1.Although Pat Riley confirmed to me a few weeks back that it would happen, the fact that Friday came and went without action from the Heat means that Joel Anthony's contract has become guaranteed for next season at $711,517. The Heat faced a July 25 deadline with Anthony's guarantee. Although he didn't get much of a chance to show it in Friday's U.S. Olympic exhibition while playing alongside Moe, Larry, Curly and Shemp on the Canadian national team, Anthony has a future in the league. One, in fact, could make a case that Anthony's shot-blocking could work in a starting lineup that features the matador defense of Dwyane Wade and Michael Beasley.
2.Wade's theatrics and the domination of the United States in Friday's exhibition against Canada were over the top. For all the supposed forward-thinking of USA Basketball, exactly what type of test is a Canadian national team that only days earlier had been eliminated from the potential Olympic pool? Yes, there is something to be said about bonding for Wade & Co., but is there any doubt that Canada will eventually exact its revenge during its pre-2010 curling tour?
3.Chad Kammerer's ascension to the Heat bench as an added assistant to Erik Spoelstra's staff does not come at the expense of another Heat assistant. Instead, it again will give the Heat two assistant coaches behind the bench (only three are allowed on the bench), with Kammerer and Keith Askins, as the Heat had when Askins and Bimbo Coles were situated there before Coles' parting with the organization.
4.Anthony Morrow, the former Georgia Tech guard who had his streak-shooting moments with the Heat's summer-league entry in Orlando, had even more with the Warriors' summer-league team (17 of 23 on 3-pointers), which resulted in a contract with Golden State. While it would be an overstatement to lament the loss of Morrow, it means one fewer bailout option should Daequan Cook repeat his rookie inconsistency.
