Dragic, Whiteside still deciding on player options
With Goran Dragic and Hassan Whiteside still undecided about their player options for next season, the Heat’s capspace situation remains fluid this offseason.
While it appears unlikely Dragic and Whiteside will opt out of the final year of their respective contracts, the fact is their pending decisions will make a big impact because they are the Heat’s two highest-paid players next season if Ryan Anderson is waived by July 10, as expected, to reduce his 2019-20 cap hit from $21.3 million to $15.6 million.
Dragic has a player option in his contract for next season worth $19.2 million and Whiteside has a player option in his contract for next season worth $27.1 million. They have until June 29 to make a decision.
“It’s a lot of factors,” Dragic said last week of his decision. “My family, where they feel comfortable. Me, where I’m going to feel comfortable. Winning. Everything. Where I feel that they want me, so it’s a lot of stuff. But like I said, I’m happy here in Miami. I told that to Pat [Riley] and everybody, so we’ll see.”
Whiteside said in April: “I’m definitely going to weigh my options. It’s definitely a decision I got to make and do the best for me. I feel like if I’m playing, I’m going to produce, so it will take care of itself.”
In the unlikely scenario that one or even both decide to opt out of their player options for next season, the Heat likely still wouldn’t have enough cap space for a max-level player. Players with six or fewer years of NBA experience could sign a max deal with a starting salary of about $27.25 million this summer, players with seven to nine years would have a first-year max salary of about $32.7 million, and players with 10 or more years can sign a max deal starting at about $38.15 million.
Here are the different Heat salary-cap permutations if Dragic and/or Whiteside opt out of their player options for next season:
(Note: Excluding cap holds, the Heat’s 2019-20 payroll (factoring in Anderson’s likely release) is at about $134 million. That includes the four players (Derrick Jones Jr., Yante Maten, Duncan Robinson, Kendrick Nunn) who don’t have their full 2019-20 salaries guaranteed yet. It also includes Dragic and Whiteside. But it doesn’t account for an allocation for the Heat’s first-round draft pick this year.
The projected salary-cap threshold for next season is $109 million and the projected luxury-tax threshold for next season is about $132 million.)
If only Dragic opts out of his $19.2 million player option for next season, the Heat’s payroll would be reduced to about $115 million. That still leaves Miami above the projected $109 million salary cap, but brings it below the $132 million luxury tax line.
If only Whiteside opts out of his $27.1 million player option for next season, the Heat’s payroll would be reduced to about $107 million. That pushes Miami about $2 million below the projected $109 million salary cap, but that’s not close to enough to make a major move in free agency this offseason.
If Dragic and Whiteside both opt out of their player options, it would eliminate about $46 million from the books for next season. The Heat’s payroll would be at about $88 million. That gives Miami about $21 million in cap space, which is not enough to sign a max player.
If the Heat then waives and stretches Anderson’s contract before July 10 to cut his cap hit to $5.2 million in each of the next three seasons, the Heat would open about $28 million in cap space this summer when also accounting for the 2019 first-round pick’s salary. That would be just enough to sign a player with six years or fewer of NBA experience to a max deal.
Of course, the Heat could make additional moves to free space if Dragic and/or Whiteside inform the Heat they will opt out of their contracts for next season. But opening max-level space will be a challenge, which is why the 2020 and 2021 offseasons are still the most realistic for the Heat to make significant changes.
Anthony Chiang: 305-376-4991, @Anthony_Chiang