Following their Game 7 loss to the Raptors on Sunday, the Heat will begin their offseason preparation in earnest, and Hassan Whiteside – who was sidelined for most of the team’s series against Toronto – will play a key role in Miami’s summer. As Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald writes, there will be “considerable debate” within the organization over the next several weeks about whether or not to offer Whiteside a max deal.
Of course, before the Heat can even move forward in negotiations with Whiteside, the club will have to determine whether Kevin Durant will be a realistic free agent target, says Jackson — the Oklahoma City star would be Miami’s top priority in free agency if he’s available, and if the Heat could land Durant, the odds of keeping Whiteside would decline significantly. So the team may need to get a read on Durant’s intentions before getting serious about retaining Whiteside.
Let’s check in on a few other notable issues and decisions facing the Heat this summer…
- Even if Chris Bosh isn’t healthy enough to return to the Heat next season, the team wouldn’t be able to excise his cap number from the books until at least February 2017, notes Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel. If Bosh remains on the cap but is unable to play, the Heat will essentially be operating with about 75% of the salary cap flexibility of the rest of the league’s teams, says Winderman.
- We rounded up some postgame comments from the Heat’s pending free agents after Sunday’s game, and Winderman goes a little more in-depth on those comments in his own Sun Sentinel piece, with Udonis Haslem, Joe Johnson, and Amar’e Stoudemire among the free-agents-to-be who offered their thoughts on a potential return.
- Within a pair of recent mailbags, Winderman explored whether Joe Johnson has a future in Miami beyond this season, whether or not Whiteside deserves a max deal, and whether there would be a market for Goran Dragic if the Heat made him available via trade.
I think Bosh should go ahead and retire similarly to what Magic Johnson and Jordan did in their primes and if he is able to get healthy in a couple years he can come back.
I agree, he should retire. His health is more important. If and when he does get healthy then make a comeback. He’s letting his competitiveness and pride get in the way of his health in my opinion. I don’t blame him, that must be hard but he’s gotta look at his future.
Have to agree with the retirement thoughts – a few players in the NHL have had blood clot issues (Pascal Dupuis being the most recent I can think of), and it just always seems like as soon as they think they have it beat, it comes back with a vengeance. While I appreciate the competitive spirit, a heart attack or stroke on the floor would be devastating for all involved.
Bosh is gonna pull a Nash and collect all the money he can before he has to walk away. I would too, he will never have another opportunity to get paid like he is getting paid right now.
He gets paid regardless…..
Nba is in a rough patch if Bosh is a top talent. He rode to a couple championships on tail of wade and Lebron. There should be more concern on what Wade is doing next year. He has been heart of Miami through the years.
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