ORLANDO, Fla. -- Robert Hite is wearing a New Jersey Nets
jersey this week for summer league play, with hopes that some NBA
club will offer a second chance he insists is deserved.
And if that team is the Miami Heat, well, the second-year guard
will be absolutely thrilled.
"If they want me back," Hite said, "I'll definitely come
back."
The way Hite sees it, he should have never left South Florida in
the first place.
The former University of Miami standout seemed a longshot to
make the Heat's regular-season roster when the then-reigning NBA
champions invited him to training camp a year ago. But Hite earned
a spot, played in 12 games over the season's first 2½ months and
rewarded the Heat when given significant playing time, averaging
11.7 points in the three games in which he played at least 20
minutes.
His stint ended without warning -- and, as Hite says, without
cause.
Hite was arrested on a drunken-driving charge in Miami Beach
around 4 a.m. on Jan. 21, held in jail for eight hours and wound up
missing the Heat's afternoon game that day with the Dallas
Mavericks. Heat coach Pat Riley sent him home the next day so he
could "get his personal issues in order," and wound up cutting
him two weeks later so the team could use his roster spot -- and
locker -- on veteran Eddie Jones.
One small problem: Hite wasn't drunk that fateful night.
The charge was later dropped when blood-alcohol tests showed him
to be well within legal limits, but Hite believes his name still
carries the smear of that arrest. Hite, who is considering filing
suit against the Miami Beach Police Department, wound up finishing
the season in Sioux Falls of the NBA Development League, yet knows
that this week's summer league affords him a great chance of
returning to the top level.
"I've been over it," Hite said. "It happens. ... We'll see
where the lawsuit goes. But right now, I'm just trying to play
basketball."
Hite and Riley crossed paths Monday when summer league began at
the Orlando Magic's workout complex in Central Florida. If there
ever was any animosity between the player and the man who cut him
from the Heat midway through last season, it was erased in the
handshake and embrace they shared at courtside.
"Good to see you. Do a good job," Riley whispered into the
guard's ear.
"No hard feelings at all," Hite said after the quick greeting
ended. "It's the business of the NBA. They felt like they did what
they needed to do."
Even if Hite hadn't been arrested, he would hardly have been
assured of finishing last season in Miami. The Heat were going to
sign Jones once he was released from Memphis regardless, and all
signs pointed to Riley releasing one of the two rookie guards he
carried at the start of last season, either Hite or Chris Quinn.
Riley has, though, acknowledged that the decision to keep Hite
away from the team after the arrest was wrong. "I should have
waited a little longer before I sent him home," Riley said in
April.
Maybe, just maybe, the Heat will now see fit to bring Hite back.
Of course, there'll be other suitors for him as well.
Hite has gone 7-for-9 from 3-point range in New Jersey's first
two summer league games, averaging 14.5 points after the Nets lost
to Orlando 85-74 on Monday night and beat Miami's summer squad
73-65 on Tuesday.
"He can make shots," Nets coach Lawrence Frank said. "He's a
good athlete, got really good balance. There's a niche for guys
like him ... guys who size-wise are a little bit deficient, but
they're able to score and score in bunches and make open shots."
Hite said he's enjoyed his time with the Nets, and says he isn't
ruling any team out if he has multiple offers from clubs before
training camps start in October.
"My agent thought it was a good situation," Hite said. "They
had room on their roster and they're trying to make some moves, so
it felt like it was a good situation for me to have an opportunity
to play and showcase my talent, maybe make a roster. And we knew
Miami was here too and I'd get a good look, so that's what we
decided to go with."