Miami fans were not expecting anything impressive coming from the lottery. In fact, there was no reason to be disappointed when they got their predicted 13th pick. Sure, Heat fans can moan how the Pels and the Griz were able to jump up higher, but thats not the worst thing. In fact, even when looking over Miami’s lottery, I still think they kind of wish the could have swapper places with the Celtics for the 14th pick. Why? Well, the worst part about having this pick is that they can’t it.
With the salary cap being set at $109 million for the 2019-2020 season, the $129.6 million the Heat are expected to pay is well above, and that is without them D Wade and Haslem retiring, putting them at 10 active players on their roster. A rookie drafted in the thirteenth pick is given a backloaded 4 year, roughly $12.1 million contract. This means the eleventh player will add an additional $2.2 million to their books, and this is before they will, more than likely, go up to a 13-15 man roster.
Talk about a rough situation.
However, they can easily trade out of a few of those contracts. Josh Richardson is viewed as the best value contract in the NBA right now, and Kelly Olynk’s contract is not heinous. A title contender would/could acquire those guys in a heartbeat if it meant getting them over the edge (lookin’ at you Blazers and Raptors). However, what would they get back in return? Josh is borderline untradeable since he is the best player on the Heat, but Kelly would probably net a low level pick and an expiring contract back.
…but why?
The Heat are in a great place to acquire either a wing shooter, athletic wing, or a big. Which would be great if that is what they needed. The Heat desperately need a point guard, since they had Justice Winslow and Josh Richardson splitting those reps whenever Goran Dragic was hurt or resting. A few mocks has them slated to get Romeo Langford, Nassir Little, or Kevin Porter, Jr. I only see one that could be a viable option to be a backup point guard, and I can guarantee it isn’t the one some fans want to hear. Since all three are 6’6″ , have to use athleticism and ball-handling skills as the metric. Nassir Little is the best via film, since he may be the most athletic out of the three. However, KPJ may have the biggest upside of the three, so that may be a push internally with the evaluation process the Heat have shown these past few years.
If the Heat were smart, they would try and leverage the 13th pick and a player or two to move up. While I am sure the Hawks will be looking to move up themselves, I would find it hard to believe that they would turn down Josh Richardson for the 8th or 10th pick. I don’t know if that’d be the right move for the organization, but it would wipe a lot of money off of their books, and I am sure a team like the Thunder would gladly take Olynk and give up a pick to do so. The Heat are in a great position to leverage some of their contracts for picks, so I hope they can do that and get out of the tax.
May be asking: what’s the worst case scenario for all us Heat fans out there in the world, Buck?
Easy. Y’all draft Bol Bol.
Enjoy that trash medical and the fact he’ll back up the biggest contract waste in the NBA.
