Justin Hamilton will sign with the Miami Heat in the coming days and attend the team's training camp.
Hamilton, who played in Croatia and Latvia last season, did not participate in the Orlando or Las Vegas summer leagues because of a hamstring injury.
Hamilton was the Heat's second round draft pick in 2012. The Heat would lose their rights to Hamilton if they release him.
The Heat have 13 players signed to guaranteed contracts, and Hamilton, Jarvis Varnado and undrafted forward Eric Griffin have non-guaranteed deals.
http://www.hothothoops.com/2013/7/4/449 ... -in-europe
Apparently he just wasted time in Europe, not getting paid and riding the bench.
Unfortunately for Hamilton and a few former/prospective NBA names (more on this momentarily), the financial difficulties that the club has faced for four seasons now reared up again. By January, Cibona was near the bottom of the table in the Adriatic League at 6-12; the club's head coach in addition to its sports director resigned at this point and a mass exodus of players began: Rookie/University of Georgia alum Dustin Ware, Smush Parker, Tomislav Zubčić (interestingly enough, taken at #56 by the Toronto Raptors in the 2012 draft, 11 spots after Hamilton) as well as Hamilton himself.
The reason? Cibona had stopped paying player salaries, an unfortunate tactic in European basketball recently. While Hamilton claimed that the club owed him up to three months of back pay (so essentially the entire regular season's worth at that point), management countered that it was just one month behind, ultimately attempting to keep Hamilton citing his one-year contract and the arrangement of his new Croatian citizenship.
So what can Heat backers and Hamilton watchers take away from a frustrating 2012-13? Unfortunately not much. Saddled with three different coaches in two disparate systems, Hamilton may be considered to have taken a step back in a couple areas - though perhaps this may be blamed on his environment(s).
