Stackhouse Joins Heat

Once denied a championship by Miami, Jerry Stackhouse, is resuming his chase of a title with the Heat.

Stackhouse joined the Heat at the weekend, one day after the NBA championship hopefuls learned that they’ll be without injured swingman Mike Miller until possibly January.

Stackhouse, who turns 36 next month, averaged 8.5 points in 42 games as a reserve with the Milwaukee Bucks last season.

“This is a very exciting time in my basketball career,” said Stackhouse, a two-time All-Star who’s now with his sixth NBA club and worked out with the Heat on Saturday, the same day Dwyane Wade returned to full work with the team for the first time since straining his right hamstring on 5 Oct.

“I am ready to compete at the highest level,” Stackhouse said.

Stackhouse often said during the summer that he wanted a chance to join LeBron James, Wade and Chris Bosh  in Miami, believing it would give him the best chance at winning his first NBA title.

Stackhouse was with the Mavericks when Wade carried Miami to the 2006 title in six games.

That was the series when Stackhouse became a bit of a villain in Miami, after he leveled Shaquille O’Neal in Game 4 and was forced by the NBA to sit out the next game. Wade jumped in O’Neal’s way after the play to keep him from retaliating, but the MVP of those finals welcomed his newest teammate.

“He’s a very productive player,” Wade said, about an hour before Stackhouse completed the process of going through physicals and actually signing his deal.

“He’s a guy who’s a matchup problem in the post. He can stretch the floor, shoot the ball very well. It’s a good option to be able to have the luxury of a guy that you can add to your team.”

So in an offseason replete with huge moves by Miami—keeping Wade and Udonis Haslem, then adding James, Bosh, Miller and others—the Heat used the final weekend before Tuesday’s regular-season opener to add one more All-Star name in Stackhouse.

—Wale Joseph

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