Although Carlos Boozer did not play in Alonzo Mourning 's and Dwyane Wade 's annual Summer Groove charity game Sunday in Miami as expected, the Jazz forward's name was everywhere in the NBA rumor mill.
Boozer has yet to comment publicly since his June 30 decision to play the final year of his contract at $12.7 million rather than opting for free agency. The Jazz have since pushed to trade the two-time All-Star forward. In addition to reports linking Boozer to Detroit and Miami, speculation had Boozer eventually being traded to Chicago for Kirk Hinrich in a version of the three-team trade reported last week.
With Wade eligible to sign a contract extension, the Heat could make a play for Boozer, his former USA Basketball teammate. Boozer spends his offseasons in Miami and is close to Heat owner Micky Arison .
"Any time you can play with another great player, a fellow Olympian, I mean it's always something that's got to spark your interest," Wade told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel .
"But at the same time, I'm done trying to push Pat [ Riley ] to do anything. He's going to do a good job for us. And we just have to have patience."
Boozer's hopes of signing with Miami this summer were dashed last season when the Heat acquired Jermaine O'Neal in a trade from Toronto. His absence Sunday came as a surprise after taking part in a golf tournament Thursday associated with the game.
Also Sunday, The Boston Globe reported that Detroit turned down a trade involving Boozer and Tayshaun Prince .
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Williams update
Deron Williams has yet to resume workouts as he continues to rest the left ankle he sprained in the preseason. Williams will attend a USA Basketball mini-camp this month in Las Vegas but will not play.
"My ankle feels a lot better, just walking around on it," Williams said. "I think the rest will really help."
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Expanded role
By his own admission, C.J. Miles was not "physically ready" last season to start 72 games and average 22.5 minutes. He has been working out in New York this summer in the hopes of taking on an expanded role this season.
"I want to be able to get to the point where I can go from my 18, 20 [minutes a game] to go to 30," Miles said.
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Briefly
Rookie guard Eric Maynor plans to train with John Lucas in Houston before reporting to training camp. After a nonstop month of workouts, the draft and summer league, Maynor was looking forward to a break. "I'm pretty exhausted, so I'm going to just go home and take a chill for a little bit," Maynor said.
rsiler@sltrib.com
