Miami Heat Roundtable: It’s all about LeBron James

How do you think the front office should go about making room for James, if he were interested in returning?

Tachauer: Um, however they can? Realistically, it’s going to take a lot of maneuvering to be able to even think about fitting James back into the Miami roster though, despite having an incredibly savvy front office.

Nurse: The front office cannot touch Wade if they want James back, and they shouldn’t dangle Richardson. Everyone else could be part of the fire sale.

Slater: From a purely financial standpoint, the Heat are in a tricky situation should James give them a commitment to return because, of course, not only is the goal to acquire him but to also surround him with elite talent much like they did in 2010. The Heat lack elite talent to compete with a team like Golden State, so making room will require a number of moves that involve the following players: Hassan Whiteside, Tyler Johnson, Dragic and James Johnson. Those will be the four highest paid players next season and moving any combination of those four (while not taking on additional money, which is the tricky part) would be at the top of the priority list. The issue the Heat have this time around is their lack of draft picks to trade, which would typically soften the amount of money they’d take back in a trade. To acquire James in 2010, the Heat and Cavaliers agreed to a sign and trade where they received four future draft picks. That option is not possible this time around, although a potential sign and trade could also include the aforementioned players, assuming the Cavaliers are willing to work with the Heat. That remains wildly unlikely.

Gewirtz: If James was interested in returning to the Heat by the longshot that it is, the Heat would obviously have to dump some contracts. Who that would come down to is difficult to tell, but with Whiteside’s contract and Tyler Johnson’s large raise this upcoming season, it would probably involve something with at least one of them, unless James was willing to take a lot less money.

Mora: First get rid of big contracts to free up space to sign James. But it wouldn’t end there. They need to entice him. Re-sign Wade and sell the idea of first playing next to Dragic and Dion Waiters, and the excitement of having a solid young core in Justise Winslow and Richardson. It might not be enough, but it could be worth a shot. He did win in Miami and they could have a chance if given the opportunity.

Johnson: Sell everything. I’ve grown attached to this group of Heat players, and I’d hate to see them fall off the way the Cavaliers did this year. James needs a specific set of teammates to be successful and keeping Miami’s core intact with him might do more harm than good. Of course, seeing Bam Adebayo or Tyler Johnson finish an alley-oop off a James dime would be amazing, but I’m not sure this Heat core is up to the challenge of supporting basketball royalty.

Keaton: First, I think they’d have to get he and Riley in a room together alone, to just air out some grievances rooted in how he left. Then they’re going to have to move a couple of guys, probably two or three of Whiteside/Winslow/The Brothers Johnson. Lastly, they’d probably have to ensure that Wade and Udonis Haslem return.