In the lane
WAITING GAME: Even with the draft completed without a single trade involving an NBA player, Heat president Pat Riley senses that could change during free agency, potentially creating options for his team. “There has been a lot of discussion with a lot of teams about a lot of players,” he said. “I just feel that there’s a restlessness on the part of the teams and also there’s a reluctance to do things. Teams that there was a high expectation level, maybe even higher than ours, that the season didn’t end up well for them and they have very good players, maybe even All-Stars players, that there’s been some contemplation. But it’s pretty hard to pull the trigger on that kind of thing. That might be something that happens more in free agency — after July 1 or even after the [July 6 end of the signing] moratorium or even late in the summer — because when you’re talking about that transformative player I was mentioning, then you’re going to have to get something back in return for that. There’s been a lot of discussion, but there’s nobody really interested in doing something like that. At least not now.”
STILL INTERESTED?: At the outset of 2016 free agency, when the Heat finalized their four-year, $98 million deal with Hassan Whiteside, the Dallas Mavericks were ready to pounce with a similar deal if the Heat wavered. Two years later, armed with the opportunity to fill their center void by holding their No. 5 position in Thursday’s draft and selecting Texas’ long-armed Mo Bamba, Mark Cuban instead elected to trade for the rights to Luke Doncic. Now the question becomes whether Dallas might revisit the Whiteside possibility amid their ongoing void at center. The Mavericks are expected to have between $16 million to $24 million in cap space, meaning they could take in Whiteside in a trade without having to send back anything close to his $25.4 million 2018-19 salary. Of course, Dallas also could hit up the free-agent market, where Clint Capela, DeMarcus Cousins, Brook Lopez and others could stand as more cost-effective options.
LESSON PLAN: Shaquille O’Neal said LeBron James would be wise not to follow his career path when it came to O’Neal’s journey after winning his fourth NBA title with the Heat in 2006, ring chasing from that stage with the Phoenix Suns, Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics. Speaking with ESPN, O’Neal said James already has sufficient respect after his two titles with the Heat and then a third with the Cleveland Cavaliers. “My problem toward the end of my career,” O’Neal said, “was I was trying to shut everybody up and I was greedy. After I got to three, everybody was saying I couldn’t get another. So I got four. After I got the fourth, they were saying I couldn’t get another one. So I was trying to make quick stops to get it — Phoenix, Cleveland, Boston.”
STILL TIME: Having attempted to display his versatility during summer league last season with the Heat, Okaro White likely will get the same chance this summer with the Cavaliers. Added by Cleveland late in the season as he worked his way back from his early season foot injury with the Heat, the former Florida State forward has a $1.5 million contract for next season that carries an Aug. 5 trigger date for half of that amount, with the rest to be guaranteed on opening night. By rule, because of the timing of his signing, he cannot be dealt by Cleveland until July 7. White was dealt by the Heat at midseason to the Atlanta Hawks in the trade that landed Luke Babbitt, with a still-sidelined White then immediately released.