Miami waives Shaun Livingston
Shaun LivingstonShaun Livingston‘s PT with the Miami Heat was so few and far between, his NBA.com profile photo is still his suit-and-tie pose from the team’s website. That said, it was no surprise that the Heat cut the 23-year-old point guard four days before his contract would have become guaranteed for the rest of the season.
Livingston played in just four regular season games since signing with Miami over the summer, averaging 10 minutes per outing while still far from 100 percent healthy after his gruesome Feb. 2007 knee injury. According to the Miami Herald:
He looked stiff in his brief appearances, but had said regaining his explosion was the last stage of his rehab. The Heat had raved about his work ethic and ability in practice, and coach Erik Spoelstra emphasized that the Heat would take a long-term approach with Livingston. It’s hard to tell what kind of progress Livingston made in about three months with the Heat because he played so sparingly and the media does not get to watch practice. In recent days Spoelstra had been vague about Livingston’s status, saying the team would soon determine whether he could play in upcoming games.
The move also clears a roster spot for Alonzo Mourning, also rehabbing from a knee injury. Pat Riley has maintained he will hold a spot for ‘Zo if he wants to come back when healthy, which is reportedly about 3-4 weeks away.
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January 6th, 2009 at 2:25 pm
JCARR says:
Livingston to the suns?
Hope he gets back in the L… and doesnt become a Dejuan Wagner
January 6th, 2009 at 2:31 pm
fallinup says:
Obviously, this is a case of a player jumping into the NBA too soon despite being not NBA ready, physically. Talent wise, no doubt, Shaun is a great basketball player with still tons of potential. But damn man…how far can too far go.
He needs to stay away from the league…and maybe even try himself out in the D League just to develop his body and recover from his injury. In other words, take it slow. He’s still only 23.
January 6th, 2009 at 2:31 pm
CitizenB says:
Thanks for the credit guys
January 6th, 2009 at 2:45 pm
Taj says:
Raptors need a hope and a prayer but Livingston would be a good addition. Raptors are pretty thin at PG.. They let Luke Ridnour look like John Stockton last night!
January 6th, 2009 at 2:49 pm
Austin Burton says:
@CitizenB — Ummm…you’re welcome?
January 6th, 2009 at 2:51 pm
CitizenB says:
LOL
January 6th, 2009 at 2:53 pm
Scott says:
I agree with fallinup, Dude should go see MJ’s trainer in Chi-town, work with him until next summer league, then get on a squad and show what he’s worth.
He clearly has the work ethic, I’m sure at 23 it’d be a hard pill to swallow to give up on this season, but it’d be better long term for sure.
Hope things work out for Shaun.
January 6th, 2009 at 3:08 pm
Shogun says:
Here’s hoping the Timberwolves sign him.
January 6th, 2009 at 3:16 pm
Dee says:
He should have gone to Duke!
January 6th, 2009 at 3:53 pm
GEE...I'm tryin not to lose my head a hahuhuhu says:
Hope he gets picked up, he seems cool but just got that bad time and chance.
January 6th, 2009 at 4:11 pm
PWeezy says:
Raptors should pick him up
January 6th, 2009 at 4:45 pm
EvanD10 says:
bucks just waived austin chroshere…Jr smith will be facing charges stemming from a 2007 car accident which caused a fatality
January 6th, 2009 at 5:05 pm
Alex from AZ says:
Def. one of those players that is so fun to watch and that you really pull for to see succeed.
Guys got handles. It’d be awesome if the suns picked him up, if they gave him enough playing time, it might be fun to watch a suns game again.
January 6th, 2009 at 7:20 pm
Drink the Haterade (KB24 Chip 09) says:
When he was a rook the Clips held a team scrimmage that the fans could come and watch and get a chance to shoot a half court shot. The Clips teamed you up with a player, my player counterpart was Chris Kaman, man I never realized how big those guys were until I saw them up close! Anyways, he told me that in order to make the half court shot I would need to run towards half court and chuck the ball two handed, of course all of the so called ballers were just talking jumpshots to try and impress the players, but they missed rim and backboard every time. Myself, I did as Chris had instructed me, it hit rim, but I got consolation tickets to the opener that season. Anyways that night Shaun put on a showcase of why he should have been the next Magic, he drove to the hoop on the right side, blowing past his defender and through a behind the head no look pass to the offensive player following him, it was straight sick!
January 6th, 2009 at 7:21 pm
Drink the Haterade (KB24 Chip 09) says:
oops! threw
January 6th, 2009 at 9:16 pm
fallinup says:
Drink the Haterade, awesome story. haha
Kaman up close would probably scare the piss out of me.
January 6th, 2009 at 11:00 pm
buffaloballa says:
…he can go hook up with Brandon Jennings in Italy or the Ukraine or Turkey or wherever the hell he is….
January 7th, 2009 at 12:47 am
Lady Luck says:
As hard pressed as Miami is for a point guard, this says a lot about his progress. I agree that maybe he just isn’t ready yet. If he can play, maybe the D-League would be the best situation for him. He can get some minutes to try to regain his game legs. Maybe he’ll get picked up this season, maybe not, but he will be visible to NBA teams.
Why is the D-League looked at like a prison sentence or something? They are still getting paid to play basketball on a high level with a realistic possibility of getting an opportunity to play in the NBA. Sounds like a great situation for a young talented player.
January 7th, 2009 at 2:20 pm
Ed The Sports Fan says:
I wouldn’t be surprised if a team like the C’s, Lakers, or Suns, someone with a tight group of players and a long term strategy scooped him up and put him on IR for the season. Phoenix could be a perfect fit because Nash only has 2-3 years left. New York could scoop him for the low, and in D’Antoni’s offense he could thrive. Being 6’7″, he can take responsibility of guarding bigger players as well. Just a thought. Nice post Austin.
-Ed.
http://www.edthesportsfan.com
January 7th, 2009 at 7:06 pm
buffalo balla says:
Livingston got TRADED to the Grizz for a conditional 2012 2nd round pick…where does Dime get it’s info from or does it just make shit up?! Yeah, nice post Austin….
January 7th, 2009 at 8:02 pm
Bron42 aka Haters drink my bath water says:
Lady Luck, you hardly get paid anything in the D-league, which is why most guys would rather go overseas. Plus you can star in the d-league and never get called up or just constantly get called up for 10 days..not really a ballers dream when u can pull a josh childress or pop mensu bonsu and get paid millions to star in europe.