With all the anticipation of the frenzied NBA free agency period, there are constant discussions about the Heat’s potential moves, some spoken in certainties and some completely hypothetical.

With agents and teams allowed to talk deals as of Wednesday and team facilities opening up to players beginning Thursday, those conversations have only become more intense.

At the heart of all the Heat-related conversations are a pair of players who have literally given up millions to be here, one in particular who has done it more than once and has been the heart and soul of the team almost the entirety of his time with the organization.

The names Udonis Haslem and Mike Miller have been floated around of late as potential pieces leaving the Heat, whether in a trade, or in the case of Miller, by simply being waived to take advantage of the financial flexibility it would offer the Heat to complete its roster.

It seems like a typical offseason basketball discussion to weigh the benefits of moving either one of them for the sake of bettering the team, especially this team that has such high expectations, not only for this season but for several seasons to follow.

But these two players create an entirely different dialogue, one with concepts that can’t be measured in points, rebounds, blocked shots or charges taken: loyalty and sacrifice.

The simple question is this: How would it be viewed if the Heat waived or traded either Miller or Haslem, or both, for the sake of significantly improving a roster that was already championship level.

Under normal circumstances, no one would ever question the reason of such moves because the goal of every franchise is to improve, with loyalty and nostalgia only considered mental roadblocks toward the ultimate goal.

But in the case of these two, there would appear to be a particularly cold, almost heartless element to the Heat ridding itself of either.

Recall that Miller gave up millions from other suitors, most notably the Knicks, to play in Miami for the chance to get past the first round of the playoffs for the first time in his career.

On top of that, Miller, who had long been a target of Pat Riley’s, was also excited about the prospect of playing alongside his college teammate Haslem, who he reached an NCAA title game with at Florida in 2000.

Trade chips

Toss in the fact that Miller struggled through an injury-plagued season that allowed him to play in only half the regular season, but was at his best in the final two rounds of the playoffs, and you create a sympathetic figure who would very likely feel like a victim of the indifferent business practices of the NBA.

He didn’t get his ring. He didn’t get a chance to play without pain. And he very likely will be dismissed altogether because dropping his $5.4 million salary for next season would allow the Heat more wiggle room under the NBA’s new de facto hard salary cap that begins at $4 million over the luxury tax threshold.

Based on fan expectation, it’s easy to say Miller underperformed in his first and possibly last year with the Heat, but it would still require a significant upgrade to make fans OK with the idea that he was so easily expendable.

It would likely take a Shane Battier or Tayshaun Prince to replace Miller for most to overlook the fact that Miller made such sacrifices to play here — sacrifices that were the theme to the entire 2010-11 season for the Heat, the Band of Brothers who fought off constant criticism to reach the championship round.