Mailbag: Is patience the best approach for the Heat this offseason?
The Miami Herald Heat mailbag is here to answer your questions.
If you weren’t able to ask one this time, send your questions for future mailbags via Twitter (@Anthony_Chiang). You can also email me at achiang@miamiherald.com.
Kevin: Isn’t the Heat’s best plan just to stick to the plan and remain patient? I don’t get all the talk about making a splash this summer.
Anthony Chiang: I haven’t heard much talk about the Heat’s big splash. The fact is not only is the Heat capped out, but it’s also above the luxury tax threshold. To make any type of significant change, it would very likely have to come through a trade.
As for your actual question, yes. It’s not the popular take, but remaining patient and preserving maximum salary cap flexibility for the summers of 2020 and 2021 is probably the way to go. Things change drastically, though, if the Heat somehow has the opportunity to add a top-tier player through a trade. That’s worth sacrificing future cap flexibility and assets to obtain. Which players fall into the “top-tier” category? That’s another question that only the Heat can answer. Beauty, and in this case talent level, is in the eye of the beholder.
But here’s the question to ask to find that answer: Does the trade to acquire that player lift you into contention for a top four seed in the Eastern Conference? For example, would a sign-and-trade deal that would send Josh Richardson and Kelly Olynyk to the 76ers for Jimmy Butler immediately lift the Heat into contention for home court in the first round of the playoffs? If you think the answer is yes and the trade doesn’t completely erase Miami’s cap flexibility during the next few years, then do it. If you think the answer is no, remain patient.
@LesterRocque: The Heat is in a hard place right now. Do you think Pat Riley will deal one of the young core members to get say a Jimmy Butler?
Anthony: That’s a tough question. Would Butler help the Heat? Of course. But the concern is the years on the contract the Heat would likely need to give Butler, who is eligible to sign a four-year, $141 million deal with Miami this summer. That would mean paying Butler more than $30 million at age 33, and it would obviously eat into the Heat’s future cap flexibility.
But even if Butler wants to come to the Heat as a free agent this offseason, it’s not going to be easy to get a deal done. Miami is capped out and would very likely need Philadelphia to agree to a sign-and-trade for Butler to end up with the Heat. The challenge with a sign-and-trade is it would leave the Heat hard capped, which could be an issue considering the team’s current cap situation.
This story was originally published June 28, 2019 at 11:48 AM.
