Nunn’s return to lineup lifts free-agency salary status
The injuries that have Goran Dragic and Avery Bradley out of the Miami Heat mix, as well as the injury that previously sidelined Tyler Herro, have provided a potential significant payoff for guard Kendrick Nunn.
After starting 67 games last season, Nunn entered this season needing seven starts to qualify for a higher qualifying offer as a restricted free agent this offseason. With Dragic and Bradley left behind in South Florida with injuries, that seventh start came in Monday night’s 125-118 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers at Staples Center.
Under the NBA’s “starter’s criteria” program for players who exceed their draft status or signed as an undrafted free agent, a player who starts at least half his team’s games either the season before entering restricted free agency or an average of half his team’s games for the two seasons prior to free agency, his qualifying offer increases to a level as if he was drafted or drafted higher.
For Nunn, who went undrafted out of Oakland University in 2018, it means that in order for the Heat to retain the right to match outside offers this summer, he now must receive a qualifying offer of $4.7 million rather than the $2.1 million offer for an undrafted player the failed to meet the criteria.
Teammate Duncan Robinson reached the same criteria earlier this season after, like Nunn, playing most of last season as a starter.
For Robinson and Nunn, the starter’s criteria rewards them with the same qualifying offer as if they were drafted No. 21 in 2018.
For the Heat, that means in order to match outside offers to Robinson and Nunn, it trims $5.2 million from their potential offseason cap space.
The Heat could regain that cap space by removing the qualifying offers to Robinson and Nunn and instead utilizing a cap hold of $1.7 million for each in the offseason. Such an approach would be made with an implied agreement that neither would accept an outside offer sheet and eventually re-sign with the Heat as an unrestricted free agent.
Both Robinson and Nunn have Bird Rights with the Heat that would allow them to be signed above the salary cap up to their respective maximum salaries.
Although he has been in and out of the Heat lineup since they went into the Disney World quarantine bubble last summer, retaining Nunn could prove necessary next summer if the Heat bypass their 2021-22 team options on Dragic and Bradley.
The issue would become moot if the Heat opt to operate above the salary cap in the 2021 offseason and instead retain players with team options on their contracts, such as Dragic, Bradley and Andre Iguodala, and then augment the roster through salary-cap exceptions, similar to how the Heat added Bradley and Moe Harkless this past offseason.
Nunn and Robinson are among five players who this season have met starter’s criteria for higher 2021 offseason free-agency qualifying offers, joining Lonzo Ball, Devonte’ Graham and Jared Allen, who also clinched the threshold Monday night. Hawks forward John Collins soon also will reach the threshold.
Robinson and Nunn will continue to count at $1.7 million on the Heat’s books this season.
For Nunn, Monday night’s six-point performance against the Clippers ended his streak of 12 consecutive games scoring in double figures, which tied his career best. Robinson also struggled in Monday’s loss, closing 5 of 13 from the field and 3 of 11 on 3-pointers. Both players spent most of the game in foul trouble.
Next up for the Heat is a Wednesday night nationally televised game against the Golden State Warriors at the Chase Center.
Golden State has won three of its last four games, including a 129-98 Monday night rout of the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers.