Blatche heading for Miami Heat?

MANILA, Philippines - Naturalized player Andray Blatche headed back to the US Friday after his stint with the Smart Gilas in the FIBA World Cup to negotiate a new contract with the Miami Heat as a free agent after the Nets declined to re-sign him.

The Miami Heat, which lost LeBron James to the Cleveland Cavaliers in a trade last month, are reportedly interested in Blatche who could be a backup to Chris Bosh since he is an offense-oriented center who can play the forward and guard positions as he showed in the FIBA World Cup.

Blatche emerged as one of the dominant players in the World Cup group stages with averages of 21.2 points and 13.8 rebounds in five games, which raised his commercial value as a player and boosted his chances of returning to the NBA.

The Nets had said they are not interested in re-signing him.