Miami has some rebounding issues. And while you can certainly make the case that rebounding is about effort (think Reggie Evans or Anderson Varejao or Dennis Rodman) it also doesn’t hurt to have some size.
So the Heat are going to take a look at a guy known for size and effort (and tattoos) — “Birdman” Chris Andersen. So reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports and the NBC Sports Network.Andersen, famously known as “The Birdman,” arrived in Miami on Monday for a physical and workouts over the next two days with the defending NBA champions, sources said.
Heat president Pat Riley has been scouring the landscape to bolster a foundering frontcourt bench and appears to be intrigued with the possibility of discovering how much Andersen, 34, has left in his game.
Miami has room on the roster, they are down to 13 after releasing Josh Harrellson on Monday.
Andersen was with the Nuggets last season and played just 32 games, and played pretty well in limited minutes. He’s a good rebounder and last season grabbed 17.8 percent of the available boards while he was on the floor. He was let go by the team under the amnesty rule last summer and is a free agent. While he faced some legal questions, no charges have been filed against him.
How much Andersen can help is up for debate, but there are not a lot of good big men just hanging around wanting to get paid. It may be worth it to see if the once productive player has anything left in the tank.
