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Miami Heat adds veteran guard John 'The Hurdle' Lucas III
Lucas finished last season with Detroit Pistons
He’s fifth player on roster capable of playing point guard
Lucas is long shot to make Heat unless Mario Chalmers is traded
John Lucas III is shown while playing for the Heat in a preseason game against the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday, Oct. 11, 2009 at AmericanAirlines Arena in Miami. Hector Gabino El Nuevo Herald
By Barry Jackson
bjackson@miamiherald.com
Lucas finished last season with Detroit Pistons
He’s fifth player on roster capable of playing point guard
Lucas is long shot to make Heat unless Mario Chalmers is traded
John Lucas III is shown while playing for the Heat in a preseason game against the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday, Oct. 11, 2009 at AmericanAirlines Arena in Miami. Hector Gabino El Nuevo Herald
By Barry Jackson
bjackson@miamiherald.com
- The Miami Heat added point guard John Lucas III to a non-guaranteed training camp deal Thursday, giving them 19 players under contract, according to multiple sources.
Lucas, who lost out to Carlos Arroyo in a training camp bid for a Heat roster spot in 2009, has played in 237 NBA games for five teams over seven seasons, averaging 4.8 points and 1.5 assists, while shooting 38.4 percent from the field and 34.5 percent on three-pointers.
Lucas, 32, averaged 4.7 points and 2.9 assists in 21 games for Detroit last season. He was cut by the Washington Wizards after spending four days with them last October, then played in China through January (averaging 26 points and 7.0 assists) before joining the Pistons in early February and finishing the season with Detroit.
His agent, Bernie Lee, said: “I have absolutely no comment on anything regarding John. I understand there is a report about him working out somewhere but would tell you he works out a lot. Hopefully whoever saw him thought he looked good.”
According to a team source, the 5-11 Lucas has been working out for the Heat for the past couple of days.
He’s the fifth player on the roster capable of playing point guard, joining starter Goran Dragic, backup Mario Chalmers, Tyler Johnson and Josh Richardson.
The Heat previously planned to sign undrafted VCU point guard Briante Weber, but that fell through because the Heat determined he was not yet fully recovered from major knee surgery in February. Weber’s agent said he hopes Weber joins the Heat’s D-League affiliate in South Dakota by December.
Lucas, the son of former NBA player and coach John Lucas, is a long shot to make the team, unless the Heat trades Chalmers, who was shopped earlier this summer. Chalmers had some cryptic tweets earlier this week, but they were not believed to be about his Heat future.
NBA teams can carry 20 players in training camp but no more than 15 once the regular season starts.
Of the Heat’s 19 players under contract, five have non-guaranteed deals: Lucas, incumbent forward James Ennis, forwards Greg Whittington and Keith Benson and shooting guard Corey Hawkins. Guard Tyler Johnson’s contract is partially guaranteed.
Read more here: Miami Heat adds veteran guard John Lucas III
