The Miami HEAT announced today that they have signed forward Jason Kapono to an offer sheet. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Kapono appeared in 81 games (14 starts) for the Charlotte Bobcats last season, averaging 8.5 points and 2.0 rebounds in 18.4 minutes per game, while shooting 40.1 percent from the field, 41.2 percent from three-point range and 82.6 percent from the free-throw line. He scored in double-figures on 35 occasions and set many career-highs last season, including a career-high 25 point performance at Detroit on November 21. He also ranked 13th in the league in three-point field goal percentage.

Over the course of his two-year NBA career, Kapono has averaged 6.8 points and 1.8 rebounds in 15.7 minutes per game in Cleveland and Charlotte. He has shot 40.1 percent from the field, 42.4 percent from three-point range and 82.6 percent from the free-throw line.

Kapono was originally drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers with the 31st pick in the 2003 NBA Draft. He was then selected by the Charlotte Bobcats in the NBA Expansion Draft (June 22, 2004).

Former Michigan State All-American Steve Smith will announce his NBA retirement on Friday, Sept. 30 at the Clara Bell Smith Student-Athlete Academic Center on the Michigan State campus. The announcement will take place at 4:30 p.m. in the auditorium of the building named in his mother?s honor. Smith donated $2.5 million to the $7.5 million facility, which when opened in 1998, was the largest gift ever by a professional athlete to any college or university.

A native of Detroit, Mich., Smith scored 13,430 points in 14 NBA seasons, averaging 14.3 points per game. An NBA All-Star in 1998, he won the J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award in 1998 and the NBA Sportsmanship Award in 2002. The fifth pick in the 1991 NBA Draft by the Miami Heat, Smith was named to the 1992 All-Rookie First Team. His career also included stops with the Atlanta Hawks, Portland Trailblazers, San Antonio Spurs, New Orleans Hornets and Charlotte Bobcats. In 2003, Smith earned an NBA Championship ring with the Spurs.

"I traded for Jason Williams because we needed a starting point guard," Heat President Pat Riley said Friday.

That trade, of course, was back on Aug. 2, when Gary Payton still was perceived as a big-ticket item in free agency, one seemingly beyond the Heat's grasp.

Now Payton is here. And now the issue could be how Williams reacts to the latest in a career-long string of challenges.

During his final year with the Kings, Williams often lost out on meaningful late-game minutes to Bobby Jackson. Then, over the past three years in Memphis, those same crucial minutes often were spent on the bench in favor of Earl Watson.

Now a future Hall of Famer is waiting in the wings.

"I don't think your best players or most talented or most versatile players will necessarily start," Riley said the day after signing Payton.

The Miami Heat announced today that they have signed nine-time NBA All-Star guard Gary Payton. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

?We are very fortunate to have been able to acquire a player of Gary Payton?s stature,? said HEAT President Pat Riley. ?He is a proven veteran and will be a big addition to this team.?

Payton appeared in 77 games (77 starts) for the Boston Celtics last season, averaging 11.3 points, 6.1 assists, 3.1 rebounds and 1.14 steals in 33.0 minutes per game, while shooting 46.8 percent from the field. He ranked 12th in the league in assists per turnover (3.17), 13th in assists per game, 14th in assists per 48 minutes (8.9) and 16th in total assists (469). During the course of the season, he was traded to the Atlanta Hawks, along with Tom Gugliotta, Michael Stewart and a 2007 first round draft choice, in exchange for Antoine Walker and cash considerations. Payton was then re-signed by the Celtics after being released from the Hawks.

Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade has agreed to a seven-year deal to endorse Converse footwear and apparel, company officials said Wednesday.

Wade was already under contract to Converse in a deal worth $400,000 annually; company officials declined to release financial terms of his new pact.

"Dwyane's understanding of the essence of basketball and ability to bring his unique creativity and originality to the game make the partnership a perfect fit," Ric Wilson, Converse's director of sports marketing, said in a release.

Wade's first signature shoe will be in stores Nov. 3 ? coinciding with the Heat's home opener against Indiana. Wade will be entering his third season with Miami; he averaged 24.1 points, 6.8 assists and 5.2 rebounds last season for the Heat.

"I am excited to extend my partnership with one of the premier shoe and apparel companies in the world," said Wade, who made his first All-Star team earlier this year. "Converse represents tradition, a passion for sports and has a vision to revolutionize the industry."

As if the Miami Heat wasn't already loaded with recognizable, veteran names, the team is about to add one more.

To fill a void at point guard, the Heat will sign 15-year veteran Gary Payton to a one-year contract today, according to his agent, Aaron Goodwin.

Payton flew into Miami late Wednesday and will take a physical and sign the minimum $1.1 million deal today. For the second time in his career, Payton will join a Shaquille O'Neal-led team in hopes of winning his first title. The last time the two joined forces was in the 2003-04 season with the Lakers, when Los Angeles lost to the Pistons in five games in the NBA Finals.

Payton will join a similar team in Miami, with Dwyane Wade, Jason Williams and Payton's former Celtic teammate Antoine Walker also in place for a title run.

The Heat bolstered what remains minimal depth at small forward Monday by re-signing Shandon Anderson.

Although the 31-year-old veteran provided needed perimeter defense after joining the team last November, he is not necessarily the answer off the bench beyond projected starter James Posey.

Because of that, the Heat is taking a second look at free-agent forward Rodney White, a 2001 first-round pick of the Pistons, and also is considering outside-shooting specialists Casey Jacobsen and Jason Kapono.

Although the Heat now is working with 15 players, the NBA's regular-season limit, Anderson is the only true small forward in that group beyond Posey. He again figures to be a situational player, having been held out of 11 games by coach Stan Van Gundy last season.

The Heat hoped to sign Michael Finley to fill its void at small forward, but the former Maverick instead opted to join the Spurs.

The Miami Heat announced today that they have re-signed free agent guard/forward Shandon Anderson. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Anderson, who originally signed with the Heat as a free agent on November 14, 2004, appeared in 65 games (five starts) with Miami and one with New York during the 2004-05 season. He averaged 3.9 points, 2.9 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 17.7 minutes per game, while shooting 45.2 percent from the field and 81.8 percent from the foul line.

During his nine-year NBA career, Anderson has appeared in 671 games (225 starts), averaging 7.8 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 22.8 minutes per game. He has shot 45.8 percent from the floor, 31.7 percent from three-point range and 73.9 percent from the foul line. He has also scored in double-figures in 232 games.

The Heat retains its $5 million midlevel salary-cap exception to add a free agent. Should the bulk of that funding go to a point guard, it likely then would focus on a low-cost alternative at small forward, such as Rodney White or Casey Jacobsen.

Former University of Miami forward Darius Rice also remains a regular at the Heat's offseason workout program.

However, Riley made it sound as if former Bulls guard Jay Williams' comeback from injuries suffered in a motorcycle accident would happen elsewhere.

"Again," he said, "we're about now. We already have developmental guys."

Wizards free agent Steve Blake, a 25-year-old guard who was born in Hollywood and attended Miami High, has been linked to the Heat in a potential sign-and-trade transaction. However, such a move would likely involve a future Heat draft choice.

Riley said he is reluctant to deal another pick, having sent two to the Lakers a year ago for Shaquille O'Neal and two more this summer to Boston for Antoine Walker.

"You take a look at our ballhandlers, we've got Jason and we've got Dwyane [Wade] and we've got Antoine who can really handle. Do we need another one? Yeah, we probably need another one that we can really depend on," Riley said. "I love Steve Blake. I think he's got a great upside, but what we are right now is about now."