Pat Riley has no interest in watching his Miami Heat fall apart the season after LeBron James leaves to return to the glories of Cleveland.
ESPN.com is reporting that Miami applied to the league office for a Disabled Player Exception in the wake of Josh McRoberts’ season-ending knee injury.
The move, according to reports, is centered around bring Josh Smith to Miami.
At present, Miami can offer only a $1.4 million veteran minimum contract to Smith, but a DPE after losing McRoberts would be valued at $2.65 million.
Sources say the Houston Rockets, however, remain confident they have the inside track to land Smith even if Miami is granted a DPE this week, given Houston’s clear need at power forward and Smith’s close friendship with Rockets center Dwight Howard.
Smith’s favorites appear to be the Rockets and Mavericks because of his relationships with Dwight Howard and Rajon Rondo.
Sources say the Rockets, with Howard leading their recruiting pitch, believe Smith will ultimately choose Houston over Miami and the Dallas Mavericks, whose recruiting effort is being spearheaded by guard Rajon Rondo — another of Smith’s close friends.
“He’s just as close to Dwight as he is to Rondo,” one source said late Monday, “and Dwight wants him.”
Rondo, who said he talks to Smith “pretty much every day,” believes his friend and former high school teammate would be a good fit for the Mavs.
“I think we can use an athletic big,” Rondo said after the Mavs’ 105-102 loss to the Atlanta Hawks. “They traded me for Brandan Wright. Besides Tyson [Chandler], our other bigs are perimeter shooters. Josh brings a lot to the game — his intangibles, he can make plays, rebound, defend. He’d be a good fit anywhere, but especially here I think he’d be a good fit.”
ESPN.com reported earlier Monday that the Sacramento Kings and Los Angeles Clippers were also in the mix for Smith with Houston, Dallas and Miami. Grantland’s Zach Lowe subsequently reported that the Memphis Grizzlies had also joined the race.