Busy stretch ahead for Heat, as it works to build roster around Giannis. Young’s option declined
It has been a busy week for the Miami Heat.
The Heat’s week began by agreeing to a blockbuster trade for two-time NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo on Monday night, and then continued when it selected Louisville three-point shooting guard Ryan Conwell in the second round of the NBA Draft on Wednesday.
But the Heat still has plenty of work to do to round out its roster around Antetokounmpo and three-time NBA All-Star Bam Adebayo for next season.
Here’s a rundown of the important roster dates and deadlines to know for the days and months ahead ...
Sunday: If guard Dru Smith is still on the Heat’s roster on Sunday, his full $2.6 million salary for this upcoming season will become guaranteed.
With the Heat sending out guards Tyler Herro and Kasparas Jakucionis as part of the trade for Antetokounmpo, retaining Smith as a depth player would make sense for the Heat.
At a minimum salary, Smith brings value as a guard who was a consistent member of the Heat’s rotation for most of last season. Smith, 28, played in 70 games for the Heat this past season.
Monday: This will be a busy day.
First, this is the deadline for veteran forward Andrew Wiggins to make a decision on his $30.2 million player option in his Heat contract for next season. If Wiggins exercises the option, he will return to the Heat on a $30.2 million expiring salary for this upcoming season and will also immediately be eligible to be traded.
Wiggins could also bypass the $30.2 million player option and renegotiate his deal into a longer contract with a lower starting salary. This would give the Heat, which is currently hard-capped at the first apron threshold, more room under to the first apron to fill out its roster.
Wiggins’ other option is to simply opt out, become an unrestricted free agent and sign elsewhere.
Wiggins also has until Monday to negotiate an extension that can be worth up to $177 million over four seasons. The extension can replace Wiggins’ $30.2 million option year with a lower salary and more guaranteed years attached to it, or even be tacked on to his $30.2 million option year with lower salaries in the coming seasons.
Monday was also the deadline for the Heat to make a decision on the $2.4 million team option in guard Jahmir Young’s contract for next season, but the Heat made that decision a few days early on Friday to decline the option in Young’s deal. Young will now become an unrestricted free agent, and it’s unclear if he will still be on the Heat’s summer league roster.
Young, 25, spent most of last season on the Heat’s G League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce. He was named to the All-NBA G League Second Team last season.
The Heat also has until Monday to extend qualifying offers to forward Keshad Johnson, center Vlad Goldin and guard Trevor Keels. While Johnson closed last season on a standard deal with the Heat, Goldin and Keels ended the season on two-way contracts with Miami.
A qualifying offer allows the Heat to match outside offers for those players in free agency. If no qualifying offer is extended, those players would become unrestricted free agents this summer and the Heat would not have the right to match outside offers in free agency.
Tuesday: Leaguewide free agent negotiations can begin at 6 p.m.
The Heat is currently operating above the salary cap and is hard-capped at the first apron of $209 million for the entire 2026-27 NBA calendar that begins Wednesday.
This means the Heat currently has only minimum contracts, the $5.5 million biannual exception and the $15.1 million non-taxpayer midlevel exception to offer outside free agents up until the first apron. The Heat still has four to five roster spots to fill and is less than $20 million away from the first apron.
The three players on the Heat’s season-ending 15-man standard roster set to enter free agency this summer are Norman Powell (unrestricted free agent), Simone Fontecchio (unrestricted free agent) and Keshad Johnson (restricted free agent). Wiggins would also become an unresticted free agent this offseason if he bypasses his player option prior to Monday’s deadline.
This is also the deadline for the Heat to sign Powell to an extension worth as much as $128.5 million over four years. Powell will become an unrestricted free agent if there’s no extension.
This is also the first day that first-round draft picks can sign their rookie contracts. Minimum contracts (two years or fewer) and two-way contracts can also be signed starting this day.
In addition, offer sheets can start being extended to restricted free agents and restricted free agents can begin signing those offer sheets starting this day.
Third- and fourth-year rookie options for the 2027-28 season can also begin being exercised.
And teams can begin signing second-round picks using the second-round pick exception.
July 3: The start of NBA summer leagues, with the Heat opening its summer league schedule at the California Classic in San Francisco at 8 p.m. against the San Antonio Spurs’ summer roster.
July 6: The NBA’s free-agent moratorium is lifted at 12:01 p.m., allowing all free-agent agreements to be officially signed and trades based on the 2026-27 league calendar to become formalized. In addition, rookie-scale and veteran contracts can become extended and the clock on offer sheets begins on this day.
This is when the Heat’s trade for Antetokounmpo can become official, too.
Earlier this week, the Heat agreed to send Herro, center Kel’el Ware, forward Jaime Jaquez Jr., Jakucionis, three first-round picks, one pick swap and one second-rounder to the Milwaukee Bucks to acquire Antetokounmpo and veteran forward Bobby Portis.
This is also the first day that the Heat can hold an introductory news conference for Antetokounmpo.
July 9: The start of Las Vegas Summer League, which will feature the summer rosters (draft picks and free agents trying out for the league) for all 30 NBA teams.
The Heat will, like every NBA team, play at least five games at Las Vegas Summer League that will be held from July 9-19 (all times Eastern): vs. Milwaukee Bucks on July 10 at 4 p.m. on Prime, vs. Orlando Magic on July 11 at 3:30 p.m. on Prime, vs. Cleveland Cavaliers on July 13 at 8 p.m. on Prime, vs. Toronto Raptors on July 16 at 9 p.m. on ESPN2, and the fifth game will either be played on July 17, 18 or 19 with the opponent and game time determined later. Only the two teams that make the championship game will play a sixth game in Las Vegas Summer League.
July 13: This is the final day for teams to withdraw qualifying offers from restricted free agents to make them unrestricted free agents. The only Heat players who could have qualifying offers this offseason are Goldin, Johnson and/or Keels.
August 29: This is the final day in the 2026-27 league calendar for NBA teams to waive and apply the stretch provision on a player.
The stretch provision allows for a team to create salary-cap relief by waiving a player and stretching his remaining salary on the salary cap twice the number of years remaining on the player’s contract plus one year.
This story was originally published June 26, 2026 at 11:33 AM.
