Does free agent Chandler Parsons make sense for the Miami Heat?

After opting out of his contract, Chandler Parsons could be a good fit for the Miami Heat.

Chandler Parsons will be an unrestricted free agent this summer after opting out of the final year of his contract, ESPN reports.

"Chandler Parsons will follow through on his plans to become a free agent despite Mavs owner Mark Cuban’s attempts to convince him to opt in for the final season of his three-year, $46 million contract. With the salary cap spiking to a projected $94 million this summer, Parsons’ camp expects him to receive a significant raise in free agency."

Parsons is a versatile forward who can play both the 3 and 4, shoot, handle the ball, rebound and defend. By all accounts, he’s a good locker room presence.

For all these reasons, Parsons will be a heavily sought after free agent this summer. Especially as NBA teams look to load up on versatile wings.

So should the Heat make a play for Parsons, a Florida native?

Contract

Parsons opted out of a deal that would have paid him $16 million next season. With the cap spiking to a projected $94 million, Parsons could very well make three or four million more next season.

Parsons will be looking to sign a max deal, and plenty of teams have the cap room now to make that happen.

The Heat, however, don’t. Not with the expected returns of Dwyane Wade and Hassan Whiteside on similar deals.

Creating Cap Room

But what if the Heat make cap room? They could do that by trading Goran Dragic and Josh McRoberts and using that cap space (assuming they don’t take much, if any, back) on Parsons. But that would reflect a shift in Miami’s thinking, and an affinity for the relatively unknown Parsons over the known quantity of Dragic (who they traded two first round picks for, mind you).

The other option could be to swap Parsons for Whiteside. The Mavericks are rumored to be interested in the dominant Heat center and if Miami wants to go in a new direction, the Mavs and Heat could work out a sign-and-trade.

Unfortunately, that triggers a hard cap, but the plus side is that the Heat would be able to ask for a king’s ransom in return. A package that could include Parsons, a 2018 and/or 2020 first round pick, young players like Justin Anderson and/or Dwight Powell, and Zaza Pachulia.

The Heat could run out a more modern front court, then, of Chris Bosh (provided he is healthy), Justise Winslow and Parsons. Hey, it’s worth thinking about.

Chances: 3.5/10

It’s unclear how the Heat view Parsons, but he could be Shane Battier on steroids. Is that good enough to part with Dragic or Whiteside? I don’t know, but it’s a lot of pieces that the Heat would have to move to make it happen and they are currently more interested in re-signing Whiteside and chasing Kevin Durant.

Parsons may not wait around and decide to tag team with his friend Dwight Howard and find a team to take over. Even though the potential fashionista pairing of Wade and Parsons is enough to make runway magazine editors salivate, I don’t see it happening.