As of Saturday, the Heat will have the ability to fill the open spot on their roster by signing a free agent to a prorated minimum-salary contract without surpassing the luxury tax line. However, a league source tells Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald that the club isn’t expected to immediately add a 15th man in the coming days.
As Chiang writes, Miami would prefer to retain roster and cap flexibility for potential pre-deadline trades and/or late-season signings. The team is relatively whole right now, with only Pelle Larsson (ankle sprain) and Terry Rozier (on leave following his arrest in a federal gambling case) unavailable, so a 15th man likely wouldn’t have a regular role anyway.
The Heat are currently operating $1,606,363 below the luxury tax line, while the cap hit for a minimum-salary free agent signed on Saturday would be $1,596,834. That number will continue to decline by more than $13K every day, so Miami could maintain more breathing room below the tax threshold by waiting until later in the season to sign a free agent. Not filling that roster spot would also allow the Heat to take back up to about $1.6MM in salary in a mid-season trade without becoming a taxpayer.
The tax line isn’t a hard cap, so the Heat could surpass it now and attempt to duck back out of tax territory later in the season. However, that approach carries some risk, since the team would need to rely on a trade or buyout to shed salary. Avoiding the tax this season is a priority for Miami, Chiang writes, since the club wants to avoid repeater penalties in future years after finishing in the tax in each of the past two seasons.
It’s also worth noting that Rozier’s $26,643,031 salary is partially guaranteed for $24,924,126. Theoretically, that means the Heat could open up another $1.7MM+ below the luxury tax line by waiving Rozier on or before January 7, the league-wide salary guarantee date.
However, there are two potential complications. For one, the Heat haven’t received clarity from the NBA on whether they can trade or waive Rozier while he’s on leave as a result of his arrest in connection to an illegal gambling case, Chiang writes. And even if Miami were permitted to cut Rozier, the club would have to get back to the league-mandated minimum of 14 players on standard contracts within two weeks, which would eat into those $1.7MM in potential savings.
In related news, the Heat will have a representative in attendance next Wednesday at an arbitration hearing for Rozier, according to Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel (subscription required). The subject of hearing, which will involve the NBA and the players’ union, is whether Rozier should be paid while on leave. His withheld salary is currently being placed in an escrow-type account.