MIAMI (AP) — Miami Heat guard Dion Waiters will begin this season as he finished last season — unable to play.Waiters has not recovered sufficiently enough from left ankle surgery to be ready for the start of training camp next week, the team announced Tuesday. Heat President Pat Riley said it's unlikely that Waiters will be ready for the start of the regular season as well.The announcement wasn't a total surprise because Waiters was told when he had the procedure in mid-January that he could be sidelined for up to 10 months."Dion will not be returning to the court until the Heat medical team and training staff deem him healed, rehabbed and physically conditioned for all basketball activities," Riley said.Heat point guard Goran Dragic was taken aback by the news."This is kind of out of the blue for me," Dragic said. "At the end of the day, he knows what is best for him. I'm hoping he's going to be ready when we need him."Waiters is due to make about $11.5 million this season, the second... [More]

MIAMI (AP) — If there was any reason for solace in the Miami Heat locker room after the final game of the season in Philadelphia, it was this: They knew they lost to a better team.The Heat were good. They weren't great.Hence, the challenge of the offseason is clear: The Heat have to not only find ways to improve, but will have to find some creative ways to make it happen. They don't have a pile of salary-cap space to play with, they don't have any picks in this year's draft and they know that fellow Eastern Conference clubs like the 76ers — who needed five games to oust Miami from the playoffs — might only get better."We gave everything we have," Heat guard Dwyane Wade said. "We have to be OK with that."And with that, there is Question No. 1 of the offseason: Does Wade have any more to give?Wade is considering retirement, a decision that could affect some of the personnel decisions the Heat will make this summer, plus could also have an impact on whether Udonis Haslem returns to Miami for... [More]

Joel Embiid expects his first playoff game in Philadelphia to be quite a scene."It's going to be lit," Embiid said.And if the 76ers win, there will be more games like it next week.The 76ers can become the first team into the Eastern Conference semifinals when they host the Miami Heat on Tuesday in Game 5 of the only East series that isn't tied.Also Tuesday, the Golden State Warriors get their second chance to eliminate San Antonio, and the Celtics and Bucks return to Boston for Game 5 of a series in which the home team has won every game.Embiid was still sidelined while recovering from a broken orbital bone around his left eye for the first two games in Philadelphia, then returned to help the 76ers win Games 3 and 4 in Miami.Now the 76ers, who just two years ago lost 72 games in one of the worst seasons ever while the Warriors were winning an NBA-record 73, can join the defending champions in the second round on the same night. The 76ers have advanced to the East semis just twice since... [More]

Joel Embiid expects his first playoff game in Philadelphia to be quite a scene."It's going to be lit," Embiid said.And if the 76ers win, there will be more games like it next week.The 76ers can become the first team into the Eastern Conference semifinals when they host the Miami Heat on Tuesday in Game 5 of the only East series that isn't tied.Also Tuesday, the Golden State Warriors get their second chance to eliminate San Antonio, and the Celtics and Bucks return to Boston for Game 5 of a series in which the home team has won every game.Embiid was still sidelined while recovering from a broken orbital bone around his left eye for the first two games in Philadelphia, then returned to help the 76ers win Games 3 and 4 in Miami.Now the 76ers, who just two years ago lost 72 games in one of the worst seasons ever while the Warriors were winning an NBA-record 73, can join the defending champions in the second round on the same night. The 76ers have advanced to the East semis just twice since... [More]

MIAMI (AP) — The NBA said three plays were officiated incorrectly in overtime of Tuesday's Miami-Washington game, all aiding the Wizards in what became their four-point victory.The National Basketball Referees Association, however, disagreed with the league's assessment in one of those situations.The league said a 5-second inbounding violation should have been called against Washington with 12.2 seconds left in overtime, after determining that Markieff Morris did not release the basketball in time. Replays showed Morris held the ball for more than five seconds, which meant Miami should have gotten possession in what was then a one-point game.But the NBRA said the officiating crew was right."We are taught to count to 5 and make sure the ball has not been released before calling a violation," the NBRA wrote on Twitter . "The official in this game got to 5 and the ball was released. It was the correct decision."The NBA disagreed, calling it an incorrect non-call."Morris (did) not release the... [More]

MIAMI (AP) — As the Heat fell behind early against the Milwaukee Bucks, the Miami fans were getting eager to see the man of the night.Dwayne Wade was back with the Heat on Friday night, coming off the bench for Miami.As the Heat fell behind 9-0, the crowd chanted, "We want Wade!"Wade took the court midway through the first quarter as the fans gave him a standing ovation. He immediately grabbed a defensive rebound and threw a lob pass to Hassan Whiteside, who was able to slam home a dunk.Wade is Miami's all-time leader in points, games, assists and steals. He was drafted in the first round by Miami in 2003, but left for Chicago in 2016. Miami acquired him from Cleveland as part of the Cavaliers' deadline-day makeover.His return seemed to put everybody with the franchise in a good mood Friday, from office workers to coach Erik Spolestra."I definitely feel it's going to be a great environment," Wade said before the game.It was.The lower bowl was full before tip-off, an uncommon sight for a... [More]

