The Miami Heat used the amnesty provision on forward Mike Miller on Tuesday, and just a day later he's receiving interest from a couple of teams. The Cleveland Cavaliers are considering placing a bid on Miller, and the Houston Rockets are hoping the veteran clears waivers and becomes a free agent.
Miller will be on the waiver wire through Thursday, meaning teams under the salary cap, like the Cavaliers, can place blind bids on him for any amount available to their cap space.
Houston is in a tight financial spot after signing Dwight Howard this offseason, but Miller would certainly fit well into coach Kevin McHale's inside-out offense. Shooters will benefit from Howard's post presence, and over the last three years in South Beach, Miller displayed his value as a player who can stretch defenses out -- at least when he was healthy.
Cleveland, however, has a unique twist. The Cavs certainly look ready to challenge for a playoff berth in 2013-14, but Miller's presence could presumably help in recruiting LeBron James back to his home state next summer. While signing Miller in that regard would be a no-brainer if his word is that influential to James, some like Conrad Kaczmarek of Cavs blog Fear the Sword don't buy it:
Woj seems to think that the Cavaliers would be making this move in attempts to better their odds of getting LeBron James next summer. I'm not exactly sure how this would work because it's unclear just how much salary cap room the Cavaliers will have once Andrew Bynum is officially under contract. A quick look at the numbers make me think that the Cavs could clear close to $2 million by waiving Chris Quinn and Kevin Jones. C.J. Miles also has a non-guaranteed contract if the Cavaliers were really intent on going after Miller. I would be strongly against them doing this.
Dalembert to join Dallas
Dwight Howard chose Houston and Andrew Bynum picked Cleveland. The Dallas Mavericks lost out on two of their targets, although the Mavs stopped pursuing Bynum when they didn't like the looks of his knees and therefore didn't offer him a contract.
Nonetheless, the Mavericks clearly needed to replace Chris Kaman, now of the Los Angeles Lakers, at center. On Wednesday, they began closing in on a deal with Milwaukee Bucks free agent Samuel Dalembert. That doesn't necessarily take them out of the running for free agent big man and former No. 1 overall pick Greg Oden, however.
It's expected Dalembert receives around $3 million but the team will still try to sell Oden on a comeback in Dallas despite the Mavs now having less money to offer him compared to the other options. The Pelicans, Kings, Heat and Spurs are also in the running to land Oden.
With the risk that Oden signs elsewhere, the Mavs' outlook was simple. They needed a commitment from Dalembert. Now they have it.
Raptors have a busy Wednesday
The Toronto Raptors and new general manager Masai Ujiri made three major shuffles on Wednesday. The most significant was signing backup point guard D.J. Augustin to a one-year contract. No, it's not the sexiest of signings, but the Raptors had a need and filled it with a player who, despite having efficiency troubles, at least is experienced.
Kyle Lowry will begin the season as a clear-cut starter, but the Raps lost Jose Calderon in the Rudy Gay trade last season and have no interest in re-signing free agent Sebastian Telfair, who was acquired from Phoenix before the February trade deadline.
The Raptors were to sign point guard Julyan Stone this offseason, but he is not healthy enough and the deal didn't go through, according to Doug Smith of the Toronto Star. Summer League standout Dwight Buycks signed with the team on Tuesday.
Toronto also bought out the contract of 39-year-old center Marcus Camby on Wednesday and used their amnesty provision on Linas Kleiza, who is expected to return to Europe. Camby could be of interest to the Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Clippers and Chicago Bulls, Yahoo! Sports reports.
Knicks want Carmelo for the longhaul
Rumors popped up in the last few days about what the Los Angeles Lakers were going to do next summer. Apparently, the idea is to swing for the fences. ESPN Los Angeles reported the Lakers would go after both LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony should they become free agents.
As far as Knicks general manager Glen Grunwald is concerned, Anthony isn't going anywhere. He said in a conference call that he sees a "long-term, successful partnership" with Anthony, and he remained adamant New York would do everything to keep the 2012-13 scoring champ in Madison Square Garden.
Mozgov to Kings?
Timofey Mozgov quickly became a household name with the New York Knicks two years ago, but his career with the Denver Nuggets didn't go quite as planned. The Russian center sat behind Kosta Koufos and JaVale McGee and last season didn't get enough playing time in a contract year.
Now as a restricted free agent, he has limited options, but the Sacramento Kings reportedly have interest. Mozgov might be too much money and could also end up being retained by the Nuggets after Koufos was traded away. Still, Sacramento's new front office wants depth behind DeMarcus Cousins and Jason Thompson.
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