Potential free agent replacements for James Johnson
By Simon Smith
Decision Time
Determining Johnson’s value could be one the larger sticking points with the Heat’s negotiations this offseason.
At age 30, this upcoming deal is most likely to be Johnson’s last opportunity to snap up a lucrative deal. On a recent episode of the Dan Le Batard Show on ESPN Radio, ESPN’s Zach Lowe predicted the Heat would offer a two-year deal in the $25-28 million range.
The caveat though will arrive when an opposing team presents a three or even four-year proposal to Johnson. Considering Johnson’s journeyman status up until this point of his career, it’d be hard to blame him if he accepted such a deal.
If that were to happen, the Heat would need to target a player and move quickly.
It is quite clear that while Riley is still in charge, the Heat will be in win-now mode. And from the players mentioned above, the player that would make the most sense is Gallinari.
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From an immediate upside point of view, Gallinari ticks the most boxes. At 28, Gallinari will be at his peak in the coming few years. If the Heat were able to bring back their other big name free agent in Dion Waiters, a quartet of Goran Dragic, Whiteside, Waiters and Gallinari would present head coach Erik Spoelstra with some serious offensive firepower.
However, as alluded to earlier, acquiring Gallinari certainly won’t come cheap. That could be the price in not re-signing Johnson sooner rather than later.