ion to detail, work ethic and mental approach that the entire locker room sees.The

ORLANDO -- The Chicago Bulls front office is not planning on a face-to-face meeting with Heat?star Dwyane Wade in New York City as of now, a league source told ESPN, despite the fact that Wade met with the Denver Nuggets and Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday.The Vertical reported Wednesday that the Bulls postponed a meeting with Wade because of flight delay issues but that they were calling teams to unload contracts, trying to create space to sign him.Heat?owner Micky Arison met with Wade in New York on Wednesday afternoon. A league source told ESPN that Arison emerged from the meeting without a resolution or an agreement in place. Arison later posted a photo from a cruise ship to his social media accounts and indicated he was headed to Europe.It was Arison, the Carnival Cruise Line magnate, who stepped in during acrimonious negotiations between Wade and team president Pat Riley to broker the one-year, $20 million deal Wade signed last summer.The Nuggets have offered Wade a two-year deal worth north of $50 million, league sources told ESPN.Wade also met with Bucks owner Marc Lasry. Sources say Wade is said to be a big fan of Bucks swingman Khris Middleton after they worked out together last summer.This isnt the first time Wade, a Chicago native, and the Bulls have been linked in free-agency speculation. In the summer of 2010, some within the Bulls organization believed that both Wade and fellow free agent Chris Bosh were going to sign to play in Chicago after taking a visit to the city and talking with some Bulls players. Ultimately, Wade and Bosh decided to team with LeBron James and form a super team in Miami that would go on to win two NBA championships.Having lost out on Wade once before in free agency, some within the Bulls organization are concerned that Wade could be using Chicago as free-agency leverage to bring Miamis offer up, sources told ESPN. But the chatter among league sources at the Orlando Summer League remains that Wade will once again sign in Miami when all is said and done.After dealing Derrick Rose to the New York Knicks last week, Bulls GM Gar Forman acknowledged that Chicagos window for championship contention had closed and that his team needed to get younger and more athletic.The Bulls changed course by signing veteran point guard Rajon Rondo on Sunday and would significantly veer away from that message by adding Wade. But without Rose as a box office draw, the Bulls could decide to roll the dice with Wade, who like star guard Jimmy Butler is a Marquette?alum, and hope for the best as they try to figure out how they want to rebuild the roster. Cheap Basketball Shoes China . Their experience showed Tuesday as the No. 10 Badgers blunted a Saint Louis surge to win 63-57 and advance to face West Virginia in Wednesdays finals of the Cancun Challenge. Basketball Shoes Online Store . "No difference at all," chirped U.S. roommate and linemate James van Riemsdyk. "Its still the same cranky Phil. https://www.cheapbasketballshoesstore.com/ . Despite the cost, effort and an improved steroid test, its possible that very few -- if any -- positives will be detected, Dr. Richard Budgett told The Associated Press in an interview. "We just dont know what the results from Torino will be," Budgett said. Fake Basketball Shoes . Clarkson had been dealing with an elbow injury in early January and will be out of action for at least one week. He has three goals and five assists through 36 games with the Leafs this season. Discount Basketball Shoes . It was just business as usual for the Thunder at home. Durant scored 32 points and the Thunder beat the Bulls 107-95 on Thursday night for their eighth straight win. PORTLAND, Ore. -- Erik Spoelstra knows what its like to win NBA championships (twice) and what its like to miss the playoffs.While the Miami Heat arent in position to soon claim another NBA title, Spoelstra would like to think theyre heading in the right direction.Its been an up-and-down season, but I really like this group we have, said the ninth-year head coach, whose Heat are 7-12 but won two in a row heading into Saturday nights matchup with the Portland Trail Blazers at Moda Center. We have a lot of talented, exciting young players (with whom) were building and developing our Heat culture.We knew what we were getting into at the start the season (with the loss of Dwyane Wade). The record isnt what we want it to be, but that hasnt tempered the optimism or excitement about the group moving forward.Miami -- which is 5-4 in its last nine games after a 2-8 start -- ranks on the low end in the NBA in most offensive categories, including scoring (28th), field-goal percentage (27th), 3-point percentage (25th) and free-throw percentage (30th). The Heat are improving, though, averaging 107 points the past four games, including a 111-110 win at Utah on Thursday night.It has taken a little bit of time with the offense, Spoelstra told the Portland Tribune. The guys are getting more comfortable, more confident.Center Hassan Whiteside ranks among the top 10 in the league in rebounds (first, 15.1), blocked shots (third, 2.56) and field-goal percentage (.559, ninth) while averaging a team-high 17.7 pooints.ddddddddddddIve really enjoyed watching Hassan embrace the responsibility of being a great player, Spoelstra said. What hes learning now is the responsibility on all levels to impact winning. Thats with a commitment every single day to attention to detail, work ethic and mental approach that the entire locker room sees.The Trail Blazers offense was in high gear in a 131-109 victory over Indiana Wednesday night. But it was improved effort at the defensive end the players wanted to talk about.When we play well defensively -- when we fly around, have active hands, get deflections -- we can get out and run, said point guard Damian Lillard, who ranks sixth in the NBA in scoring with a 28.2-point average. It shows the kind of shots we can get and the kind of game we can play.Portland (10-10) reached a season high in points going up against an Indiana team that came in leading the league in steals (9.6) and opponents turnovers (16.9), was second in opponents 3-point percentage (.328) and third in blocked shots (6.2). Against the Blazers, the Pacers had three steals, forced seven turnovers, allowed the Blazers to shoot .375 from 3-point range and blocked four shots. The seven giveaways were a season low for Portland.When you have a game with seven turnovers against a team like that, it shows you can in with the right mentality, Lillard told the Portland Tribune. ' ' '