The Miami Heat announced today that Daequan Cook and Joel Anthony have been assigned to the Iowa Energy of the NBA Development League. The Energy was assigned as the Heat’s D-League affiliate prior to the start of the 2007-08 season. They are also the affiliate of the Chicago Bulls.
Cook has appeared in 38 games (two starts) for the HEAT this season, averaging 7.2 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 19.5 minutes per game. He was selected by the Philadelphia 76ers with the 21st pick in the 2007 NBA Draft, and acquired by the HEAT in a draft day trade. Prior to his time with the HEAT, Cook played one season at The Ohio State University before becoming an early entry candidate, averaging 9.8 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 39 games. He was also named Big Ten Sixth Man of the Year and earned Honorable Mention All Big Ten honors.
Anthony has appeared in four games for the HEAT this season, and is averaging 7.8 minutes per game. He was signed by the HEAT as a free agent on July 3, 2007 and played in four summer league games, averaging 1.8 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.25 blocks in 21.5 minutes per game. Prior to that, he played two seasons at UNLV and averaged 3.7 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.31 blocks in 68 games.
Anthony and Cook will practice with the Energy beginning on Thursday, February 28, and will be available to play when the Energy travel to Albuquerque to face the Thunderbirds on Sunday, March 2.

The Arizona Republic (Paul Coro) reports: Suns center Shaquille O’Neal proclaimed tonight’s home game against the Los Angeles Lakers a new chapter in his career. “The fourth and final chapter,” O’Neal said after this morning’s shootaround. The plan still is to start O’Neal and have him play short spans of time, totaling 20 to 25 minutes. O’Neal has been limited to four games over the past eight weeks by a hip injury that is no longer painful.

The Palm Beach Post (Chris Perkins) reports: Heat coach Pat Riley said his team “probably” won’t have any roster changes when the NBA trading deadline passes at 3 p.m. Thursday.

The Palm Beach Post (Chris Perkins) reports: Superstar guard Dwyane Wade, perhaps the most influential voice in the Heat organization, has no patience for a slow, steady rebuilding plan. “You can rebuild through the draft, but that takes two years, three years,” said Wade, who can depart after the 2009-10 season via a player option in his contract. “We’re looking to come into next summer and really do some things,” Wade said. “Whatever we do in the draft is what we do, but we’re looking to get veteran guys.”

Here’s Dwyane Wade at All-Star weekend:
Q: Talking about the trade … what does Shaq bring to the Suns and Marion bring to your team?
Dwyane Wade: Well, first of all, Shaq … is really made for the Playoffs — to slow the pace down for them and really give them a halfcourt dominance. He’s really going to make Amare [Stoudemire] and them tougher. They’re really going to be able to compete with guys on a different level than they have been in previous years. But what Shawn [Marion] brings to us is excitement and consistency. He’s a guy that’s going to give you what he gives you every night and he’s a guy that, with myself, is [part of] the rebuilding tools … for the future. Two totally different directions: Phoenix is looking to win now and we’re looking to rebuild now.
The interview is short and the rest is about All-Star stuff, but read more here.

It’s 2008 NBA All-Star Weekend and the Saturday Night events are on. Now up is the Skills Challenge competition.
Deron Williams went first, missing a straight-in pass and one of the top-of-the-key shots, finishing in 31.2 seconds.
Jason Kidd went second and was flawless until shooting the top of the key shot, which he missed five times (after five misses a player can stop shooting and continue with the course), finishing in 39.7 seconds.
Chris Paul was up net, missing a bounce pass, but otherwise running the whole course perfectly, flying in at 29.0 seconds.
Last up was Dwyane Wade, who fumbled the ball during the obstacle-dribble in the beginning and had to go chase it, then missed three from the top of the key and quickly fired the next two up just to get through it, blew some passes, and slowly dribbled to the end, but then missed the layup, and missed the follow, for a disgustingly awful performance of 53.9 seconds.
CP3 and D-Will advance to the second and final round.
In the final round, D-Will went first. He dunked the first shot, ran the dribbling, hit the straight-in pass, and the bounce pass, swished the top-of-the-key jumper, hit the next straight-on pass, and ended it with a dunk, finishing with in terrific 25.5 seconds time, setting the all-time record best time for this event.
Paul is up and has to be virtually perfect for a shot at winning. He hit the first layup, dribbled the obstacles, missed the first straight-on pass, hit the bounce pass, missed once from the top of the key, hit the last straight-on pass, and hit the layup, getting 31.2 seconds — a respectable time but D-Will wins it with a brilliant performance.

