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Team requests waivers on Kirk Penney

Miami HEAT President Pat Riley announced this morning that the team has signed free agent forward Tyrone Hill and has asked waivers on guard Kirk Penney.

Hill, a 6'9", 250-pound forward, has appeared in 796 regular season games in an NBA career which has spanned 13 seasons with the Golden State Warriors (1990-93), Cleveland Cavaliers (1993-97, 2001-03), Milwaukee Bucks (1997-99) and the Philadelphia 76ers (1999-2001, 2003). The one-time All-Star has averaged 9.5 points, 8.6 rebounds, 0.8 assists and 28.1 minutes while shooting 50.2 percent (2831-5638) from the floor and 64.2 percent (1861-2897) from the foul line. Hill has also helped guide his team to postseason play nine times where he has averaged 6.6 points, 6.1 rebounds and 25.3 minutes in 74 games while connecting on 45.1 percent (183-406) of his field goal attempts and 62.8 percent (125-199) of his free throw attempts.

Five times in his career he has averaged double figures in scoring, including a career-best 13.8 points during the 1994-95 season with the Cavaliers. On four occasions he has averaged double figures in rebounds, including a career-high 10.9 rebounds during the 1994-95 campaign, a season in which he made his lone All-Star Game appearance. He also had a streak of six consecutive seasons from 1991-97 in which he connected on at least 50 percent of his field goal attempts each year. The Xavier University graduate has grabbed 20-or-more rebounds on five occasions during his career and has posted 235 career double-doubles.

Hill, whose 74 playoff games is tops among current HEAT players, split the 2002-03 season between the Cavaliers and 76ers. He appeared 56 games while averaging 5.6 points, 7.0 rebounds and 24.1 minutes and shooting 42.2 percent (129-306) from the floor and 67.5 percent (54-80) from the foul line. He began the season with Cleveland and started 25 of the 32 games in which he appeared while averaging 6.3 points, 8.3 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 0.97 steals and 26.7 minutes. Hill shot 43.1 percent (85-197) from the floor and 73.3 percent (33-45) from the foul line before being released by the Cavaliers on Feb. 27. He led the Cavs in rebounds 13 times, in steals on four occasions and in blocks three times. Hill grabbed a season-high 17 rebounds against the Lakers on Nov. 5 and set a Gund Arena record for defensive rebounds in a quarter with nine in the first period of that contest. He missed 14 games due to injury and was a DNP-CD on 11 occasions. After clearing waivers he was signed by Philadelphia as a free agent on Mar. 3. In 24 games with the 76ers (18 starts) he averaged 4.5 points, 5.2 rebounds and 20.7 minutes while shooting 40.4 percent (44-109) from the floor and 60 percent (21-35) from the foul line. Three times he topped the Sixers in rebounds.

Penney, a 6'5", 220-pound guard, was signed by the HEAT as a free agent on Nov. 3. He appeared in two games with Miami and totaled three points, one rebound, one assist and one steal in 18 minutes while shooting 1-6 (.167) from the floor.

Hill will be in uniform tomorrow night against Minnesota and will wear number 32. He will be the seventh HEAT player in franchise history to wear number 32, joining Tellis Frank, Harold Miner, Billy Owens, James Scott, Blue Edwards and Rodney Buford. Miami's active roster now stands at 12 with three players on the injured list.