NBA Roundup: Heat use amnesty waiver with Miller
The Miami Heat waived veteran guard Mike Miller through the NBA's amnesty provision on Tuesday, a move that saves the two-time NBA champions $17 million in luxury tax fees.
Miller appeared in 59 regular-season games last season, and averaged 4.8 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 15.3 minutes.
The Heat still owe Miller $12.8 million over the next two seasons. Miller signed with the Heat in summer of 2010 but suffered through injuries to his thumbs and back that limited his playing time.
---Brooklyn Nets coach Jason Kidd pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor drunken driving charge and will speak with young drivers as a condition of a settlement, according to News12 Long Island.
Kidd was arrested in Long Island on July 16, 2012, when he crashed his Cadillac SUV into a telephone pole. The 40-year-old was placed on interim probation pending his appearance at two Suffolk County schools regarding the dangers of drunken driving. After he speaks, News 12 Long Island reported that Kidd will be allowed to change his plea to driving while impaired, a lesser charge. His driver's license remains suspended.
Kidd retired as an NBA player after last season and was hired to coach the Nets.
---Metta World Peace officially joined the New York Knicks on Tuesday, signing a contract with his hometown team.
The Knicks made the announcement and World Peace confirmed it by tweeting a picture of the signing. After World Peace was waived by the Los Angeles Lakers under the amnesty provision, he received a $1.7 million contract from the Knicks and the Lakers will play the remaining $7.7 million of his deal in LA.
---The Philadelphia 76ers claimed swingman James Anderson and center Tim Ohlbrecht off waivers from the Houston Rockets. the team announced Tuesday.
Selected No. 20 overall in the 2010 NBA Draft by San Antonio, Anderson played three seasons with the Spurs and Rockets, averaging 3.7 points and 1.5 rebounds in 116 games.
The 6-foot-11 Ohlbrecht is a native of Germany who spent time this past season in the D-League with Rio Grande Valley, averaging 13.4 points, 7.4 rebounds, 1.63 blocks and 1.13 steals. Ohlbrecht also saw action in three games for the Rockets.
---Omri Casspi, the first Israeli-born athlete to play in the NBA, has joined the Houston Rockets on a two-year, $2 million deal.
The 6-foot-9 forward spent his first four NBA seasons split between the Sacramento Kings and Cleveland Cavaliers. His best season came in his rookie year of 2009-10, when he averaged 10.3 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. Casspi has averaged 7.9 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.0 assists over 256 career games.
---The Denver Nuggets continued to transform their front office Tuesday when they named Arturas Karnisovas as assistant general manager.
Karnisovas, 42, joins the Nuggets after five years with the Houston Rockets. He started with the team as an international scout in 2008, and was most recently the team's director of scouting. Karnisovas will assist new general manager Tim Connelly and team president Josh Kroenke with day-to-day operations related to scouting and player personnel matters.
