The Miami Heat are busy preparing for the postseason in hopes of defending their NBA title and completing a rare three-peat, but they should also start looking for other prospects to replace the perimeter defense of veteran forward Shane Battier who will retire at the end of the season.
According to Bleacher Report, the 35-year-old forward will be hanging up his jersey at the end of the playoffs regardless of the outcome of the playoffs.
Ethan Scolnick of Bleacher Report tweeted and reported in the same website that: "Yes. Shane Battier is retiring after season. No more equivocating. "It would take an act of God to change it & that act of God hasn't come."
Battier has been with the Heat in their past two championships, joining LeBron James and company in 2011 after the Heat were upset by the Dallas Mavericks for the NBA title. He has been a vital part of the team's championship runs, defending the best perimeter players of the opposing clubs and hitting three pointers to boot.
This year, his averages have continued to slide down. He is norming just 4.2 points and 2 rebounds a game, shooting a miserable 37 percent from the floor and 33 percent from the three point area.
Drafted sixth overall in the 2001 NBA draft, Battier was a highly-touted prospect from Duke where he won a national championship and was named national player of the year. He started his career playing for the Memphis Grizzlies before making stops in Houston and Miami.
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