Mike Miller Signs with Heat
Mike Miller made it clear that there was one reason he was coming to Miami. By the time playoffs roll around next season, it will have been nine years since he enjoyed a post-season victory. Miami is all about remedying that.
On Thursday Miller officially signed his expected contract with the Heat, cementing his commitment to the club and becoming the latest example of a player content to join the Heat for less money. What’s at stake here is a championship, and the possibility of being part of history.
In terms of taking less money, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and Udonis Haslem all did the same in recent days, citing winning a championship as the main justification.
Miller thanked the Heat for the offer, and expressed his excitement by writing “It’s official!” on his twitter account.
Miller comes as a welcome addition for the Heat team, who knew they needed a shooter to couple with the all-star trio. Pat Riley met with Miller in the early stages of the free agency bid on July 1st, meeting him for a memorable sales pitch Miller isn’t soon to forget.
The pitch that night was that the Heat were going after James and Bosh to join Wade. If that wasn’t huge enough, Miller had likewise already been cast onto the roster, filling out Riley’s plan. In the span of the next days Miller spoke with no less than four other teams, but nothing proved to match the excitement of the initial offer.
Miller’s agent, Arn Tellem, wrote on his blog: “Pat had a vision for the team, a vision that he laid out with evangelical fervor. We left the room converted.”
Miller’s contract holds for around $25 million, and was signed, coincidentally, on the same day the Minnesota Timberwolves planned to introduce former Heat forward Michael Beasley to their fan base. It was in trading Beasley for draft picks that Miami was able to clear up the necessary cap space to sign Miller.
After James chose Miami as his team, Miller agreed verbally agreed also.
The forward shot almost 50 per cent from the three-point range last season, with a career average of 13.7 points.
In a domino effect, James decision affected Miller’s, which in turn affected Udonis Haslem’s own decision to stay on in Miami as well. Miller and Haslem are close friends, as they played together before the NBA on the Florida Gators.
Earlier this week, Haslem said fondly: “that's my college roommate. Our relationship is a lot deeper than just basketball. He's like Dwyane is to me, except we're just different colours. I would say Dwyane is my brother and I would say Mike is brother. Different backgrounds, obviously different races, but that's my brother.”
Signing on with Miami, the squad becomes Miller’s fifth team in the NBA, after time with Orlando, Memphis, Minnesota and Washington. Despite the variance, he has never played in the second round of the playoffs. His last playoff win was in 2002 with Orlando, but since, Miller’s teams are 0-14 in the post-season.
Miller is expected to play small-forward for Miami, as Dwyane Wade will be taking up the shooting guard position. Miller won the NBA 2001 Rookie of the Year award, while being the only first year player to appear in all 82 games for the Orlando Magic.
He is an avid lover of animals, owning three dogs and an aquarium full of exotic fish.
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