In a bid to create future salary cap space, here are three trade possibilities the Miami Heat could explore for guard Tyler Johnson.
Even in the moment, the signing of Tyler Johnson to a four-year, $50 million contract in the summer of 2016 seemed like a questionable move for the Miami Heat. The main point of contention with the deal was the “poison pill” inserted in the original offer sheet from the Brooklyn Nets, whereby Johnson would receive $38.5 million over the final two years of the deal.
In determining that Johnson was worthy of retaining at that rate, the Heat were clearly placing enormous faith in Johnson, with the hope that he would potentially grow into the type of player who could justify that salary. Overall, Johnson has been solid since signing the extension, averaging 12.7 points in 29.2 minutes per game over 145 regular season appearances.
Truly a combo guard, Johnson possesses the ability to play both on and off the ball, and has shot a commendable 36.9 percent from 3-point range over this two-season span. While this represents terrific return for a player earning an average $5.8 million, the reality of the situation now really bites the Heat front office, with Johnson’s pay packet set to skyrocket.
For the 2018-19 season, the two highest-paid players on the Heat are currently center Hassan Whiteside and Johnson. With Whiteside enduring an up-and-down season, tying down such an exorbitant amount of money for what are essentially two role players is extremely difficult to justify.
Therefore, it would be clearly prudent of the Heat front office to try to slash future salary by moving either player for expiring deals, even if the return is far from ideal.
With this in mind, here are three potential landing spots for Johnson this offseason.