According to league sources, the Suns, Pistons and Heat are the early frontrunners to sign the recently waived Jalen Rose.

If Rose signs for the veteran minimum salary, he'd earn $1,178,348 million from his new team for the season, with that team obligated to pay only $744,551 of that amount. The league picks up the difference.

When the Miami Heat receives its championship rings during a pregame ceremony tonight, the Bulls will not be courtside observers.

Coach Scott Skiles has opted to take the Bulls back to the locker room during what is expected to be a 15- to 20-minute presentation after warm-ups.

''We go out, we get introduced, they get introduced,'' Skiles said of the schedule he received Sunday. ''Then we have the option of going into the locker room. There's nothing left to do. At that point, we will have covered Miami for three days counting [the morning shoot-around today]. The guys will go in, relax a little bit and continue with their stretches, try to stay loose. We may say a couple more things. But it's a time for them to get their heads together. More than likely, we'll leave them alone.''

Unlike most cases when the Heat coach downplays free-agent prospects, Miami coach Pat Riley sounded intrigued Monday with the possibility of adding 6-foot-8 veteran Jalen Rose, who was waived by the Knicks Monday.

"He's a very skilled player," Riley said shortly after Rose agreed to a buyout with the Knicks. "He's still young, I think, at 33 years old. So he is capable. He's very capable, we know that. But he has to be at the right place at the right time."

Riley offered his comment about Rose shortly after he said a potential return of forward Shandon Anderson has been placed on the backburner.

Because Rose received a significant portion of the $17 million he was due this season from the Knicks, he would arrive with relatively little impact on the Heat's salary cap.

Dwyane Wade will have goosebumps Tuesday night.

He'll watch the retrospective video highlighting moments from the Heat's postseason run to an NBA title, then get his new championship ring and see the commemorative banner finally hang from the arena's rafters.

Then, according to the schedule set for the pregame festivities, Wade will have exactly five minutes to get ready what he considers the night's primary event, facing the Bulls in the first of 82 games where the Heat will start defending that championship.

Robert Hite moved here four years ago, leaving his family's Cincinnati home after accepting a scholarship to play college basketball at Miami.

When his days with the Hurricanes were done, the 6-foot-2 guard figured he'd move again to begin his professional career, either to some NBA city or Europe.

When the Heat waived Vincent Grier on Sunday night, that left them with 15 players, and Hite is one of them. Barring another roster move such as a trade, he'll be getting a locker when the regular season opens Tuesday night against the Bulls.

The Miami Heat announced today that they have requested waivers on guard Vincent Grier.

Grier appeared in six games for Miami during the preseason and averaged 3.3 points, 2.8 rebounds, 0.50 steals and 12 minutes. His best effort was an 11-point, eight rebound performance at Orlando on Oct. 24.

After signing with Miami as an undrafted free agent on July 8, 2006, he started all four games in which he appeared for the HEAT?s summer league entry at the Pepsi Pro Summer League in Orlando and averaged 6.0 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.00 steals, 1.5 assists and 20 minutes.

Shaquille O'Neal was present during a botched child pornography raid last month while working in Virginia as a reserve sheriff's deputy.

The Miami Heat center, who pursues his interest in law enforcement during the offseason, denied Tuesday taking part in serving the search warrant at the wrong house Sept. 23. However, Bedford County Sheriff's Lt. Michael Harmony confirmed to The Associated Press that O'Neal was there.

O'Neal, in Orlando to play a preseason game Tuesday, was asked about the raid and several times somewhat playfully responded, "It wasn't me."

The Miami Heat announced today that they have requested waivers on guards Antonio Burks and Daniel Horton.

Burks, who signed with the Heat as a free agent on Oct. 2, 2006, appeared in four games for Miami during the preseason and averaged 3.3 points, 3.0 assists, 0.75 steals and 0.3 rebounds in 14.5 minutes.

Robert Hite came into training camp as 6-foot-2 longshot, but he now has a legitimate chance to make Miami's roster.

"As a small two, he's quick as hell," coach Pat Riley said, "and the fact that he can really stretch the court, he's like Eddie House."

"I know I'm going to have to handle the ball a lot on this level," he said. "I've got to get more confident with that. At UM, I didn't handle the ball a lot, so I wasn't as comfortable as I wanted to be getting on this level."

Dwyane Wade?s hectic off-season went from intriguing side story to major concern for the Miami Heat with one comment this week:

"I had a long summer, so right now my legs feel like it?s mid-season, 60 games in," Wade said after Monday?s practice.

"I knew coming into the preseason that it wasn?t going to be like every other preseason," Wade said Wednesday. "It?s going to be a little tougher on me conditioning-wise because normally I?m in great shape right now and ready to play 40 minutes.

"But I?m not."