Pass The Mike Sports

With the NBA free agency period beginning Friday, it's crunch time for the Miami Heat. Team president Pat Riley and the Heat's front office staff have major questions to answer as they prepare for the 2016-17 season. The biggest question involves its biggest free agent: Hassan Whiteside. The 27-year-old center is an unrestricted free agent which means he's free to sign a deal with any team. Fortunately for him, several teams are prepared to offer top dollar for his services come in the coming days. After earning $981,000 last season, Whiteside will sign a deal shortly that pays him up to $22 million dollars a year. Not bad for a player who once had to beg NBA teams just for a tryout. Now, while that's great news for the Whiteside family, it puts the Heat franchise in a tight spot. The issue for Miami is should they use most of their salary cap space to sign Whiteside, or try their luck at wooing Oklahoma City superstar free agent Kevin Durant. Hassan Whiteside...

Former MVP point guard Derrick Rose is taking his talents to Madison Square Garden. The Chicago Bulls traded Rose to the New York Knicks  in a multiplayer deal Wednesday, according to ESPN. The Knicks, led by team president Phil Jackson hope the trade will make them contenders in the Eastern Conference playoff race. Jackson said earlier this month the Knicks could make the playoffs with a  few tweaks  to the team's triangle offense. New York finished 32-50 last season and missed the playoffs for the third straight year. Rose, 27, will play alongside all-star forward Carmelo Anthony and under new head coach Jeff Hornacek. The trade makes sense for Knicks who desperately needed a point guard and don't have a first round pick in Thursday's NBA Draft. Rose will take scoring and ball-handling responsibilities away from Anthony, who led the team in points (21.8 ppg) and assists (4.2) last season. He will also share the floor with big man Kristaps Porzingis, a 7-...

Fifty-four years of sports heartache and heartbreak gone. The city of Cleveland is on the happy end of one the best sports moments in history thanks to LeBron James and the Cavaliers. LeBron James hoists the Finals MVP trophy Sunday in Oakland. The Cavs became the first team in NBA history to overcome a 3-1 deficit in the Finals as they topped the Golden State Warriors 93-89 in game 7 to win the NBA championship Sunday in Oakland. A week ago, the Warriors were set to win back-to-back titles and cement their place as the best team in NBA history after going 73-9 in the regular season. Yet Sunday, it was the Cavs celebrating on the court inside Oracle Arena. It was a moment so significant several of the Cavs players broke down in tears after the final buzzer sounded. Like him or hate him, Lebron James crying here is raw emotion. He brought a championship to Cleveland. Props https://t.co/f0wL27Cyv2 — Dylan (@DylanTheMan37) June 20, 2016 Here's JR Smith during hi...

The rematch we've all been waiting for is finally here. The Golden State Warriors host the Cleveland Cavaliers tonight at 9 p.m. (EST) on ABC. Here's a head-to-head position comparison of the Warriors and the Cavs. Guard: Back-to-back NBA MVP Stephen Curry and backcourt mate Klay Thompson have more than lived up to their "Splash Brothers" moniker this postseason. While Curry missed six playoff games with a knee injury, Thompson proved more than capable of leading the team in scoring. Both players are averaging just over 26 points per game each this postseason and will likely give the Cavs headaches trying to stop them both. On the other side Cavs guard Kyrie Irving is likely chomping at the bit to face off against Curry. In case you forgot Irving went down with an injury early during last year's NBA Finals, robbing us of the chance to see two elite point guards battle each other on the hardwood. Although Irving won't be able to stop Curry from getting...