Heat scouting former Knick Allan Houston
Heat coach Pat Riley confirmed Monday he plans to have a scout present today in New York for a workout by 36-year-old former Knicks guard Allan Houston, considering his team's presence "due diligence."
Houston retired after being limited to 20 games in 2004-05 by arthritis in his left knee, playing his final game on Dec. 10, 2004. He holds a particularly painful place in Heat history, with his leaning jumper with eight-tenths of a second to play in Game 5 of the 1999 first round eliminating the top-seeded Heat from the playoffs.
Among Houston's reported goals is to sign with a contender, with several teams expected to attend today's session.
Houston's agent, Bill Strickland, last week told ESPN Radio's New York affiliate that he was "90 to 95 percent" certain the 6-foot-6 shooting guard would be back in the league this coming season. Houston spent last season as an ESPN television analyst.
While such a signing would appear outlandish for an already aging Heat roster, the team last month added 36-year-old guard Penny Hardaway, who has not played in the NBA since November 2005 because of knee trouble.
With three weeks remaining until the start of training camp, the Heat is relatively thin at shooting guard. Starter Dwyane Wade is expected to miss at least the first two weeks of the regular season, as he recovers from May knee and shoulder surgeries. The only other options on the current roster at the position are lightly used fourth-year swingman Dorell Wright, first-round pick Daequan Cook and journeymen such as Hardaway and Jeremy Richardson.
The Heat this offseason has lost backcourt options Eddie Jones and Jason Kapono to free agency.
RILEY a HALL nominee
The Heat has formally placed Riley's name for nomination to the basketball Hall of Fame.
Under Hall rules, a coach is eligible for nomination five years after retirement or after coaching 25 seasons. Counting his two seasons as a Los Angeles Lakers assistant, Riley completed his 25th year on the bench last season.
Riley's name next will be presented to the North American screening committee in January. Should he receive the required seven votes from the nine members of that committee, he would be announced as a Hall finalist at the Feb. 17 NBA All-Star Game in New Orleans.
From there, with 18 of 24 votes from the selection committee, he would be named a Hall inductee at the April 5-7 NCAA Men's Final Four in San Antonio, with induction in Springfield, Mass., in September 2008.
Among the players Riley has coached who already are in the Hall are Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Bob McAdoo and James Worthy. Among his coaching contemporaries already in the Hall are Hubie Brown, Larry Brown, Chuck Daly, Red Holzman, Phil Jackson, Jack Ramsay and Lenny Wilkens.
Ira Winderman can be reached at iwinderman@sun-sentinel.com.
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