The Heat may be a threat to pry Gordon Hayward away from the Jazz, but adding the All-Star wing won’t be enough to propel Miami into the upper echelon of the Eastern Conference. The franchise will need to add other talent and Heat Hoops outlines how it could create upwards of $11MM in cap space after signing Hayward to a max deal.
The team would need to waive Wayne Ellington, Rodney McGruder, and Okaro White, and ideally, find a taker for Josh McRoberts on the trade market, though it’s more likely that the organization will have to use the stretch provision on the big man. Doing that while renouncing all of the team’s free agents will give the Heat enough cap room to bring in an impact player in the $10-11MM annual salary range.
Here’s more from Miami:
- The time to go after major free agents is now, Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel explains. The team has the cap space to offer someone a max deal, but with Tyler Johnson‘s deal on the books, it’ll be a more difficult feat next offseason. Johnson will make slightly over $5.88MM this season before making roughly $38.5MM over the following two seasons.
- Miami can’t afford to be patient and build through the draft since they will likely be without a pair of first-rounders over the next few seasons, Winderman notes in the same piece. The Heat will ship their 2019 first round pick to the Suns if it falls outside the top seven as well as their 2021 selection as a result of the Goran Dragic deal.
It would be amazing if the Heat got Heyward, but I don’t know who else they can keep/add in that scenario. If they could move Whiteside, it would open space to get Heyward and keep both James johnson and waiters, and maybe grab Ibaka in FA or keep Reed and figure something out at that 5 spot….
Makes no sense to trade Tyler Johnson or Winslow right now. TJ has the poison pill coming up next year, but if he continues to play the way he did thisbyear, and improves a little, the number makes sense with the cap increase coming. I’d explore moving him, but only for the right offer. Not gonna lie, Tyler is also probably my current favorite Heat player, other than obviously UD
Heat could also open like $4 million more if they stretch provision McRoberts.
If they can get James Johnson and Dion Waiters together for $26 million or so, they can use half their remaining cap space to maybe keep Willie Reed at $6-7 million, and Ellington at his number, and/or bring someone in on a cheap deal, or the room exception, to help the 3/4 spots. Winslow and Richardson being healthy should help though. I wouldnt mind someone like Ibaka instead of keeping Reed, but I think they’re a bit short on cap space to get him
That seems like the most simple possibility, but there are obviously potential trades they could make as well. I still would like to see them move Whiteside, but I don’t think they’ll do it at this point
Millsap and Heyward are both obvious fits, but Heyward is likely to stay in Utah or could look elsewhere, since you have to consider what else the Heat could do if they get him, and Millsap is at an age where it might make more sense to pay a lot less for James Johnson, and therefore use cap space on more pieces…I’ll pass on Blake Griffin
I don’t know what to think yet about the Heat’s spot in the draft. The guys I’m most interested in probably go ahead of 14, especially with teams like Charlotte, Detroit, and Denver in front of them…
OG would be an interesting grab for them, since they don’t really need too much from their pick this year and/or it could also allow them to explore moving 1 or 2 guys, if necessary. Heat have McGruder, but could always use another defensive wing/small ball 4, and if his offense develops, that’s a really good asset. But i think he could go to Denver at 13, as they could really use the help defensively on the wing…Justin Jackson, Donovan Mitchell (I expect both to go 10-12 with Luke Kennard possibly there as well), Justin Patton, TJ Leaf, Bam Adebayo, Ike Anigbogu, Isaiah Hartenstein, and I guess Harry Giles also hold my interest, although I’m not enthused by what I’ve seen from Giles in games or at the combine, especially in consideration with his injuries. Obviously, trades ahead of them could change some things, but it’s a wide range of guys that could end up at 14. I actually like a few guys at the end of the 1st round and into the 2nd, like Semi Ojelye and Jordan Bell…I could also see the Heat making the pick, and then trading it
I would like to know more info on Zach Collins though. He is the one guy I don’t really know much about in the top half of the draft. Can anyone tell me how he is on defense? What’s his athleticism like? Can he defend pick and roll, and protect the rim? Offensively, is he a ball stopper, or can he make quick decisions? Does he play above the rim?