Thursday, December 8th, 2011 at 10:15 am  |  99 responses

Shane Battier to Join the Miami Heat


Shane Battier finally revealed the “interesting news” he had teased last night on Twitter, announcing that he’s headed to Miami this season: “The Lockout gave me a lots of time to consider what was important to me at this stage of my life and career. Over the last week, I’ve played out every scenario in my head over and over. It always came back to one thing for me: a winning role. I am appreciative of all the kind words and recruiting pitches over the last week, thank you!! This was a exciting process and after much deliberation, I would like to quote the great poet Jimmy Buffett and take my chances ‘Trying to Reason with Hurricane Season’. Let’s Go #Heat!!!!!”

  • Add a Comment
  • Share
  • RSS

Tags: , ,

Newer Comments →
  • http://www.optimabbc.be Max

    aaaah C’mon Shane sad to see him leave the Grizzlies after a run like that.

  • http://www.nba.com/bulls The Babe

    God damn… here I was thinking they were gonna bring in more player who were sh*t and then they get battier?… SMH

  • Will Lee

    c’mon shane don’t join the lame heat. you deserve a Celtics team.

  • MikeC.

    Stay classy Shane.

  • http://www.slamonline.com swagg

    I AM SOOOOOOOO HAPPY!!!! CAN YOU TELL HOW HAPPY I AM????? :0

  • http://www.slamonline.com Cheryl

    Dammit, forgot to check that my name was there instead of some random dude! That was me, the happy one.

  • http://slamonline.com Allenp

    Well, if he is still playing like he was last year, the Heat’s defense just became crazy.

  • http://slamonline.com YKnoT

    Bringing some much needed veteran 4th quarter leadership!

  • LA Huey

    co-sign Allenp

  • http://cnbc.com JTaylor21

    GHill was a better choice but Battier is better than Miller and Jones.

  • bike

    Just filled a major missing piece there. MIA stock going up by the second.

  • Sizzle

    Loving this pickup a fundamentally sound player, voice in the locker room, and knock down shooter. He will get plenty of open looks and can also take the load off of Lebron and Wade on defense some possessions..

  • http://slamonline.com The Black Rick Kamla

    somebody cue up that Flo Rida joint

  • http://www.slamonline.com megatron

    perfect fit

  • http://slamonline.com Allenp

    With Battier, neither LeBron nor Wade has to guard the other teams best offensive player for most of the game.
    Plus, the Heat can go either big or small even easier. They can play Wade, bron, Battier, Haslem and Bosh. Or Chalmers, Wade, Bron, Battier and Bosh depending on matchups. And they still have James Jones and Joel Anthony. They can now amnesty Mike Miller, or keep him, and deal with his injury without a huge problem. Very good pickup for them. He’s better than Grant Hill at just standing around and hitting shots.

  • http://www.slamonline.com Wayno

    wow, great add for the Heat…I don’t see anyone beating them unless CP3 and Dwight are wearing purple and gold this season.

  • Riggs

    cot damn i cant hate the heat anymore if they start bringing in some of my fav players. Their defense just went up by 10 points on 2k12

  • http://slamonline.com Brad Long

    Meh.

  • http://dsfjklf.com Jukai

    Amazing add for the Heat… Jeez…

  • http://dsfjklf.com Jukai

    I mean, it doesn’t solve their massive, gaping and bleeding problems at point guard and center, but hey, they are impenetrable at the 2-4 now.

  • http://www.slamonline.com Cheryl

    If Kwame will take the minimum, he can just stand down in the post and be big. He needn’t do anything else.

  • http://slamonline.com nbk

    Serious question, which perimeter defense would you want more, James, Wade, Battier – or Pippen, Jordan, Harper? The latter 3 is probably better actually on the perimeter. The former is probably better at helping to protect the rim. idk honestly who I’d rather have as a group on defense.

  • TJ

    Cuban is already having a hissy fit on Twitter about it. Guess his silence has ended. Too good to be true

  • http://www.slamonline.com megatron

    Cheryl i’ve been Kwame would be fine too, I haven’t heard anything on whether or not he would accept that though.

  • http://cnbc.com JTaylor21

    It all depends because by the time Harper arrived in CHI, he was well past his prime and so was MJ and Pip to a lesser extent while Bron/Wade are still in their prime. If we were talking strictly at their very best, no doubt it’s MJ/Pip/Harp but if we are talking about late 90s MJ/Pip/Harp vs ’11 Bron/Wade/Batt, I’ll go with the latter.

  • http://slamonline.com Allenp

    In 1996 Jordan and Pippen were still in their primes, and they were lightyears ahead of Bron and Wade as defenders, in my opinion.

  • http://slamonline.com nbk

    I’m not talking about their primes. (96 was not Jordan’s defensive prime though Allen, be real. Dennis Rodman and Pippen carried the heavy defensive load on that team, it’s not like Jordan was doing what he used to do and taking away half the court by himself) – Speaking of that I heard a great analogy from Kenny Smith on Jordan during the late 80′s early 90′s, he said Jordan was basically the Deion Sanders of the NBA, teams wouldn’t run a play on his side of the court at all when he was at his best. I thought that was spot on.

  • DieselMechanic

    reynolds

  • Monkeyfntstc

    And now go for Allen Iverson Heat!! GOGOGOOO

  • LP

    Heat sign 33 year old Shane Battier..?? I didn’t think defense was the Heats’ problem, was it????? Regardless, when they get to the ECF or the Finals, they will be playing a player that Shane Battier cannot defend anyhow! Kobe, Dwight, Pierce, Dirk, Durant! He won’t matter at the end anyway. OFFENSE is the Heats’ problem. …….and dont tell me that Wade and Lebron will be fresher for offense since they won’t defend the best player…because NEITHER defended DIRK!

