Bucks Match Miami's Offer, Retain Bell

And we strike out again.

Add Charlie Bell to the list of players the Heat have tried and failed to bring in this offseason. The Bucks elected to match the Heat's offer to restricted free agent Charlie Bell, meaning Bell will remain a Buck.

That's a pity. I'd read mostly positive things about Bell's game. Most seemed to think this would have been a good signing.

So We're Giving This Another Try, Huh?

Earlier this summer, the Heat failed miserably in it's attempt to pry Mo Williams away from the Bucks. It's looking like they might succeed in their second attempt to sign a Bucks guard.

On Monday, the Heat signed Charlie Bell to a 5-year, $18.5 million offer sheet. Yesterday, the Bucks signed Royal Ivey to a one-year deal, which might indicate that they're willing to let Bell go. They have until Monday to match the Heat's offer.

Should the Bucks fail to match, it sounds like the Heat might have landed a pretty decent player to back up D-Wade (and possibly play a little point).

Ira Winderman posted on his blog about a conversation he had with an Eastern Conference scout. The scout gave the Bell signing two thumbs up.

Perhaps this off-season will end up being somewhat successful after all.

A Couple Morsels of Heat News

A couple pieces of Heat news have emerged over the past couple weeks.

The biggest is clearly that James Posey signed a 2 year deal with the Boston Celtics.

This stinks for the Heat because we've lost out on the opportunity to use Posey in a sign and trade for the likes of Michael Pietrus or Ron Artest. Furthermore, the Heat now finds itself with Antoine Walker, Dorell Wright, and (gulp) Penny Hardaway as the only players on the roster who can play small forward (not counting the undrafted free agents on the team).

Unless Riley really thinks this is the year Dorell Wright breaks out, we're clearly in need of another small forward.

Posey's 3-point shooting and hustle on defense will be missed. He'll be a great fit in Boston, coming off the bench as sixth man.

Also, the Heat signed SF Alexander Johnson, who cracked John Hollinger's list of the 10 best rookies at the all star break.

Heat Picks up a Penny

Well, this one certainly came out of left field.

My initial reaction to the Penny Hardaway signing was embarrassment. The Heat had signed yet ANOTHER senior citizen, and this one had broken down years ago. I actually blurted out "WE DID WHAT?" in the car when the news broke. The Heat had hit a new low in this off-season of inactivity.

After realizing that we've only given him a partially guaranteed contract, I'm no longer feeling quite that incredulous. The guy has to make the team if he wants to get paid. If his knees start to buckle in camp he's gone and no harm is done. Should he make the team and somehow manage to stay healthy, he could provide depth at the 1, 2 and 3. So this can't possibly be a bad thing for the Heat, right?

Well, actually yea, this still does have the potential to be a negative. If the idea behind this signing is for Penny to be a third string player who's barely gonna see the court, I'm fine with him being here..... But if Riley's affection for veteran players rears it's ugly head and he plays Hardaway ahead of Dorell Wright, I'll be in angry-mode again.

I don't know Dorell or see him in practice every day, so I can't say if he really has what it takes to be a legit rotation player. However, when he's been given a chance to play there are times when he just oozes potential. He's so athletic.

You also see a kid who looks a little lost out on the court at times. Still, I have to believe that Dorell could give us at least as much production as a 36 year old Penny Hardaway. He needs to be given a chance to grow.

NBA Schedule Released

The NBA released it's schedule today, and the Heat's schedule can be found here.

Opening night is against Detroit, and the Heat will play on Christmas for the 4th consecutive year. This time we'll be at Cleveland.

Miami Signs Smush Parker

The Heat have signed Smush Parker to a 2 year deal believed to be worth between 4.5 - 5 mil.

What kind of player are the Heat getting in Parker?

Kurt, the writer of Forum Blue and Gold (one of the best NBA blogs anywhere on the net), was kind enough to email me his thoughts on Parker's game -

Smush had a bit of a tumultuous run as a Laker, at least as fans see it. By the end of last season the Lakers camp seemed to be divided into “smushaholics” and “Smushaphobes” (to use a phrase coined by one of my commenters, drrayeye).

What you will think of Smush depends on what you expect from him. If you’re looking for a guy with a great story, a guy who can come off the bench for 15-20 minutes a night and provide an offensive boost, Smush is your guy. He has range (37% from three the last two years), can be a spot up shooter or create his own shot on the drive, and plays with some flair, learned on the playgrounds of New York City as a youth.

However, if you’re expecting a guy who can start, who can play quality defense, who can provide the night-in/night-out effort an NBA starter should give you, then you will be disappointed.

It was his defense that did him in while under Phil Jackson. Smush likes to gamble on defense (a remnant of the playgrounds?), getting some steals but more often taking himself out of position. His defensive rotations were slow, at best. He can’t stay in front of quick guards -- he got burned by the Steve Nashes and Tony Parkers of the world, which is why Laker fans came not to trust him, particularly in key situations.

The Lakers mistake with Smush was asking too much of him – while he was the starting point guard on a playoff team the last two years, that was in spite of his defense, not so much because of him. But he brings good energy on the offensive end and can fill it up. If the Heat use him in that backup role for 15-20 minutes a night, he can be a nice fit and at a good price.

Kurt also sent me a link to this blog post, which he says sums up the love-hate relationship Lakers fans had with Smush.

All of that confirms what I initially thought about this signing. He'll be a decent back up for Jason and give us some nice energy off the bench. He has his flaws, but at this stage of the off season there really aren't any better options available in free agency.

It sounds like the only way we could have gotten one of the better point guards we were targeting (Rafer Alston or Navarro) would have been to make a trade and take on a bad contract (Alston's contract stinks, and the Wizards wanted us to take on either Stevenson or Haywood's bad contract in a Navarro deal).

Thus, I think this was a decent move.

Whats a Bigger Threat to The League - Donaghy, or The Eastern Conference?

Over the past few days, everyone has been debating how much the Tim Donaghy "crisis" will hurt league viewership.

In my opinion, the referee drama has eclipsed what the league's real problem is. Many people considered last years regular season to be one of the most boring regular seasons in recent memory, and I believe the historic ineptitude of the eastern conference was a big part of this. The season was capped off by an NBA finals that produced one great team, and another team that is going to show up on lists of "the worst NBA finalists ever" for years.

If the Donaghy scandal stays limited to one referee, I think the NBA will get through this current "crisis" without much trouble. People who like the NBA aren't going to stop watching because of one bad apple.

I think the league *will* suffer if the east doesn't improve. My guess is that not as many people were interested in watching the Eastern Conference playoffs last year due to the perceived superiority of the west, and as we all know people just weren't interested in watching an imbalanced NBA Finals.

David Stern can do whatever he wants to fix the referee thing, but my guess is that what the league really needs is for the east to be good again. The big market teams like New York, Boston, and Philly need to become more competitive so all the casual NBA fans on the east coast will be more inclined to tune in.