76ers general manager Ed Stefanski has denied a rumor that the team could trade Elton Brand to the Heat.

The rumor, which was printed in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, was apparently build around the fact that Miami signed Brand to an offer sheet a few years ago.

The "rumored" deal had Philadelphia shipping Brand to the Heat for Jermaine O'Neal and Daequan Cook.

"Absolutely not," Stefanski said of any talks between the two clubs.

Alonzo Mourning is returning to the Heat as a member of the team's front office.

Mourning said Friday that he will be Miami's vice president of player development.

"My on-court contributions are retiring, but I still feel like I can contribute to the game," Mourning said. "I'm very knowledgeable, a student of the game, and I think my experiences can help the team and the players."

Mourning officially retired as a player earlier this year.

Miami will trade the draft rights to Marcus Thornton to the Hornets for two future second round picks.

Thornton was the 43rd overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft.

The Miami Heat announced on Monday that they have made qualifying offers to Joel Anthony and Jamario Moon, making them restricted free agents.

Anthony, a 6?9?, 245-pound center, appeared in 65 games (28 starts) for the Heat last season averaging 2.2 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.43 blocks in 16.1 minutes of action.

Moon a 6?8?, 200-pound forward, who was originally acquired from the Toronto Raptors, along with Jermaine O?Neal in exchange for Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks on Feb. 13, 2009, appeared in 26 games (21 starts) for the Heat last season averaging 7.1 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 26.5 minutes of action.

Dwyane Wade wants Miami to make some aggressive moves before he signs a contract extension with the team.

However, Heat president Pat Riley would prefer to lock Wade up for the long-term before making any drastic trades or signings.

"I'm there. Why not fast track this thing anyway while I'm there and let's not give it a chance to get to 2010," Wade told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. "I'm in my prime right now, playing the best basketball I've ever played, and I feel as good as I ever felt. So let's not wait. Let's do it now if we can do it. So it's not about me signing a contract."

Wade can sign a contract extension beginning July 12, or opt out to become a free agent next summer.

"They have to do everything they can to make sure they want me there for the future," Wade added.

The guard reiterated that he isn't going to be influenced by what anyone else says, perhaps referring to Riley.

"I have a decision to make on my own and that decision has nothing to do with anything that anyone is going to say," Wade said. "I always have the best interest of the basketball team every time I take the court. But in this stage, where you're talking about contracts and free agency, you have to think about yourself and what's best."

Pat Riley is content to leave Miami's roster as is until next summer.

He likes the team's chances with a healthy Jermaine O'Neal, Dwyane Wade and continued improvement from Michael Beasley, Mario Chalmers and Daequan Cook.

"I don't want to make a change for the sake of change," Riley said Thursday. "Keeping this team together just might be the answer until we get to (2010)."

Chris Bosh gave his most extensive quotes about his looming free agency this week in an interview with Fox Sports Radio.

"As of right now, I'm not sure," said Bosh when asked about possibly coming to the Heat.  "I like Miami, don't get me wrong. But I don't know what comes along with being a part of that organization. I don't even have any friends in Miami, which was the funniest part. A close friend of mine hit me yesterday and was like 'Hey there?s another article out' and I was like 'What now?' 'Apparently a friend in Miami said you're going to Miami.' He sent me the article and I read it, and I'm like, 'now they?re just making stuff up.'"

Bosh was then asked about his 2010 free agency class.

"You know the crazy thing about it is, I got that question a lot this year," said Bosh.  "I can only imagine how next year is going to be.  Its like '2010 is coming up, you are going to be a free agent. Where are you going to go? Come here.' Every city I?m in, they ask me to play for their team. It?s something to deal with, and I think sometimes you just have to set the record straight. What do you want me to do? I don?t know where I am going. I don?t know what the future holds. What might be good today may not be good tomorrow. I guess it's a lot of fun for some people because it's speculation. It's thousands of possibilities because there are going to be a lot of free agents that year."

Dwyane Wade believes that Kobe Bryant is the best player in basketball today, but says that no one is better than Michael Jordan.

"I believe that Kobe Bryant is still the best player in the game, his experience and his overall talent. It's not taking away from LeBron, it's not taking away from Carmelo, it's not taking away from myself," Wade told ESPN Radio Chicago. "Kobe has been in the game longer than the rest of us, he's older than us, he's smart with the game. He's the better player."

Wade went on to praise Jordan as the greatest player ever.

"To me growing up and watching Michael Jordan and knowing everything that he's done for our game. Even Kobe would say you don't want to be compared to that guy. I mean, Jordan is the best that we've seen in our time and a lot of people are going to see for many years to come. But Kobe Bryant is exceptionally great in his own matter. All the things he's been through over the last seven years, for him to get his fourth ring, I think a lot of people were pulling for him to do that. Orlando, I think a lot of people were surprised they made it there but they haven't been through nothing yet so you know this kind of team, if they would have won, there would have been a lot of teams and a lot of veterans that played in the league would have been mad about that. I think that everyone is happy that Kobe, the great player that he is, got his fourth ring," Wade added.

Dwyane Wade had some interesting things to say about his future as a free agent on Tuesday.

Wade was asked by Tom Waddle on ESPN 1000 in Chicago if he would consider signing with the Bulls.

"If I could say one thing I would say that I'm blessed to be in a position where I have options. I thank god for those options. 2010, free agency only comes up once so I'm going to make sure that I think about this and do it right," Wade said.

"Of course I love Miami, this is where I built my career at. Chicago is always the place I'm from, there's going to be talk about that, of course, but right now I'm trying to do what I can to make sure that the team that I'm on be as good as we can be. When it's time for me to think about it, then I will do just that."

Wade was then asked if he was ruling out Chicago as a destination in 2010.

"I'm not ruling out a lot of places, but I'm not really thinking about those places either. Like I said, 2010 is the year when I will sit down and open up my options and, hopefully, I'm still blessed and healthy to have those options and then go from there," Wade added. "But Miami is my number one option and I've made that clear. That's where I want to be and, hopefully, we can get everything right here in Miami."

A friend of Chris Bosh says that the forward has interest in playing for the Heat.

Miami is known to have interest in Bosh, who is expected to test free agency in the summer of 2010.

A competing executive who spoke to president Bryan Colangelo claims that Toronto appears open to considering offers for Bosh, according to the Miami Herald.