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Point guard will play limited minutes off the bench

Miami HEAT President and Head Coach Pat Riley announced this afternoon that the team has signed free agent guard Bimbo Coles. As per club policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Coles, a 6'2", 182-pound point guard, has averaged 8.0 points, 4.0 assists, 2.2 rebounds and 24.3 minutes in 830 regular season games (353 starts) during his 13-year NBA career and owns a 2.62:1 assist-to-turnover ratio. He has shot 42.6 percent (2537-5957) from the floor, 26.7 percent (252-943) from three-point range and 81.1 percent (1274-1570) from the foul line while playing for the HEAT (1990-1996), Golden State (1996-99), Atlanta (1999-00), Cleveland (2000-03) and Boston (2003). He has also appeared in eight postseason games, all as a member of the HEAT, and has averaged 11.5 points, 2.9 assists, 2.6 rebounds and 23.1 minutes while connecting on 56.1 percent (32-57) of his field goal attempts, 40 percent (2-5) of his three-point attempts and 78.8 percent (26-33) of his free throw attempts.

Officially drafted in the second round of the 1990 NBA Draft (40th overall) by the Sacramento Kings, Coles was acquired by the HEAT on draft night deal in exchange for Rory Sparrow. In his five-plus seasons as a member of the HEAT, Coles averaged 9.1 points, 4.4 assists, 2.4 rebounds, 1.03 steals and 25.9 minutes while shooting 43.9 percent (1500-3413) from the floor, 27.5 percent (157-570) from three-point range and 80.2 percent (846-1055) from the foul line in 440 games (195 starts). Coles, who registered a 2.56:1 assist-to-turnover ratio in his first stint in Miami, still ranks among the HEAT's all-time leaders in several statistical categories. He enters the 2003-04 season among the HEAT's all-time leaders in assists (2nd; 1,946), free throw percentage (3rd), games played (4th), steals (5th; 291), free throws made (6th), free throws attempted (6th), minutes played (6th;11,378), points scored (7th; 4,003), field goals made (7th), field goals attempted (7th), three-point field goals attempted (7th), starts (8th), field goal percentage (9th) and three-point field goals made (9th).

Coles previously played for Riley during the 1995-96 season. He enjoyed his finest NBA season under the HEAT President and Head Coach. Coles started each of the 52 games he played under Riley and averaged 12.8 points, 5.7 assists, 3.9 rebounds, 1.21 steals and 36.2 minutes while compiling a 2.41:1 assist-to-turnover ratio before being traded with Kevin Willis to Golden State on Feb 22, 1996 for Chris Gatling and Tim Hardaway, the only player he trails on Miami's all-time assist list. During the 1995-96 season he set career highs in minutes played (2,615), field goals attempted (777), three-point field goals made (88), three-point field goals attempted (254), three-point field goal percentage (.346), defensive rebounds (211), total rebounds (260), assists (422) and points scored (892) and tied his single-season high in field goals made (318).

The 13-year veteran split time last season between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics. He started 11 of the 35 games in which he saw action and averaged 4.4 points, 2.1 assists, 1.7 rebounds and 19.7 minutes. After being released by the Cavaliers on Feb. 28 he was signed as a free agent by the Celtics on Mar. 8.