Dwyane Wade could not be more excited to get back to his familiar surroundings.He's also excited for an unfamiliar uniform.It's an unusual perk, but one of the things Wade said he's looking most forward to when he returns to the Miami Heat on Friday night is the team's new "Vice" jersey and shorts — the design being a play on the themes of Miami in the 1980s, replete with pastel trim and a font the team used when it played in its original arena."OK, I've seen the jerseys — me and a friend of mine, won't say his name — and I was like, 'Listen, I need to get those shorts, at least,'" Wade told The Associated Press in an interview after his trade from Cleveland to Miami was completed Thursday. "The jerseys are unreal."The friend, by the way, was fellow former Heat star — and fellow fashion aficionado — LeBron James."I will not confirm nor deny who it was," Wade said.The Heat are wearing the uniform 15 times this season, with 10 of those left to play. They are in them for Wade's return against... [More]

Dwyane Wade did not see this coming.Not right now, anyway. He has fully believed for many months that he would eventually return to the Miami Heat, though he figured it would happen in a free-agent deal this coming summer and not on a Thursday afternoon while he was headed into Cleveland's practice facility for a workout with LeBron James.Then came the text from agent Leon Rose: "Call me 911," he wrote."So if you get a text like that and the trade deadline is coming up and you know the team that you're on is going to be very active, you know something is going down with you," Wade said. "And my mind went right to, 'No, it's not Miami. There's no way.' My mind went right to that because I felt like that's the only other place I can be."He was right. Wade, who left Miami in 2016 for his hometown of Chicago, is now back in his NBA hometown. He's with the Heat again, getting traded as part of Cleveland's massive roster shake-up Thursday in exchange for a second-round pick in 2024."I always... [More]

NEW YORK -- Michael Beasley had 30 points on 11-of-18 shooting from the field to lead six New York players in double figures as the Knicks spoiled Carmelo Anthony's return to Madison Square Garden with a 111-96 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday night.Anthony, who was with the Knicks for nearly seven seasons and ranks as the seventh-leading scorer in franchise history, finished with 12 points -- including zero in the second half -- on 5-of-18 shooting in his first game back in New York since being traded during the offseason for Enes Kanter, Doug McDermott and a second-round draft pick.Anthony received a mostly warm reception from the MSG crowd during a highlight video played during introductions. While there were loud cheers for Anthony, who averaged nearly 25 points during his nearly seven-year run but had little playoff success, there was also a smattering of boos.Heat 90, Clippers 85MIAMI -- Erik Spoelstra became the Miami franchise leader for coaching victories in a... [More]

OKLAHOMA CITY -- The Oklahoma City Thunder's troublesome trend of letting second-half leads disappear looked like it was going to show itself again.The Minnesota Timberwolves cut a double-digit Thunder lead to one possession with less than a minute to play, but Paul George hit two free throws with 5.2 seconds to play as the Thunder closed out a 111-107 win Friday night at Chesapeake Energy Arena.George had 36 points and Oklahoma City center Steven Adams had 27. Andrew Wiggins' 3-pointer with 9.8 seconds to go had Minnesota as close as it had been since the first quarter, but unlike the Timberwolves' last trip to Oklahoma City -- when Wiggins banked in a game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer -- the Thunder put this one out of reach.Heat 105, Hornets 100MIAMI -- Josh Richardson scored a career-high 27 points to lead Miami over Charlotte.Dion Waiters finished with 19 points and Wayne Ellington scored 14 points as the Heat overcame a 15-point first-quarter deficit.Miami took the lead for good... [More]

The Miami Heat recalled guard Josh Richardson from the Sioux Falls Skyforce of the NBA Development League on Monday.Richardson has appeared in four games (all starts) in two different stints with the Skyforce this season, helping them to a 4-0 record over that span and averaging 23.3 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 2.5 steals and 1.25 blocks in 38.3 minutes.Richardson was available for Monday night's game at Golden State.

The Miami Heat assigned guard Josh Richardson to the Sioux Falls Skyforce of the NBA Development League on Wednesday.Richardson has appeared in 13 games (one start) with the Heat this season, averaging 1.7 points and 1.1 rebounds in 9.2 minutes. In his lone NBA start on Nov. 12, Richardson scored eight points and grabbed three rebounds in a 92-91 win against Utah.Richardson was originally selected by the Heat in the second round (40th overall) of the 2015 NBA draft.