  • http://www.slamonline.com aman from arkansas

    I’m sorry he left the Memphis. GO GRIZZLIES!!!!

  • http://cnbc.com JTaylor21

    Pip and Rodman did most of the heavy lifting on defense. MJ, most certainly, was past his defensive prime and I wouldn’t say those guys were lightyears ahead of Bron/Wade on the defensive end. They were superior but lightyears better might be pushing it.

  • http://cnbc.com JTaylor21

    I pretty sure that Battier has done a good job defending Kobe, PP and KD in the past and I don’t see why that should change now.

  • http://www.slamonline.com Eboy

    In reality, this just saves D-Rose the humiliation of being annihilated by Bron guarding him in a series and let’s Shane take a turn.

  • http://slamonline.com nbk

    Battier is a far better defender right now than Ron Harper was from 96-98. I figure Jordan & Pippen were better overall defenders than Wade and Bron now, but none of the Bulls guys protected the rim the way the three Heat players do.

  • http://www.slamonline.com Eboy

    Shane Battier is the one active player that I’ve seen who consistently plays stellar D against Kobe. That is a huge check mark in the Heat’s corner if those teams somehow wind up in the Finals together.

  • Goode

    Ah that sucks. I was kind of hoping he would join LA.

  • http://slamonline.com nbk

    Thabo has been pretty damn effective against Kobe over his career. As has George Hill. (i’m bored)

  • Ben Ireland

    I like the thought of LeBron 1, Dwade 2, Battier 3, Haslem 4 and Bosh 5… Joel Anthony, Mike Miller, Chalmers and possibly AI off the bench? That’s a crazy good team… Cmon Heat, sign AI now too, he’s worth a veteran’s minimum, just dump him if he’s getting too big, but he’d know he’s not gonna start on that team, and he can do what AI does best for 15-20 minutes a game as a 6th man spelling Bron and Wade at the 1 and 2… Could anyone disagree with that?

  • LP

    This is overrated. This will work only if LeBron runs the point…other than that, where will Battier’s minutes come in at?? lebron and wade will play 40+ in the playoffs….How will Battier make a huge difference? Who’s minutes will he take? Joel anthony? Mike Miller? Bosh?

  • http://slamonline.com nbk

    Chalmers, Wade, Battier, James, Bosh. That’s where Battier fits in most often.

  • Ben Ireland

    Also, just piggybacking off Eboy there, I’m readily anticipating a monster bounce back year from Kobe… Freed from the triangle yet still has great help; humiliated in the playoffs, getting all the criticism he took for losing a step, failing to step up… I think Kobe will be fully healthy, and ready to remind the rest of the league. I’m not saying MVP, but Top 5 voting, and playing even more viciously than Kobe normally does. I’ll go out on a limb and say he’ll average 32 6 6 and the Lakers will be the No. 1 seed. That’s where Battier comes in handy, he defends Kobe as well as anyone in the NBA, and he’ll be sorely needed. They can throw the 3 superior defenders at Kobe, whilst still mkaing him work on d with DWade. I want a Heat-Lakers Finals, after a Dallas-LA semis, and a Thunder-LA conference finals. And of course, the Lakers win… Wouldn’t be a good fan if I didn’t predict that for my team !

  • MUBWAR

    Lebron should move to the 4 then LP and he can certenly do it

  • http://slamonline.com nbk

    “Freed from the triangle” HAHA funny. — Kobe is going to have his second best scoring season in Mike Brown’s offense? And the Lakers will improve? That sh*t is comedy. The Lakers very well could improve, but it will be because Chris Paul will be wearing a Lakers jersey, not because Mike Brown is some mad offensive genius and Kobe Bryant is 28 again.

  • LP

    If you got Lebron and Bosh at your 4 and 5, against Pau and Bynum…????? somebody do that simple math for me…. granted, they are signing Eddy Curry, but he will NOT be healthy during the playoffs. He hasn’t played in 3 years, you just don’t come of hiatus and have a monster season, it doesn’t work like that.

  • http://cnbc.com JTaylor21

    Wade/Bron could play the point or Bron could play the 4. That’s what makes the Heat so good; their versatility, despite the lack of a true PG or C.
    PG-Wade SG-Battier SF-Bron PF-UD C-CB
    PG-Chalmers SG-Wade SF-Battier PF-LB C-CB
    PG-Bron SG-Wade SF-Battier PF-UD C-CB

  • http://slamonline.com nbk

    My only issue with what JT just said, all of those scenarios have Bosh at C. If the Heat don’t play a faster pace this season that will be a troublesome issue

  • Ben Ireland

    @NBK, Mike Brown is a defensive coach, and a damn good one, but on offence, he let LeBron do whatever he felt like doing. Can you honestly say Kobe won’t average more points when he’s given the ball and told go score?
    And CP3 is one of my favourite ever players, but he’s not gonna be in LA. If the Lakers get anyone, it’ll be Dwight, I think. Again, a super defensive center… Kobe wouldn’t get better?
    Wasn’t it an old Celt who said the best part of their defense was having Russell behind them? Same with Dwight… Kobe works less and less on D, concentrates on O… Hence my predictions. And freed from the triangle is true, it’s a damn effective system, as shown by 11 rings, but everyone knows Kobe couldn’t stand it. I see big things coming from an angry Mamba.

  • http://redoftoothandclaw.ca/ niQ

    Well the Heat did say there were going to go hard for Battier…pause.. I guess they got what they wanted.

  • Mvp23100

    The Heat against who out West Bostons old New York will never play D with sub par superstars and leadership and Rose still has dues to pay out in the Chi to me this a huge a move Battier brings consistency and leadership he’s solid on both ends

Newer Comments →
Advertisement
Counterkicks