Mickael has apparently been in South Beach recently checking out what life would be like playing with DWade, Shaq, and the Heat. I guess he likes what he sees, because his agent is reporting that he would rather play there than in The Town. But the likelihood of him playing in Miami is dwindling.
"He's not going to take half the mid-level," said Pietrus' agent, Happy Walters. Pietrus' qualifying offer from the Warriors is $3.5 million, above what the Heat can offer.
Walters did, however, add that Pietrus would rather play for the Heat. Pietrus' arrival in South Florida would have to be through a sign-and-trade, possibly with unrestricted free agent James Posey.
Keep in mind that this is his agent, Happy Walters, talking with the Miami newspaper. So, maybe Happy is just saying the right things. Anyways, I don't think Pietrus is worth more than the qualifying offer from the Warriors. There were even rumors that him signing with the Warriors was close to a done deal. Maybe it's not as close as originally thought.
Look, if Pietrus wants more than the 3.5 million the Warriors are offering and another team offers him multiple years at the mid-level exception, I really hope Mullin doesn't match. He's not worth that much, he's not going to improve drastically next year, and that money can be spent on better players. It would be nice to have MP2 back as a 7th or 8th man, but if he's making the mid-level, he better be more than just a bench player. Of course, nobody is offering him that much and Mullin knows nobody is going to offer him that much. I really don't see Miami dropping 5+ million a year for multiple years for MP2. So Mullin is just going to wait this one out and see what happens.
My best guess? MP2 is coming back for the qualifying offer.