Point-guard search turns to El-Amin

Harvey Fialkov of the Sun-Sentinel reports that the Heat are sill looking for a point guard. While incumbent starting point guard Rod Strickland remains unsigned, the Heat has brought in former University of Connecticut guard Khalid El-Amin for an extended tryout.

Under the coach staff's supervision, El-Amin, 23, has been working out with Heat point guards Anthony Carter and Mike James. If Strickland and the Heat can't come to an agreement, it's quite possible that coach Pat Riley will throw open the competition for the starting spot and allow the trio to fight it out in training camp

"Hopefully, I can be their man," El-Amin said. "I just want to be consistent every night and stay on that level. I learned about hard work from Elton Brand [in Chicago] and Tim Hardaway and Steve Nash in Dallas," he said. "I know I have to put the time and effort in. It takes hard work to survive in this league."

Strickland's agent, Rock Newman, refused to comment on the 36-year-old's free-agent negotiations. "Under the conditions and circumstances I am not discussing it at all," Newman said Friday.

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Miami Heat

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Mourning deals with anemia, too

Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports that Alonzo Mourning is not only fighting kidney disease, but he also has to contend with anemia as well. Anemia can cause fatigue and a decreased ability to concentrate, because the body lacks enough red blood cells to carry oxygen from the lungs to tissues and organs. Mourning says the anemia is caused by his kidney disease.

Still he says he plans to play this season and beyond.

Mourning, 32, told The Washington Post's Michael Wilbon in Saturday's editions that anemia contributed to his lack of energy early last season. He was diagnosed during the season, but a Heat official and an associate of Mourning said Saturday they were uncertain exactly when that was.

''The kidney disorder triggered other abnormalities in my body, like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and now anemia,'' Mourning told The Post. ``I started feeling very fatigued, very lethargic. My minutes dropped off because I was having problems getting up and down the court. . . .

``By the time I practiced or played a game, I had nothing left in the tank. I had nothing left for my family by the time I got home. It just wasn't worth it. If I had to live like that, I would have had to back away from the game.''

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Mavs seeking Mourning

David Aldridge of ESPN reports that the Dallas Mavericks are talking to the Miami Heat. The object of the talks: Alonzo Mourning. The discussions are very preliminary, and Miami coach and president Pat Riley has said all summer that he will not trade Mourning, who is entering the final year of his contract.

Aldridge believes that the Mavs would offer Nick Van Exel in a package to try and land Mourning.

“Coach (Pat) Riley has gone on record saying that 'Zo will be on the team this year, and it's our intention to re-sign 'Zo at the end of the season," Heat spokesman Tim Donovan told the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel at the time. "I want to be (in Miami), but I can deal with change," Mourning told the paper. "I know the business, and I've seen some strange things."

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Dallas Mavericks, Miami Heat

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