One more roster move in the offing
Personnel decision would settle team’s playoff roster
A season of seemingly never-ending personnel questions for the Miami Heat will have at least one more before the roster is settled.
Based on the team’s position below the NBA’s luxury tax, the Heat have the salary-cap resources remaining to sign one additional player for the season at the league’s veteran minimum as soon as Monday. Once such a signing is complete, the Heat will be locked into their playoff roster, unless there is a sudden change of heart in regard to the luxury tax.
In order for a player added to be eligible for the Heat’s playoff roster, he would have to meet one of three stipulations:
▪ Having been waived by his previous team no later than last Friday.
▪ Having been out of the league this entire season.
▪ Having only been on a 10-day contract, not a standard contract, after last Friday’s buyout deadline.
In all such instances, as long as such a player signed by the May 16 close of the regular season, he would be eligible for the playoffs.
While an immediate such signing on Monday would provide for four weeks of acclimation, there are advantages of bypassing an immediate move.
Foremost, such a delay would give the Heat further time to assess the status of sidelined guard Victor Oladipo, who is away from the team dealing with knee soreness, to see if a position-specific replacement for Oladipo could be needed.
Delaying such a signing also would allow the Heat to further assess the greatest area of need, particularly if an injury to another player would occur before the end of the regular season. The Heat had such a scare when Jimmy Butler rolled his right ankle in Tuesday night’s 106-86 loss to the Phoenix Suns, before the team turned its attention to Wednesday night’s game against the Denver Nuggets.
Another reason to wait might be a final round of assessments of the best available developmental player available.
Should the Heat, in the wake of last week’s addition of center Dewayne Dedmon at the veteran’s minimum, consider the roster sufficiently well rounded for the playoffs, then the final roster spot could go to a young player who could be offered a guaranteed contract for the balance of this season, and then non-guaranteed or partially guaranteed money going forward. The Heat took such an approach when they signed Kendrick Nunn on the final day of the 2018-19 season.
Paramount in the process is staying below the tax line. Teams that cross the luxury-tax threshold, this season set at $132,627 in total team payroll, three times in any four-season total, are subject to an onerous payment penalty on excessive payroll going forward. The Heat were nominally in the luxury tax last season, after avoiding it the previous five seasons. Based on the structure of their current contracts, the Heat could return to the tax as soon as next season.
Not factored into the Heat salary cap or the 15-player limit on the standard roster are two-way players Gabe Vincent and Max Strus. Among options for the final roster spot could be converting one of the two to a standard contract, in order to secure their rights going forward. Both, however, would be playoff eligible even if remaining on their two-way deals.
Among players recently released and added to the pool of available playoff-eligible players are Darius Miller, Patrick McCaw, Greg Whittington, Gary Clark, Ignas Brazdeikis, Jerome Robinson, Justin Jackson, Isaiah Thomas, Justin Patton, Terrance Ferguson, Vincent Poirier, Austin Rivers, Marquese Chriss, Jabari Parker, Jalen Lecque and Jaylen Adams.
Among veterans out of the league eligible to be signed for playoff rosters are Jeremy Lin, Thon Maker, Ian Mahinmi, Greg Monroe, Skal Labissiere, Jarrett Jack, Brandon Knight, Frank Mason, Cam Reynolds, Amir Johnson, Glenn Robinson III, JR Smith, Lance Stephenson, Jodie Meeks, Joe Johnson, Troy Daniels, Allonzo Trier, Courtney Lee, Wilson Chandler, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Allen Crabbe, Gerald Green, Kyle Korver, Jordan Crawford, Shabazz Napier and, yes, Dion Waiters, Michael Beasley and Mario Chalmers.