2016 NBA free agents: Al Jefferson could be Heat’s Plan B

Hassan Whiteside’s upcoming free agency is unpredictable, and the Heat can’t possibly know if they’ll be able to bring him back. That’s the goal, Pat Riley says, but other teams are going to hit Whiteside with enticing offers as soon as he becomes available July 1.

If Miami loses Whiteside, there is no obvious next choice around which the team can build. At that point, the Heat would be in the market for a short-term starting center that doesn’t severely impair their free agency ambitions in 2017. That likely eliminates someone like Dwight Howard, who should be looking for a long-range deal.

One good option might be Charlotte’s Al Jefferson. He’s 31 and made $13.8 million last season, but missed 52 games over the past two seasons. If he’s confident that he can come back healthy and have a resurgence, he could help himself on a one-year deal (probably with a second-year player option) to reestablish his market value heading into summer 2017.

The last time he was healthy, the 2013-14 season, he averaged 21.8 points and 10.8 rebounds for the Hornets. However, over the past two years he put up 14.7 and 7.6.

Why Miami's #TeamPetty Movement Is Rooting Hard Against LeBron James

Maybe you haven't heard, but there are a few Miami Heat fans rooting against LeBron James in the NBA finals. These Miami Heat fans laugh in the face of LeBron's failure in Cleveland. They fist-pump every Warriors basket. They retweet every funny sad-LeBron meme. They bask in his frustration and possible regret.

These fans are so serious about their message that they've developed a social media support group called #TeamPetty. Search this hashtag, and you'll find they've owned their hate. They've openly admitted their intentions. They've asked that you respect their privacy as they drink the haterade and let the refreshing pettiness wash over them. All they ask is that you let them be as they indulge in the chocolatey goodness that has been Golden State dismantling the Cavaliers.

You may not like what #TeamPetty stands for, but their reasoning is valid and clear. In their opinion, LeBron James brought this movement upon himself. He did so in a variety of ways.

Is free agent Hassan Whiteside worth max contract from Heat?

As the Heat put together a pitch to secure Hassan Whiteside long-term, they hope he’s ready to move on from the mentality of using big numbers to prove everybody wrong.

Whiteside’s basketball life to this point has been all about knocking down doubters, and his method when he returned to the NBA two years ago from an overseas digression was putting up startling statistics. One of the first monster games he had for Miami was against the Clippers, and his immediate thought afterward was making sure everyone knew Doc Rivers turned him down for a tryout. When he started putting uptriple-doubles, he coined his new catchphrase, “nobody’s doing it with blocks.”

Now he’s got the chance to emphasize his point with what many players view as the ultimate number: a gigantic salary. Outside of Kevin Durant, Whiteside is arguably the most coveted free agent on the open market this summer and could hear offers in excess of $80 million over four years. There are at least a dozen teams with the need and the money to make that happen.

“I kinda hoped it’d be like this, but I never thought they’d be talking about the free agency numbers and all that stuff like they are,” Whiteside said late in the season. “That all happened really quick.”

The Heat are about to find out how much all of these numbers truly mean to Whiteside. The organization has a history of players making sacrifices to give Pat Riley the best possible chance to build a contending roster, and it’s hoping Whiteside will be open to that.

"Riley said of the upcoming negotiations.

You find out how much he wants to win,”

Whiteside might not have any interest in taking less, given that this is his first chance to grab a mountain of cash. He played for less than $1 million each of the past two seasons in Miami, and Basketball-Referencecharts his career earnings at $3.2 million. Ten teammates made more than him this year.

There’s always a risk, too, of him feeling insulted by a smaller offer. With other franchises free to discuss a max deal at 12:01 a.m. on July 1, Whiteside quickly could be whisked away. That would leave Miami to consider replacements such as Al Horford, Joakim Noah and Dwight Howard.

Unless Whiteside’s number gets so high that the Heat believe it precludes them from making a legitimate run at Durant, they likely will pay whatever it takes to keep a dominant center just entering his prime. While Whiteside turns 27 next week, last year was his first full season in the NBA and he has shown rapid progress in two years with Miami.

From that breakout demonstration against Los Angeles through the end of the 2014-15 season, he averaged 13.9 points, 11.8 rebounds and 2.8 blocks per game. Those statistics held steady in the first half of this season, then rose to 17.5, 13.3 and 3.4 after the All-Star break.

There’s been a gradual climb and he’s better now than ever, especially considering he polished several of the subtle parts of his game such as setting screens and overall defensive positioning in the second half of the season.

His offensive game looks like it could far exceed what he’s shown so far. Whiteside clearly has good touch on his jumper and used that to drastically up his free-throw percentage during the season. He shot 76.4 percent from the line the final two months after previously going 52.4 percent for his career.

Miami envisions more from him once he gets the validation of a massive contract — even with a discount for the Heat it’s hard to see him signing for less than $60 million — now that there will be nothing left for him to prove individually. Riley senses he’s on the verge of transforming into the type of player who bolsters everyone around him and helps power a team into championship contention.

“I think now he’ll be more comfortable once this situation ends,” Riley said at the end of the season. “When a player spends six years of his career having everybody tell him why he’s not good enough to be in the NBA, when he gets an opportunity, what young players do first is, ‘I want to show you I’m good enough to play in the NBA.’ That could be individually important, but not as good for the team.

“Once that’s out of the way, the roof is the ceiling because he’s shown all of us that he can be a 15 (points) and 15 (rebounds) and four blocked shots and 70 percent field goals guy. But there are other layers to his game that I think he can be even better at.”

If that’s true, he’ll be worth every cent.

Miami Heat's Justise Winslow named to USA Basketball's Select Team

Miami Heat forward Justise Winslow has just completed an impressive rookie campaign and the 20-year-old will now be facing some tough competition over the summer with his selection to the 2016 Men's Select Team for USA Basketball.

As part of the 25-man roster, Winslow will be tasked with helping Team USA prepare for the 2016 Olympics along with a squad packed with young and promising talent.

"The 2016 USA Basketball Select Team continues our tradition of featuring some of the game's brightest and most promising young players," said Jerry Colangelo, the USA Basketball National Team managing director, in a press release. "Participation in this camp provides them with valuable experience at the USA Basketball National Team level, while helping prepare the 2016 USA National Team for its upcoming international competition. For many of the Select Team players this is a continuation of their USA Basketball experiences and for others it is an introduction into our pipeline."

Winslow, who was recently named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team, will train with the 2016 USA Basketball Men's National Team during its training camp in Las Vegas from July 18-21. The promising young forward out of Duke has already won three gold medals for USA during the 2014 FIBA Americas U18 Championship, the 2013 FIBA U19 Championship and the 2012 FIBA U17 World Championship.

He will be joined on the team by Marcus Smart (Boston), Cody Zeller(Charlotte), Doug McDermott (Chicago), Gary Harris (Denver),Emmanuel Mudiay (Denver), Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (Detroit),Stanley Johnson (Detroit), Myles Turner (Indiana), Julius Randle (L.A.Lakers), D'Angelo Russell (L.A. Lakers), Jabari Parker (Milwaukee),Zach LaVine (Minnesota), Aaron Gordon (Orlando), Jerami Grant(Philadelphia), Jahlil Oakafor (Philadelphia), Devin Booker (Phoenix), CJ McCollum (Portland), Willie Cauley-Stein (Sacramento), Rodney Hood (Utah), Brandon Ingram (Duke University), Denzel Valentine (Michigan State University), Brice Johnson (University of North Carolina), Kris Dunn (Providence College) and Malcolm Brogdon (University of Virginia).

San Antonio Spurs Head Coach Gregg Popovich will oversee the Select Team and Spurs assistant coach Ime Udoka and Villanova University head coach Jay Wright will serve as assistant coaches. The team consists of nine players who just completed their first season in the NBA, nine players who have two years of NBA experience, four third-year players and five players eligible for the 2016 NBA Draft.

Chris Bosh dances as he makes some strong ass Cuban coffee

Chris Bosh is honoring Miami the correct way, by dancing and making tasty coffee.

2016 NBA free agency: Should the Heat look to sign center Joakim Noah?

The Heat are very familiar with Bulls center Joakim Noah’s skill set.

Noah has averaged 9.5 points and 8.8 rebounds in 23 games against Miami over his career. But is it now time for the Heat to bring Noah to their side?

The 31-year-old Noah is set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1 for the first time in his nine-year career. If the Heat aren’t able to keep center Hassan Whiteside, who is also set to become an unrestricted free agent next month, Noah could become one of Miami’s top options to replace him.

Noah made $13.4 million last season and is coming off a contract that paid him $60 million over the past five years. But after his stats have begun to decline over the past two seasons, he will likely have to take a pay cut this summer.

According to reports, Noah is looking for a starting role and a chance to win a championship. If that holds true, the only scenario Noah would consider the Heat is if Whiteside signs with another team this offseason.

Noah’s health and durability is a concern after playing in a career-low 29 games last season. The University of Florida product underwent season-ending shoulder surgery in January.

After averaging a double-double in four out of five seasons from 2009-14, Noah’s production has taken a hit. He averaged 7.2 points and 9.6 rebounds during the 2014-15 season, and he averaged a career-low 4.3 points to go along with 8.8 rebounds last season.

Another free agent center the Heat could look to sign if Whiteside signs elsewhere is Noah’s college teammate Al Horford.

Dwyane Wade reflects on Muhammad Ali as 'courageous humanitarian'

The kinship came from a shared birthday, both born on Jan. 17, Dwyane Wade 40 years after Muhammad Ali. But with Friday's passing of the iconic boxer at age 74, the Miami Heat guard on Saturday said measuring up to Ali became a life challenge.

"Muhammad Ali and I share the same birthday, and that alone made me feel I had purpose,"' Wade posted on Instagram. "Yes, he was a great boxer, the greatest of all, but as a courageous humanitarian. That is where his brilliance spoke loudest to me.

"He made me believe I could become HIM. I could be my own man, use my own voice, stand up for my beliefs AND be respected for what I do on my battle field which is the court. He was strong, proud and vocal . . . a black man who lead by words and action. Misunderstood and unappreciated for most of his life. Thanks for standing for all but especially your own. It was always my honor to be in his presence and I am a better man for it."

Thoughts were similar across social media from those associated with the Heat.

"I'm so thankful for the words you shared throughout your life and the example you set," power forward Udonis Haslem posted on Instagram, "for not only African Americans but human beings around the world."

Posted center Hassan Whiteside on Instagram, "RIP to the Greatest. Thanks for all you done for the WORLD. Way more than a boxer."

From others on the team, inspirational quotes from Ali were posted on social media.

"He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life," posted guard Goran Dragic.

"I know where I'm going and I know the truth, and I don't have to be what you want me to be. I'm free to be what I want to be," posted Luol Deng.

Both of those Ali quotes were accompanied by photos of Ali.

On his Twitter feed, Heat owner Micky Arison posted, "He was the greatest Muhammad Ali R.I.P."

The Heat tribute to Ali will endure. Atop a wall in the team's training room at AmericanAirlines Arena is the Ali quote, "The fight is won or lost far away from witnesses -- behind the lines, in the gym, and out there on the road, long before I dance under those lights."