NBA.com reports: Carmelo Anthony can not get enough of playing against the Miami Heat and Dwyane Wade. Melo was at it again on Tuesday, posting 22 points and 11 rebounds as the Nuggets won a one-point overtime thriller for their seventh straight win over Miami. Anthony has won eight of 10 meetings against D-Wade since both entered the league in 2003. Melo was fresh off a 27-point performance in Sunday’s win over the Cavaliers and LeBron James, also part of the draft class of 2003. While Wade and James have enjoyed more postseason success, Anthony has gotten the better of the two in the regular season. He is 8-2 against LeBron’s Cavs, the reigning Eastern Conference champs. Melo has rebounded nicely from an ankle injury that slowed him in late January. In his previous five games entering Tuesday’s action, Anthony averaged 31.6 points and 9.0 rebounds while shooting 55.7 percent from the field.

ESPN.com reports: Diesel will be chugging out West. In one of the most improbable trades in NBA history, the Miami Heat traded Shaquille O’Neal to the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday for Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks, sources close to the situation told ESPN.com. O’Neal had traveled to Phoenix Wednesday morning to take a physical, which he presumably passed. The Miami Herald first reported on its Web site Tuesday night that the Heat informed O’Neal that they were shopping him and that talks with the Suns were serious.

The Miami Heat announced today that they have acquired four-time All-Star forward Shawn Marion and guard Marcus Banks in a three-player trade with Phoenix in which they sent center Shaquille O’Neal to the Suns.
Marion, a 6′7”, 228-pound forward, has averaged 18.4 points, 10.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.89 steals, 1.35 blocked shots and 37.8 minutes in 660 games during his nine-year NBA career played entirely with Phoenix. The ninth pick of the 1999 NBA Draft, Marion has averaged double figures in scoring in each of his nine seasons while shooting 48.1 percent from the floor, 34.2 percent from three-point range and 82.4 percent from the foul line. Additionally he has connected on at least 80 percent of his free throw attempts in each of his first eight seasons. Since the 2005-06 season, the 29-year old forward has averaged 18.8 points, 10.6 rebounds, 1.98 steals, 1.58 blocks and 38.4 minutes while shooting 52.4 percent from the floor. Marion, who earned Third Team All-NBA honors in 2004-05 and 2005-06, averaged a career-high 21.8 points during the 2005-06 campaign. Additionally, he teamed with Dwyane Wade as a member of the bronze-medal winning U.S. Olympic Team in 2004 and earned NBA All-Rookie Second Team honors in 2000. A six-time NBA Player of the Week and one-time Player of the Month, Marion finished fourth in the voting for the 2007 Defensive Player of the Year Award after leading the NBA in steals (156).
The four-time NBA All-Star (2003, 2005, 2006, 2007) has started each of the 47 games in which he appeared this year for the Suns and has averaged 15.8 points, 9.9 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 2.02 steals, 1.49 blocks and 36.4 minutes while shooting a career-high 52.6 percent from the floor, 34.7 percent from three-point range and 71.3 percent from the foul line. He has led the Suns in scoring five times this year and topped the squad in rebounds on 27 occasions. Marion was the Suns’ leader this season in minutes played (1,713), defensive rebounds (378), total rebounds (464), steals (95) and starts (47) and ranked second in field goals made (304), field goal percentage, offensive rebounds (86) and blocked shots (70). He joins Kevin Garnett as the only players in the NBA this season that rank in the Top 20 in both rebounds (14th) and steals (8th). Marion currently leads the NBA in steals-to-turnover ratio (1.94) and is also ranked among the league leaders in field goal percentage (17th), blocks (21st) and minutes (39th). Marion, who has recorded at least 30 double-doubles in each of the past seven seasons, has registered 23 double-doubles this season. One of his double-doubles this season was a 17-point, 24-rebound effort against the HEAT on Nov. 9 at Miami. The 24 rebounds were a season-high for Marion and tied as the fifth-highest single-game total against the HEAT in franchise history.
Marion finished his Suns career among Phoenix’s all-time leaders in minutes played (2nd-12,134), three-point field goals made (2nd-652), three-point field goals attempted (2nd-1,905), rebounds (2nd-6,616), steals (2nd-1,245), field goals made (3rd-4,879), field goals attempted (3rd-10,136), blocked shots (3rd-894), points scored (4th-12,134) and games played (5th-660).
In postseason play, Marion has appeared in 65 games and has averaged 17.1 points, 10.9 rebounds, 1.52 blocks, 1.49 steals, 1.4 assists and 40.6 minutes while shooting 46.3 percent from the floor, 34.6 percent from three-point range and 81.1 percent from the foul line. He departs Phoenix as the Suns’ all-time postseason leader in rebounds (706) and among the team’s playoff leaders in blocks (2nd-99), steals (3rd-97), three-point field goals made (3rd-63), three-point field goals attempted (3rd-182), points scored (5th-1,109), games played (5th-65), field goals made (7th-446) and field goals attempted (7th-963).
Banks, a 6′2”, 200-pound guard, has averaged 6.1 points, 2.2 assists, 1.6 rebounds, 0.82 steals and 16.7 minutes in 289 career games while shooting 42.6 percent from the floor, 33.1 percent from three-point range and 77.0 percent from the foul line in a five-year career spent with the Boston Celtics, Minnesota Timberwolves and Suns. Originally selected by the Celtics with the 13th pick of the 2003 NBA Draft, Banks who played in both Boston and Minnesota with current HEAT teammates Ricky Davis and Mark Blount, was signed as a free agent by the Suns on July 20, 2006. He split the 2005-06 season between Boston and Minnesota and set career highs in scoring average (10.0 ppg), assists (3.8 apg), rebounds (2.3 rpg), field goal percentage (.468), free throw percentage (.803) and minutes (25.8 mpg). In 24 games this season (one start), Banks is averaging 5.2 points, 1.0 assists, 0.8 rebounds and 12.9 minutes while shooting 40.4 percent from the floor, 38.5 percent from three-point range and 75 percent from the foul line. He has seen action in 13 postseason contests and has averaged 4.2 points, 1.4 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 13.3 minutes while connecting on 42.6 percent of his field goal attempts, 41.7 percent of his three-point attempts and 75 percent from the charity stripe.
O’Neal, a 7′1”, 325-pound center, was acquired by the HEAT from the Los Angeles Lakers in a four-player trade on July 14, 2004. In three and a half seasons with Miami, O’Neal averaged 19.6 points, 9.1 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.88 blocks and 31.1 minutes while shooting a franchise-record 59.6 percent from the floor and helping lead the HEAT to the 2006 NBA championship. During his 16-year NBA career he has averaged 25.6 points, 11.5 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 2.45 blocks and 36.4 minutes while shooting 58.0 percent from the floor. A 14-time All-Star (including three All-Star appearances with the HEAT) and four-time NBA champion, O’Neal has appeared in 198 postseason contests and has averaged 25.5 points, 12.1 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 2.19 blocks and 38.9 minutes while shooting 56.6 percent from the floor.

The Miami Heat announced today that they have requested waivers on forward/guard Luke Jackson.
Jackson, who was signed as a free agent by Miami on Dec. 12, 2007, appeared in 14 games (one start) with the HEAT and averaged 5.6 points, 2.4 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 16.3 minutes while shooting 32.5 percent from the floor, 36.7 percent from three-point range and 69.6 percent from the foul line.
The Heat roster now stands at 15.