Trail Blazers legend Buck Williams will be one of three assistants to join coach Nate McMillan’s staff for the 2010-11 season, McMillan said Wednesday.

Williams will join Bernie Bickerstaff and Bob Ociepka as new additions, with an official announcement coming early next week.

I’m going to reserve judgement on the latter two, particularly because I haven’t heard or read many strong opinions on either recently — that could be both good and bad — but I see no problems with Williams essentially being the big-man replacement for Maurice Lucas on staff, even if it’s in part a PR move. The Blazers have been painfully lacking in experienced big bodies in Lucas’ absence to help guys like LaMarcus Aldridge and Greg Oden, so any addition in that area is a plus.

As a possible contingency plan if they don’t get James, the Heat have discussed pursuing the Portland Trail Blazers point guard Andre Miller in a trade, a source said. The Heat could absorb Miller’s $7 million salary with their cap space. The Heat also have had trade conversations since before the draft about sending point guard Mario Chalmers and a first-round pick to Portland for shooting guard Rudy Fernandez, a league source said. It’s possible the talks have now expanded with Heat forward Michael Beasley and Miller.

What do you think about 11.2 career PER, 34.6 career shooter from three Mario Chalmers? Would you take him back for Rudy? The other question is just what the Heat, with so few players on the roster, could offer for Andre Miller. Other than Chalmers, Beasley, a trade exception and draft picks, they don’t have a ton of assets left to them. That’s probably not enough to get a Miller deal done unless a third team is involved. Miller+Rudy for Chalmers+Beasley+Picks+Trade Exception isn’t a move I’d be jumping to do. Would you?

Also, Kevin Durant will sign a five-year extension with the Thunder. Not that that’s a surprise.

UPDATE: Jason Quick says such a deal is “unlikely”, per Andy Miller, agents for both Andre Miller and Fernandez. It’s possible the Chalmers-Blazers buzz is a holdover from Kevin Pritchard’s tenure as GM, as both KP and Chalmers are Kansas alums. That may seem like loose reasoning, but it does come into play.

Blazers having “ongoing conversations” with free agent guard Roger Mason according to agent Mark Bartelstein. “We’ve talked quite a bit.”

Mason certainly fits the shooter profile the Blazers have been after, as a 38.1 percent career shooter from three, but even when he peaked in 2008-09 with the Spurs — 30 minutes, 11.8 points, 42 percent from three, 42.5 percent from the field, three rebounds, two assists — he still only managed a below-average PER of 11.9 (career high 13.8 in fewer minutes the year before in Washington) with poor-to-average defense. Essentially, he’s only going to make an impact as a shooter and possibly late in games on the free-throw line.