Harvey Fialkov of the Sun-Sentinel reports: Recent acquisitions by the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Dallas Mavericks have seemingly limited the options for Heat free agents Tim Hardaway and Anthony Mason.

"I suppose it might,'' said Mason's agent Don Cronson about Cleveland stepping away from the Mason talks.

However, Milwaukee coach George Karl and General Manager Ernie Grunfeld, who signed Mason to his first substantial NBA contract with the Knicks in 1991, both remain Mason fans. They can dangle high-jumping forward Darvin Ham, who is under contract for $1.7 million, to the Heat.

"Tim wants to go to situation that overall is going to make him happy,'' said Henry Thomas, Hardaway's Chicago-based agent. "There's the contract part of it, the environment and being a contender, that's a factor, too.''