I know, the rumor has been floating around the internet for a little while, and I wasn’t even going to bother with talking about it… but one thing from Adrian Wojnarowski/Yahoo!’s latest article on the topic really jumped out at me:
One league source listed the probability of Miami signing Curry at “better than 50-50.”
Assuming this league source is credible, it seems to me like this signing is going down… so I figured I better write a little somethin’ about it. Here’s the entirety of the Yahoo! article. It isn’t very long…
The Miami Heat are progressing toward signing center Eddy Curry for the playoffs, front office sources told Yahoo! Sports.
After Heat president Pat Riley watched Curry work out in Chicago in recent days, he’s made plans to bring the 7-footer to Miami early next week for another workout and a medical physical with the ultimate objective to sign him, sources said.
Curry’s weight and personal problems have derailed what had been a productive career, and yet Riley has been hopeful Curry could somehow give the Heat a limited inside presence in the postseason. It is believed Curry still weighs more than 350 pounds.
One league source listed the probability of Miami signing Curry at “better than 50-50.” The Heat would need to cut a player for the playoffs, with rookie Dexter Pittman as a likely candidate to be waived.
After the Minnesota Timberwolves bought out Curry’s contract in February following the three-way Carmelo Anthony trade with the New York Knicks and Denver Nuggets, Curry started to work again with trainer Tim Grover in Chicago. It’s unclear how much weight Curry lost, but NBA executives say he hovered around 375 pounds when he arrived in Chicago several weeks ago.
Curry has played a total of 10 games in the past three seasons – including three in 2009-10 and seven in 2008-09 – for the Knicks. New York never activated him this season. In his best season, Curry averaged 19.5 points and 7.1 rebounds for the Knicks in 2006-07.
So it looks like an almost certainly overweight, out of shape, out of practice Eddy Curry is going to get at least one more job in the NBA. It’s amazing how far size and potential (ah, potential… the magic word that ensures a sketchy prospect at least five to ten years of NBA paychecks) can take you.
There’s no doubt that Curry’s got a lot of offensive talent to go along with that size–he averaged almost 20 PPG one season–but he’s been virtually inactive basketball-wise since March of 2008. I’m happy for the guy (he’s been through a lot of terrible experiences in his personal life), but I’m just not sure what he brings to the table for the Miami Heat right now. I suppose he’ll still be able to score in the post (he’s always been effective in that regard), but with the playoffs right around the corner and so little time to get in shape (something he’s never really been able to do, even with all the time in the world) I’m just not sure that this is the greatest of plans. I guess the Heat don’t have much to lose considering how awful their other centers are… why not give ol’ Eddy a chance? I mean, hey, he’s still just 28 years old. Maybe that’s their logic.
If this signing goes down I’m chalking it up as a win for NBA247365.COM no matter what it does to the Miami Heat. I always liked watching Eddy play for some odd reason. His kind of back to the basket game is something you rarely see these days, and I guess it fascinates me how a man so large can move and leap so relatively well. He also used to play all angry and demonstrative with the Knicks… I liked that. Get ‘em E-City! I’ll be rooting for ya!
^^I made that when I was in highschool. I’m probably the guy’s biggest fan.
I personally thought he was a great player when he was with the Bulls. He and Tyson Chandler could have been the “Twin Towers” also, but we know how that worked out. I told friends and family that in 3-4 years the bulls would be in the playoffs after drafting them, and they made it. Maybe he can get his game turned around with some good players around him. All he needs to do is get some rebounds and dunk the ball. Simple.