Free-agency options abound with $38 million in cap space
The Miami Heat will have options when it comes to free agency.
The Heat can spend most of their money on a free agent looking for max money. They can choose to go all in on their own free agents. They can opt for a combination: bring back one of their free agents and sign another who could fifill a starting role.
So which direction is the most likely?
F r o m @ A s h e r Wi l d - Man6: After the so-called “whales” are signed, can’t Miami — with the cap space they have — set the tone for who gets what in free agency? In other words, after Gordon (Hayward), B l a ke ( G r i f f i n ) , ( Kyl e ) L owry, t hose g uys a re signed, wouldn’t Miami have the most money left to sign guys they want in “their” range of what they want to pay? Can anyone other than Miami really give ( Dion) Waiters Luol Deng money this year? It seems Miami has the upper hand in free agency.
The Heat are projected to have around 38 million in cap space once Chris Bosh is off the books. The only team expected to have more is Philadelphia. Teams will fifind ways to add space, but the problem is there just are not that many “whales” that will be worth pursuing and many of those will re-sign with their old team, eating up most of their cap room. So, yes, once those elite players are gone and assuming the Heat do not sign a player like Gordon Hayward or Blake Griffiffin, Miami will be in great shape.
Miami will have plenty of options when it comes to the non-max players, starting with making offffffffffffers to their own free agents, James Johnson and/or Dion Waiters. If either receives an offffffffffffer that the Heat are not willing to match, players like Danilo Gallinari or Serge Ibaka could become options.
As for Waiters, I still believe somebody is willing to offffffffffffer him a nice four-year deal, and maybe even for $18 million a year like Deng got from the Lakers last season. My guess is the market will start at $15 million a year for Waiters, but he’ll sign for more whether it’s with Miami or somewhere else. Remem- ber, it only takes one.
From @ChrisHypeTrain: Is there a better chance the Heat spend their money on a max free agent or on re-signing Dion Waiters and JJ?
How about both? OK, that might be a stretch. But signing one max free agent like Gordon Hayward and re-signing James Johnson is possible, although it would take some creative salary- cap maneuvering by GM Andy Elisburg.
But the more likely scenario is the Heat re-sign both Waiters and Johnson and then fifind a solid rotational player with the remaining money, especially because there won’t be many franchise-altering superstars on the market. Of course, there is the possibilit y that one of the two re-signs, which could still leave the Heat with $20 to $24 million to add a high-quality starter.