July 1, 200521 yr Heat's Damon Jones elects for free agency By TIM REYNOLDS, AP Sports Writer June 30, 2005 MIAMI (AP) -- Damon Jones decided not to exercise the option year of his contract with the Miami Heat on Thursday and was to become a free agent. Jones, the Heat's starting point guard this past season, had until midnight Thursday to invoke a $2.75 million option for 2005-06. He can negotiate with teams starting Friday, but cannot sign with the Heat or any other club until July 22. He's one of several Miami players whose status for next season is still undecided. The Heat are expected to begin negotiating with Shaquille O'Neal on a longer-term deal Friday; O'Neal is owed $30.6 million for the final year of his existing contract with Miami. Keyon Dooling, who played a key role as a reserve guard for the Heat, is also expected to become a free agent on Friday although he, too, hasn't ruled out a return to Miami. Plus, the team has already extended a qualifying offer to starting power forward Udonis Haslem, a move that gives the Heat the right to match any offer he gets from another club. ``We want Udonis Haslem back on this team, and I think we will do whatever we can do to try to get it done,'' Heat president Pat Riley said Wednesday, shortly after the team introduced first-round draft pick Wayne Simien of Kansas. The Heat would like to keep intact most of the core from the team that won 59 games this past regular season, and are likely to try to work something out with both Jones and Dooling. Miami is also waiting to hear what Alonzo Mourning's plans are for next season; he is contemplating retirement, but the Heat have already picked up a team option on him for 2005-06. Jones, the only Miami player to appear in all 97 games, including playoffs, averaged 11.6 points and connected on 225 of 521 attempts from 3-point range during the regular season. He averaged 12.1 points during the playoffs, despite being bothered by a bruised right heel throughout the postseason. Jones had a 3.57-1 assist-to-turnover ratio during the regular season, the fourth-best mark in the NBA behind Brevin Knight, Antonio Daniels and Jason Hart. He ranked second in that stat category during the 2003-04 season as a member of the Milwaukee Bucks, with a 4.64-1 ratio. Link
July 1, 200521 yr Gotta cash in from the Shaq effect and the way it boosted his numbers while he can, not suprising news.
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