Lots of decisions, not much cash left
Heat have 2 roster spots to fill with tax looming
With last week’s signing of Wayne Ellington, the Miami Heat entered the highermath portion of NBA free agency. And, still, several elements of their offseason equation remain.
There are at least two roster spots to fill. There are five remaining free agents from last season’s roster.
And there still are three salary-cap exceptions that can be put into play.
All the while there is the pesky luxury tax that the team traditionally only has been willing to pay when positioned to contend for a championship.
At the moment, in the wake of the $6.3 million agreement with Ellington for 2018-19, the Heat payroll is at $127 million, with a 1.5 dollar-for-dollar tax kicking in for the first $5 million a team spends in payroll above the $123.7 million 2018-19 NBA tax line.
The penalty increases to 1.75 dollar-fordollar penalty for exceeding $128.7 million, which, at the moment, appears almost assured.
Almost — because the luxury tax is not computed until season’s end, leaving the Heat with time to shed salary and get below the tax, which the team did in 2015-16.
“We all know what the accounting situation is with us,” Heat President Pat Riley said of the luxury tax as the Heat headed into free agency.
It is why the Heat might prove especially reluctant to utilize much in the way of salary-cap exception money — exceed the tax line by more than $10 million in salary and the tax rises to 2.5 dollars for each dollar in payroll above that threshold.
The roster
At the moment, the Heat have 12 players
under guaranteed contract for 2018-19:
Center Hassan Whiteside: $25.4 million
Guard Tyler Johnson: $19.2 million
Guard Goran Dragic:
$18.1 million
Forward James Johnson: $14.7 million
Guard Dion Waiters: $11.6 million
Center Kelly Olynyk: $11.1 million
Forward Josh Richardson: $9.4 million
Guard Wayne Ellington: $6.3 million
Forward Justise Winslow: $3.4 million
Center Bam Adebayo: $3 million
Guard Rodney McGruder: $1.5 million
Forward Derrick Jones
Jr.: $1.5 million
(Forward Duncan Robinson, signed to a two-way contract, which is limited to 45 days in the NBA per season, does not count against the regular-season 15-player roster limit or the salary cap, which his deal maxing out in the $275,000 range, depending on days of NBA service.)
Teams are required to carry at least 14 players, while occasionally allowed to drop to 13. Because of their tax situation, it is possible the Heat go with less than the roster maximum.
The free agents
Five players remain free
agents for the Heat’s 2017-18 season-ending roster.
Dwyane Wade: The ball remains in his court, with an open invitation to extend the roster encore he made with his Feb. 8 return.
While he is eligible for the $2.3 million veteran minimum for a player with 10 or more seasons of NBA tenure, the belief is he will seek the $5.3 million midlevel exception the Heat hold as a team operating above the luxury-tax threshold. Any decision above the minimum (which would only count at $1.5 million again the salary cap) could significantly impact the Heat’s tax liability.
Udonis Haslem: The talk has quieted of moving elsewhere, perhaps even overseas, to gain playing time.
Instead, it likely will come down another season, at the $2.3 million NBA minimum, with Riley emphasis that the door is open for a return at age 38.
Luke Babbitt: The Heat’s other reunion at the Feb. 8 trading deadline proved to be a limited engagement, with Babbitt barely utilized during his second Heat tenure following some breakout moments in 2016-17.
Babbitt could do no better than half of a minimum guarantee from the Atlanta Hawks during last summer’s free agency, when he did not sign until Aug. 9, and figures to again find himself on hold.
Jordan Mickey: The Heat bypassed Mickey’s $1.6 million 2018-19 option by their June deadline, with not a word heard about the power forward since. Then again, he was not signed by the Heat until August 20 last year.
Derrick Walton Jr.: The Heat last week pulled Walton’s $50,000 guarantee for a 2018-19 two-way contract, making a second season with the franchise unlikely.
The exceptions
Mid-level: As a team into the luxury tax, the Heat have access to a $5.3 million mid-level exception. At their current tax level, signing a player to such a 2018-19 salary would result in an additional $8.5 million tax penalty.
Bi-annual: This is a $3.4 million exception that teams are not allowed to utilize in successive seasons. It is highly unlikely, if not impossible, that the Heat utilizes this exception because it results in a team then being hard-capped for the season at $129.8 million.
Trade: The Heat have a $1.3 million trade exception from the Okaro White trade to the Atlanta Hawks that can be utilized in a trade until Feb. 8. The minimal value makes it unlikely it would be put into play.