Photo Credit: Mark Runyon, Basketball Schedule
Come midnight Eastern Time, the free agency frenzy will begin and teams will be free to negotiate with whichever players they so desire. For the Miami Heat, however, it promises to be a quiet affair with most of the 2012-13 squad returning.
In addition to this, the reigning champions barely have any room to maneuver as they will be way over the salary cap for next season.
With Ray Allen ($3.22 million), Rashard Lewis ($1.3 million) and James Jones ($1.5 million) all choosing to stick around for one more run, as well as picking up the team options on the inconsistent duo of Mario Chalmers($4 million) and Norris Cole($1.2 million), the Heat’s payroll for next year will be just more than$85 million.
And with the harsh luxury tax penalties under the current collective bargaining agreement (CBA), Miami will be almost shackled when going about their free agency business.
(Photo by Keith Allison/Flickr.com)
As good as the 2012-13 team was, it will be tough to repeat in 2014 with the same roster. Team president , Pat Riley will have to work his magic in order to lure players over to South Beach, although, even I’m a bit skeptical since he only has $3 million in mid-level exception money to work with.
However, Riley does have some things going in his favor: The beautiful Miami weather, the stunning beaches and no state income tax. Oh, and a chance to compete for an NBA title; that doesn’t sound too bad to me.
Sure, Miami doesn’t have much wiggle room, but this wouldn’t be the first time Riley convinced a player or two to take a pay cut to play in South Beach.
The Heat’s priority will be re-signing big man Chris Andersen, who arguably became the one of the franchise’s best ever mid-season signings following a couple of 10 day contracts back in January.
The “Birdman” was the energizer bunny for the NBA’s best team, bringing a spark of the bench and making a major contribution in all aspects of the game.
Offensively, he wasn’t a liability like Joel Anthony, shooting an NBA record 80 percent during the postseason.
His shot-blocking prowess and defensive intensity led to him swatting away or altering any shots that came his way, while his toughness enabled him to fight for rebounds and help Miami’s woeful rebounding which was the worst in the association.
And in the Eastern Conference Finals, Andersen was instrumental in Erik Spoelstra’s efforts to corral the dominant Roy Hibbert.
Riley told the Miami Herald that when the team gather again in late September, he hopes that “14 of the of the roster spots will be filled by players who were under contract in the 2012-13 season (including Andersen) – the one exception being Juwan Howard, who will likely be replaced by a free agent.
That free agent could be center Greg Oden who has played just 82 games in his injury-filled five-year pro career.
Greg Oden is famous for never being famous. Could he redeem himself in a Miami Heat uniform? (Photo: commons.wikimedia.org)
Sure, Oden is coming off a chronic battle with knee injuries and he will be an injury risk every time he gets even the slightest bit of contact. However, that will just mean he will be available at a low price, thus making him a great low-risk, high-reward player. Moreover, due to Miami’s need for quality depth at the 5 spot, it would be a hand-in-glove fit for both parties.
Having said that, as mentioned before, Miami is practically offering pennies at this point and might lose out on Oden and even Andersen if another team were to offer a more lucrative deal.
The Heat could alleviate some of their salary cap pressure with the use of the amnesty clause, possibly on Mike Miller, who is scheduled to make $12 million over the next two seasons. The move could save Miami millions because teams that exceed the luxury tax threshold no longer have a dollar-for-dollar penalty and keeping Miller’s $12.8 million on the books until 2015 could cost owner Micky Arison roughly $20 million or more. But then again, he won’t be complaining if there’s another title or two in there.
Pat Riley has also nipped that idea at the bud, stating that: “Unless I get a mandate . . . we haven’t talked about it.”
Besides, there are other options out there like Samuel Dalembert and former Heat player Jermaine O’Neal to address their underwhelming frontcourt.