UPDATE 4:55 pm: It is official, Ronny Turiaf is a member of the Miami Heat. Let the sideline cheering begin.
The Heat had made runs at bigger name big men this season — Kenyon Martin when he returned from China, Joel Przybilla, others — but this gives them a little more depth up front. He will play behind Chris Bosh and Udonis Haslem in the rotation, but he can give them some good defense and hustle for 15 minutes a night.
Turiaf was drafted out of Gonzaga by the Los Angeles Lakers but had to miss his rookie season due to surgery to repair an enlarged heart. He played a couple seasons in Los Angeles followed by stints with the Warriors, Knicks and this season the Wizards.
2:53 pm: Looks like the Heat are going to be adding a little depth to the front line. And a good bench cheering section.
The Heat are close to a deal with Ronny Turiaf, reports our own Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel via twitter.
Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo also reports the sides are close.
This would be a nice pickup — not something that puts them over the top, but provides some needed depth along the front line of a team that had to start Dexter Pittman Tuesday night. Turiaf will bring energy, he only shoots pretty high efficiency shots, he defends hard, he rebounds, you can get a good 15 minutes out of him a night. The guys in the locker room and the fans will like him. He’s solid.
Turaif had been with the Wizards but was traded to Denver as part of the Nene/JaVale McGee swap. The Nuggets promptly bought Turiaf out.
