Miami Heat News, Rumors: Dwyane Wade, Shabazz Napier, LeBron James Latest

Miami Heat News, Rumors: Dwyane Wade, Shabazz Napier, LeBron James Latest
Miami Heat's Dwyane Wade, left, celebrates with Chris Bosh during the second half of the NBA basketball game, Sunday, Nov. 30, 2014 in New York. The Heat defeated the Knicks 86-79. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Zachary Stieber
12/1/2014
Updated:
12/1/2014

The Miami Heat grabbed a win with Dwyane Wade back in the lineup and are set to play again on Monday night.

Check out the latest news and rumors below.

Wade Returns to Court

Wade has been struggling with injury, missing seven games with a strained left hamstring.

But Wade returned to score 27 points — 13 in the fourth quarter -- and the Heat beat the New York Knicks 86-79 on Sunday night.

“For me, the fourth quarter is the only one where I can be selfish,” Wade said.

After trailing by as many as 16, the Knicks pulled to 65-63 on Tim Hardaway Jr.’s layup with 9:22 left.

Wade followed with a baseline jumper and scored 12 of Miami’s next 15 points to help the Heat maintain the lead.

“I played 32 minutes, but it felt a lot more like 50,” said Wade, who added five assists and shot 11-of-18. “It took a while. Early on I was just trying to make plays for my teammates.”

After the Knicks again pulled to 79-77 on Amare Stoudemire’s tip-in with 1:23 left, Bosh hit his 3-pointer and New York never got closer.

“When the situation gets a little tense, a little tight, we need a shot and we run plays that we normally get good looks off of and it was just about having your feet set and shooting with confidence,” Chris Bosh said.

Wade said the Heat have been doing great on offense without him but stressed a need to pick up the defense.

“We just want to get back on track. We hit the road, it feels good that I’m coming back now. But it doesn’t guarantee us nothing,” he told the Sun Sentinel.

“So we’ve got to get back on track. And the biggest thing for us is what kind of defensive disposition do we have when we come out? Offensively, we’ve been playing fine, even when I was out. The guys were still in the top 10 in scoring, as a whole. It’s about how we come out defensively and we take care of that side.”

Napier Says No Hard Feelings About LeBron

Shabazz Napier #13 of the Miami Heat shoots during a game against the Golden State Warriors at American Airlines Arena on November 25, 2014 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
Shabazz Napier #13 of the Miami Heat shoots during a game against the Golden State Warriors at American Airlines Arena on November 25, 2014 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)

 

LeBron James advocated for Shabazz Napier, and is likely the main reason the Heat chose the rookie in the draft.

But then LeBron left for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Napier, though, says he has no hard feelings, despite unfollowing James on Twitter soon after.

Napier told the New York Daily News that he was new to the social media service and didn’t understand how some aspects worked. 

Napier also struggled in the summer league but has been playing well this season. 

“I was happy to be with this organization once I heard I was coming,” Napier said.

“This is a great organization no matter what. This team is based on championship pedigree and you should love coming to a team like that and I was appreciative that these guys gave me an opportunity like that.”

James was impressed by Napier’s play in the NCAA tournament, which led to a national championship. “No way u take another PG in the lottery before Napier,” he said via Twitter. “My favorite player in the draft!” he added after the Heat picked Napier with the 24th pick. 

“Like I said, I was ecstatic when I found out I was playing with the Miami Heat,” he said when asked if it was awkward when James left for Cleveland. “I understand what this organization is about and to be drafted by this team is everything that I wanted.”

Union Videobombs Wade

Wade’s wife Gabrielle Union was happy with the Heat’s win, and jumped into an interview with Wade. 

Wade was answering a question when she suddenly appeared and started talking.

“It was okay, I mean a hamstring pull. Wow. To come back with 27 points, we’re going to talk about the free throws later,” she said.

“He did good for an old geezer.”

Heat Invest in Whiteside, Hamilton

The Heat have put some money down for centers Hassan Whiteside and Justin Hamilton.

The Heat included a $100,000 guarantee for Whiteside when calling him up from the D-League last week, and an additional 25 percent became guaranteed Monday.

“I’m really happy that they chose to make a commitment and I’m all-in,” Whiteside told the Sun Sentinel.

“Like I said, I 100 percent believe in their organization. I mean, if Pat Riley tells me to run to the airport, I’m going to run to the airport. That’s how much confidence I have in this.”

Hamilton also got 25 percent of his $816.482 salary guaranteed.

“I knew there was a date,” he said of the 25-percent guarantee. “I didn’t know it was [Monday]. I knew there was a date. I’m just trying to keep playing and help the team win.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.