A man of few words, Rajon Rondo was short and to the point when he went ninja on the Miami Heat. (Palm Beach Post via Celtics Blog)

But he was matter-of-fact in voicing his consideration that the reigning back-to-back NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers deserve to be the favorites to win the crown again next season. And, no, he doesn’t think of the Heat as the Lakers’ primary challenger.

“As far as the East,” Rondo said, “we’re the champs.”

And while we’re talking about the Heat, Pat Riley had this to say about Mike Miller: “We consider him to be the finest perimeter shooter in the NBA.” Yeah, and Mikki Moore’s the league’s finest rebounder.

It's all smiles for these three for now.

Ira Winderman, reporter for the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, reports that the Heat’s roster is a lot closer to being finalized than we think. Here is Winderman’s list of the 15 players he expects to play for the Miami Heat next season: Read more »

The Three A-me-goes.

When the Three A-me-goes got together in Miami, it was widely assumed they’d be surrounded by a bunch of dog meat. With those three signed to max contracts, only veteran minimum contracts would be available for the Heat to bolster their roster.

Except, well, those three DIDN’T sign for max contracts (Update: Each player took about $2 million less than the max), so Mike Miller has agreed to a five-year, $27 million-ish contract to join them. And Derek Fisher is meeting in Miami today. And word on the NBA street is that the Heat will be able to somehow keep Udonis Haslem. And Matt Barnes is interested. And Zydrunas Ilgausakas is another rumor floating about. And would anyone be too surprised if Shaq joined his old buddies Flash and Lebron for a chance to tie Kobe in rings?

So the supporting cast might not be mincemeat after all. Not that Danny Ainge ever expected it to be. (Boston Herald)

“I think they’ve got a couple of holes to fill, but there are a lot of good NBA players who will end up playing for minimum salaries,” Celtics general manager Danny Ainge said yesterday. “I’m sure they’ll find guys who would love to come in and play in that situation. I don’t think there’s a problem at all.”

Ainge also thinks Miami will be able to draw from a larger pool of players because it won’t have to go strictly by positional need.

“They have big guys, and they have people like Dwyane Wade and LeBron and Mike Miller who are all ballhandlers and passers,” he said. “So they don’t need a classic type of point guard and all that stuff. The guys they have now are all very talented, but they’re versatile.”

The Three A-me-goes are scary enough. The thought of those three surrounded by meaningful talent makes me sick.

Oh well, I guess it will just be nicer when the Celtics take them down.

Miller will help the Heat. They desperately needed a shooter. Now, seven veteran's minimum free agents to sign!

Hold on a second here. I thought the Heat were barely going to have enough money to sign the Free Agent Three. Now they’re throwing $30 million at Mike Miller? (South Florida Sun-Sentinel)

In the wake of Thursday’s addition of Cleveland Cavaliers free-agent forward LeBron James, and amid the need to clear additional cap space, the Heat late Thursday night traded Beasley, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft, to the Minnesota Timberwolves for a 2011 second-round draft choice, plus a future swap of first-round picks.

The Heat then turned around and reportedly utilized that $4.9 million in gained cap space on Washington Wizards free-agent swingman Mike Miller, who had a standing five-year, $30 million offer on the table from the Heat. Radio station KSFY in Miller’s native South Dakota reported the deal early Friday morning.

Well, there’s the shooter they needed. I wonder how they had any cap space. I always thought they had to move Beasley just to allow the Free Agent Three to sign max deals. Did they not sign max deals? Are they THAT committed to winning?

By the time it’s all said and done, this Heat team is going to be scary. But Doc Rivers and Danny Ainge ain’t too worried about it.

When LeBron James announced his decision to sign with the Miami Heat on Thursday night, uniting the so-called “Team Trinity” of James, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade in South Beach, many people undoubtedly — and understandably — dubbed the Heat the new team to beat in the East.

But in Rivers’ mind, that distinction can’t be transferred in the offseason. The Heat are going to have to wrestle it away from the Celtics on the court.

“We’ll find that out later,” Rivers said Wednesday when asked if the free-agent moves in Miami could cause a power shift in the East. “We’ve got to play. Clearly they’ve improved their basketball team. I’m not going to go ahead and say there’s a shift, as far as I’m concerned.”

Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge echoed those sentiments Thursday.

“We are the Eastern Conference champs and we think we’re going to be better,” Ainge said before James’ announcement. “I have a great deal of respect for [James, Wade and Bosh], they are all top-notch free agents. We know that whatever happens, the East is going to be a challenge; the East is going to be stronger.”

Bring them on, fellas. They have an unbelievable trio and Miller’s a solid fourth, but there’s a reason I’m sitting with my phone in my hands — I’m waiting for the Heat to call and offer me their starting center position.

Oh, and by the way. There are already rumblings that Pat Riley is going to remove Erik Spoelstra at the first sign of trouble. Two thoughts: 1) That reminds me of the scene in Remember the Titans, when Coach Boone realizes he’ll be fired after the first loss. I can imagine Riley already: 78-1?!?!? YOU’RE FIRED, SPOELSTRA!! And 2) Pat Riley is a bigger asshole than Lebron, Lebrick, LeDecision and Dan Gilbert put together.

Though there has been plenty of speculation that Mike Miller wants a deal worth more than the mid-level exception, Miller spoke his mind on the subject yesterday: The MLE is fine by him, as long as it’s in the right situation. (TrueHoop)

Miller has already sat down with the Heat, Clippers and Knicks, three teams with an abundance of salary cap space. Yet he also is amenable to signing for the midlevel exception that starts at $5.9 million in the first year, “because it means I’d be playing with a good team.”

That would include the Cavaliers if LeBron returns. Not only is Miller tight with James he’s also friends with Antawn Jamison, who was traded to Cleveland by the Wizards last season in the post-Gilbert’s Guns breakup of the team. Cavaliers general manager Chris Grant put in a call to Miller at the onset of the free agency period, and Cleveland remains a viable option for him.

The Celtics aren’t mentioned as a team Miller has sat down with, but his name has been thrown out there as a possibile Celt. It’s a good sign he’s willing to play for the mid-level, although it could end up biting the C’s in the ass if Miller signs with the Lakers, Cavs, or any other contender.

Ray: "What, Ant, you don't think I deserve the attention?" Anthony Carter: "I'm sorry, Ray. I'm just jealous, that's all."

The Miami Heat are targeting Ray Allen, but he’s not likely to leave Boston. The Heat could possibly turn to a potential Celtic — Mike Miller — should Allen decline their advances. (Yahoo!)

Miami could become the leader for Miller, especially if Heat president Pat Riley needs a third piece to go along with Dwyane Wade and a free agent forward (Chris Bosh, Amar’e Stoudemire or Carlos Boozer).

Riley has long targeted Boston Celtics free-agent guard Ray Allen for the remaining money beyond the Heat’s two max slots, but he’ll most likely return to the Celtics. Riley loves that Miller can rebound his position, as well as spread the floor and shoot.

Miller could command a five-year deal worth $30 million-$35 million. Miller has also had substantial talks with New York, Chicago and Cleveland.

I like hearing that Ray is likely to return to Boston, but I already figured that. If he doesn’t come back, the Celtics will not gain any cap space… so, with that money, it’s either Ray or nothing. Call me crazy, but I’d rather have Ray.

By re-signing Paul Pierce, the Celtics gave up any hopes of building for the future and saving cap space. Ray is now a necessity.