Gladness, Harris in for Heat; House out in final cut

In a surprising move, the Miami Heat kept two free-agent rookies on their final, 15-player roster, instead opting to waive veteran guard Eddie House.

Mickell Gladness, a shot-blocking center out of Alabama A&M who spent time with the Heat in the team's 2010 summer league, and Terrel Harris, a former Oklahoma State standout who went undrafted in 2009 and had played in recent years in France, Germany and the NBA Development League, both made the final cut by coach Erik Spoelstra and Heat President Pat Riley.

"It was an extremely tough decision," Spoelstra said of waiving House. "Eddie started his career with us. We drafted him, and he's part of our Heat family. Pat and I both talked to him last night and those are the toughest decisions you have to make."

Ultimately, it meant the Heat eating the second year of the two-year contact House signed in the 2010 offseason. He was coming off an early-November knee procedure and was not expected to be cleared for a return until next month. With swingman Mike Miller and Shane Battier ailing, it opened the door for Harris.

"There were a lot of elements and that certainly was one of them," Spoelstra said. "It always is unfortunate and you hear the saying all the time that this is a business.

"We are a little of shorthanded in terms of wing players that are healthy and can definitively play early on. We have a lot of games out of the gate, as everybody does, and that could be a point of concern as we move forward."

Similarly, centers Eddy Curry and Dexter Pittman also are ailing.

"He's very raw at this point," Spoelstra said of Gladness. "But he fits the mold of a lot of a lot of the big guys that we've liked over the years. He's quick, he has got speed, athleticism, and he's a shot blocker."

At least for now, the Heat find themselves in the midst of a somewhat unexpected youth movement, with first-round pick Norris Cole, the point guard out of Cleveland State, expected to start the season in the rotation.

Said Spoelstra of Harris and Gladness, "They both simply overwhelmed us with their effort and their desire and their want this week. It was a little bit of a surprise and they continued to make us watch.

"We look at both of these guys as guys we can develop and fit into our program of young guys that we've developed in the past. We liked their potential."