Via ESPN: ESPN - Agent: Stoudamire will sign with Spurs after clearing waivers

Stoudamire, who will clear waivers and become a free agent Thursday at 10 p.m. ET after his buyout from the Memphis Grizzlies, has committed to join the Spurs after also considering the Phoenix Suns and the Toronto Raptors, with whom Stoudamire won NBA Rookie of the Year honors in the 1995-96 season.

Cool.

Was it just coincidence the Heat win while I was away on a Catholic retreat with 10 other men from the church I attend this weekend?

Winning for the first time since Dec. 22, the Heat snapped its 15-game losing streak Saturday when Dwyane Wade finally ran into an opponent he single-handedly could bring down.With Wade scoring 35 points, including the final nine of an 11-0 third-quarter streak that helped rally his team from what had been an 11-point deficit, the Heat withstood the Indiana Pacers 98-96 at AmericanAirlines Arena.

“Hopefully,” Wade said, “we can get going and we can forget all about that has happened.”

There certainly is plenty to forget, including Saturday’s final harrowing minutes, after the Heat nearly blew all of the 94-85 lead it took when Wade converted a 3-pointer with 4:34 to play.

But it took Wade knocking away a Troy Murphy inbounds pass with seconds remaining for the Heat to survive.

“It really felt like we won the championship,” said forward Dorell Wright, who tossed the ball high in the air at the final buzzer.

God works in mysterious ways. 

In my youth football and baseball days, I played on more than one pitiful team. When we did win for a change, you’d think we won the league championship. I know what Dorell Wright is saying. At the same time, the unfortunate losers namely the Pacers, feel the ignominy of being the team that ends the streak. Indiana will get over it, but how many more games will it be before the Heat win again?

Miami needs to re-build, and its going to take some time. Shaq is all but done, Wade is brilliant but brittle. There isn’t much in the way of positives for the Heat. I’m sticking to my 2008 prediction, Pat Riley won’t be back as coach for the 2024-09 season. If he doesn’t quit sometime during this season first.

The wolves have won two in a row now. From AP-

MINNEAPOLIS - Al Jefferson and the Minnesota Timberwolves believe they’re headed for better days. Beating the Phoenix Suns — again — is surely a decent sign of progress. Jefferson had a career-high 39 points and 15 rebounds, and the Timberwolves won two in a row for the first time this season, 117-107 over the Western Conference leaders on Wednesday night.”I think they have kind of turned the corner,” Suns coach Mike D’Antoni said.

Amare Stoudemire led Phoenix with 33 points, but only 19 of them came in the last 43 minutes. The Suns, whose 30-13 record is behind only Boston for league supremacy, had their four-game winning streak stopped.

If the Timberwolves can win two in a row maybe the Miami Heat can too. First Miami will have to win a single game, right now they have lost 14 in a row and with Shaq out for at least two weeks, a single triumph seems fleeting at this moment.

The Miami Heat Center was injured in a game last night against the Atlanta Hawks.

After tearing the patellar tendon in his right knee during Miami’s game in Atlanta last night, the 37-year-old Heat center was placed on the stretcher, but he refused the ride.

*****

Mourning already has said there is “zero chance” of playing another season.

*****

Mourning is in his 15th year in the NBA, including 11 with Miami.

Mourning was hurt when attempting to defend the basket on a layup by Atlanta’s Mario West. Replays showed Mourning’s knee buckling without contact from West as Mourning was about to jump.

Mourning is a seven-time all-star and two-time defensive player of the year.

His 15 years in the league do not include a full year he missed because of kidney problems that led to him getting a transplant in 2024.

Many professional athletes say they are going to retire, then change their minds. Should I remind everyone of Junior Seau? His former team the San Diego Chargers has him hold a press conference to announce his retirement, only to have Seau four days later sign a contract to play for the New England Patriots. 

In Mourning’s case, I believe it when he says his career will end this year. Alonzo has always been a class act. I hope he gets a

It’s two more years (at least) for the Zen Master (via the LAT): Jackson gets two-year extension:

Lakers Coach Phil Jackson agreed to a two-year contract extension worth about $24 million, lending a sense of stability to a franchise that has teetered in many ways since May.

From the Miami Herald-

Upset with his parking service, Heat guard Henry ”Smush” Parker pushed the valet podium and later tussled with a female attendant for his keys, Miami police said Wednesday.

About 9:50 a.m. Tuesday, Parker asked for his car keys at a condo building at 355 Biscayne Blvd. The attendant got the keys and asked for $12.

Parker insisted he had paid the night before.

The attendant said there was no record of a payment. An assistant manager agreed. With no cash on hand, Parker asked for the nearest bank — but not before knocking down the valet podium, according to a police report.

When he came back, Parker was told he would have to pay for the damaged podium.

No charges are being pressed. I guess Murphy owes the parking service a great deal more now than the disputed $12.

Hat tip- Alex at SOTP

Via ESPN: Buss still willing to listen to trade offers for Kobe

“I would certainly listen,” Buss told Lakers beat writers on Wednesday. “At any time, I think you have to do that with anybody. It’s just part of the game, to listen to somebody who has a dissatisfied player that you think is going to fit. You can’t keep too many loyalties. You’ve got to look at it as a business. He looks at it the same way I look at it.”

Really, what’s the news here? Is there any team anywhere that won’t listen to offers?

The real questions are: what would it take for a deal to be done and will anyone actually offer anything worth trading?

The odds that a deal of worth will be made, let alone accepted, strikes me as rather unlikely (to put it mildly).

Via the Express-News: Spurs nab post from Brazil in first round:

Maintaining the successful pattern they have established during their run to four NBA championships since 1999, the Spurs on Thursday selected a talented international player who won’t join the team for at least one more season.

The Spurs made Tiago Splitter, a 6-foot-11, 232-pound post man from Brazil who has played professionally for seven seasons, the 28th selection of the first round of the 2024 NBA draft.

Because Splitter’s contract with Tau Cerámica, of the Spanish professional league, includes a hefty buyout clause for the coming season, he won’t be available for the Spurs this season. His contractual impediment, combined with the Spurs’ established willingness to wait for drafted players with international commitments, helped to make Splitter available when the Spurs made their selection.

It is a pattern that has worked out well for the team, so I shan’t argue. The best example of this would be Fabricio Oberto (from Argentina) who was a key contributor this season and especially in the playoffs.

As ESPN notes (2008 NBA Free Agent List), there are several key players on the Spurs’ squad who will be free agents in 2024:

Unrestricted: Brent Barry, Fabricio Oberto, Michael Finley, Bruce Bowen, Jackie Butler (T), Tim Duncan (ETO), Francisco Elson

Time to get some of those contracts extended!

Indeed, I would be shocked if Duncan ever hit the free market. Barry, Oberto and Finley, maybe (or maybe even probably). Bowen I would think would be staying, however. Elston strikes me as most likely to be moving on, as the Center position has been something of a revolving door in San Antonio for a while now.

Yardbarker: Greg Oden’s Blog: