Miami Heat Lock Up Another Mainstay, Re-Sign Chris Andersen

The Miami Heat have brought back yet another important member of their core from last season.

Image via USA Today Sports

Nobody has been busier this weekend than Pat Riley.

After losing LeBron James on Friday afternoon, he has re-signed Chris Bosh and Mario Chalmers, added Luol Deng, and has now brought back another Heat staple: Chris “Birdman” Andersen.

Despite receiving overtures from a number of teams after his strong performance in the playoffs, Andersen has opted to stay in Miami on what Yahoo’s Adrian Wojnarowski is saying will be a multiyear deal. Birdman has had a tremendous couple years with the Heat, becoming an anchor in the paint as Miami has shifted into a smallball-centric philosophy. His ability around the rim allowed Bosh to spend more time away from the basket, and last season Andersen shot a tremendous .644 from the floor in 72 games.

With another core member returning, it seems that the Heat have no intention of rebuilding. While they’ll certainly need to retool their offense given that they’re losing James’ 27 points and 18 shots per game, it seems that they believe they can contend with the same exact roster as last year, save for swapping James for Deng.

This doesn’t seem like the wisest plan, but given Riley’s eight championship rings we’re not going to question him.

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[via Yahoo]

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