, but the Heat big man clarified today that he’s not ready to end his career, writes Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald. Chris Haynes relayed the story of a team meeting after the Game 3 loss to the Celtics in which Bam Adebayo “challenged his teammates to bring it.” One of the players who … [Read more...] about Kevin Love Says He’s Not Ready To Retire