It’s official, Skip to my Lou is back in Miami. The Heat just announced on their website that they signed Rafer Alston, who was released earlier this week by the Nets. Last season, the 11-year point guard was one of the key contributors of the Orlando Magic team that made it to the NBA Finals. Alston played the entire 2003-’04 season with the Heat, where he averaged 10.2 ppg, 4.5 apg and 1.43 spg. Read More »

We argue. You decide.

MICHAEL BEASLEY (by Jack Jensen) All previous off-court problems and lack of haircuts aside, both Michael Beasley and Luis Scola have become two of the most solid role-playing forwards in the League. Whereas I’d be happing having either guy grace my team’s frontcourt right now, Beasley has a better feel for the game.

Not only does Beasley’s future burn brighter than Scola’s, he has the chance to become a perennial All-Star — an opportunity that is fading for the 29-year-old Scola. Read More »

So much attention was paid to New York’s recruiting pitch to LeBron James at MSG last month — like bringing in the newly-crowned champion Yankees to sit courtside and chat up The King — that it mostly buried the fact that Miami probably outdid NYC one week later when LeBron visited their gym. The Heat brought in Penny Hardaway (LBJ’s favorite player growing up), plus Jordan and Pippen (the Bulls were his favorite team), and gave ‘Bron a first-hand reminder of what it would be like to play with Dwyane Wade.

The whole thing was a microcosm of how the free-agent summer of 2010 has been covered: Read More »

“It’s a fun one. That’s all I have to say.”

This is what award-winning filmmaker Dan Klores said right before the screening of his upcoming film, “Winning Time: Reggie Miller vs. The New York Knicks,” Monday night at the 57 Screening Room in Manhattan. Part of ESPN’s 30 for 30 documentary series, the film explores how Reggie Miller proudly built his legend as “The Garden’s Greatest Villain,” in a battle of teams and cultures as big as Sodom and Gomorrah. Read More »

Last year we debuted the “Highs and Lows” system — previewing the NBA season by predicting the respective ceiling and basement for each team. Same theme, different season…

Added: Carlos Arroyo, Quentin Richardson, Shavlik Randolph

Lost: Jamario Moon, Luther Head, Mark Blount Read More »

When the NBA season gets underway, nobody has a longer list of scheduled ass-bustings on his calendar than Mario Chalmers. And not in the sense of getting lit up — more like dishing it out. All summer long, it seemed every out-of-work PG either brought up Miami as a possible destination (or the media did it for them), as if Chalmers would be a small obstacle in their taking a starting job next to D-Wade in the Heat backcourt. If and when those guys get signed, and just to the public in general, Chalmers will get to show them why Pat Riley wasn’t interested. And now you can add Rafer Alston to that list. Read More »

We argue. You decide.

TIM HARDAWAY (by Austin Burton) The first thing you have to understand about Tim Hardaway is that he was more than just a big crossover and a smile.

Maybe not Hall of Famer, maybe not even truly deserving of having his number retired by the Heat or the Warriors, Hardaway still put a stamp on the NBA that should be bigger than one iconic move. He cracked 5,000 points and 2,500 assists faster (at the time) than anyone since Oscar. He was a five-time All-Star and ranks seventh all-time in threes made, 13th in assists. Read More »

Real life hit the NBA once again yesterday, when reports surfaced that a number of Miami Heat employees — most notably Pat Riley and head coach Erik Spoelstra — accepted pay cuts up to 20% in an effort to prevent further layoffs in the organization. It’s been public knowledge for years that some NBA teams are in financial trouble (Grizzlies, Bobcats, etc.), but Miami usually wasn’t in that group. It’s not like Riley or Spoelstra is starving or anything, but it’s got to be scary for a lot of people around the League. And of course, it kicks off an easy round of “Why can’t Underachieving Player X take a pay cut?” Read More »

Fresh off his breakup with Khloe Kardashian and a solid outing at the UNC alumni game, it’s time Rashad McCants starts thinking about finding a job. Assuming McCants doesn’t want to play with his ex’s new boyfriend (Lamar Odom), that leaves 29 teams for him to choose from. But of those 29 teams the Nuggets, Bobcats and Heat have all expressed interest in signing the free agent guard. Read More »

In just his first season, Mario Chalmers proved he could make the transition from March Madness hero to a solid NBA player. The former Kansas Jayhawk put together a very nice rookie campaign. He started all 82 games for the Heat and averaged 10 ppg, 4.9 assists and 2.0 steals – which was fourth best in the NBA. In the playoffs, Chalmers bumped up that steals average to nearly three a game and was a key contributer to a Miami squad that pushed the Hawks to seven games.

Just an hour ago, I hit up Mario, who was chilling at home in Alaska. Read More »