From free agency to trade rumors to draft picks, the offseason is about to pick up for the Heat. Let's unpack some of what to look out for until the 2022-23 season begins in the fall.
The NBA Draft
Before we get into hypotheticals, let's cover what is definitely happening: the NBA Draft on June 23. Heat fans are excused if they had no idea about this because the team rarely participates.The Heat currently holds the 27th overall selection. This late first-round slot usually translates to a fringe-rotation player at best and a G-League prospect at worst. Knowing Pat Riley the team is more likely to select a solid player from a bigger school than an unknown European or small school star.
Duncan Robinson
It's unclear what the Heat's priorities are this offseason, but unloading a seldom-used player with a $90 million dollar contract should be one of them. Duncan Robinson fell out of the rotation in the playoffs, but he had been benched for Max Strus long before that. His defense is suspect at best and, for a long time, his shooting hasn't been at the caliber that made him a must-sign player last offseason.Trading Robinson won't be easy, but we've seen much more difficult players with worse contracts sent packing. If Hassan Whiteside can be traded, anyone can be traded.
Salary Cap Constraints
The Heat find themselves with very little money to spend this offseason after securing Bam Adebayo, Jimmy Butler, and Kyle Lowry to deals that guarantee the trio more than $90 million dollars next season. If Miami wants to make a major move it'll cost them to add an additional max-contract level star.Free Agents
If the Heat does not have much money to spend on players that weren't on the 2022 team, how much do they have to spend on players that were on the 2022 team? Also not much.P.J. Tucker, Victor Oladipo, Caleb Martin, and Dewayne Dedmon are all free agents this offseason, and the team will badly need the return of at least one of these players to re-sign, if not a few. In Tucker's case, he has a player option he's likely to opt-out of in hopes of scoring one last deal late in his career.
It's entirely possible both Tucker and Oladipo will be starters in Miami next season. Over the next few months, there'll be a lot of attention on whether the Heat can make a deal that will secure either of them.
Tyler Herro's Future
Tyler Herro is up for a rookie deal extension, and negotiations might be dicey since he's coming off winning the Sixth Man of the Year award.Could Herro be part of a sign-and-trade deal that rids the team of Duncan Robinson's contract and brings the team a star like Utah's Donovan Mitchell? Since the Heat is more offensively challenged, this is the leading rumor in the clubhouse, and would make a lot of sense.
