Miami Heat Roundtable: 2017-18 offseason staff takes

Is there anyone on the current roster you absolutely think they should try and move?

Tachauer: By now, everyone should know I’m not going to say Whiteside (sorry not sorry). I may reconsider if he has an equally turbulent 2018-19 campaign, but for now, I’m continuing to keep the faith. So if I have to pick someone, I think that moving Johnson would both be in the organization’s best interest and their best bet; shedding his salary would be of tremendous help to the Heat and he could definitely bring a unique skill-set to the table for another team.

Nurse: I think the Heat’s best chance to shred salary is to try to move Johnson into the cash slot that the Sacramento Kings have been trying to use on a shooting guard. That would get the Heat under the cap and get them one step closer to completing in next year’s offseason.

Gewirtz: If the Heat had to move someone, I think it should be Whiteside. That is a huge contract and he was unimpressive this past season, especially in the playoffs. Moving him would open up cap space and give the team more flexibility. Will it happen? I doubt it, given the contract size and the players left on the free agent market this summer.

Rahming: Most would say Johnson and with a $38.4 million price tag over the next two seasons, I wouldn’t blame you if you did. But let’s face it, we’re stuck with that contract. He hasn’t done much and no team should be willing to take that type of risk on him just yet. Our best bet would be to trade Dragic and trade him fast. Yes, you heard correctly. I’m saying trade our most recent All-Star and get some nice pieces/salary cap relief. He doesn’t fit our play style. Being ranked 27th in pace is holding him back, but he’d be ill-advised to not pick up his $19.2 million player option next summer at 33 (ouch). We should transition and allow Richardson and Winslow to take turns running the point. This would allow Dwyane Wade to impart upon Johnson the ways of being an explosive scorer, in what most would assume the next contract he signs would be his last.

Ebrahim: The obvious answer to this is Whiteside, especially based on what we saw from him in the playoffs and his exorbitant contract (the same as Anthony Davis this year). There’s a lot of bad contracts on the roster, but I think Waiters or Dragic are the only ones that would warrant not giving up draft capital or younger players.

Shofner: Of course, the obvious answer is Whiteside. He has $52.2 million remaining on his contract and fences don’t seem mendable between the team and the once formidable big man. This relationship is toxic and needs to end. The problem is that there doesn’t seem any traction in finding a suitable dancing partner to trade him. At this moment, there is no interest from other teams so the best-case scenario for the Heat would be Whiteside playing well enough to gain the attention of mid-season contending teams in need of a big man. This way, the Heat can rid themselves of him and his deal and gain valuable assets in return. I’d love to see Adebayo take over the role and see how much potential he truly has.

Next: Miami Heat 1-on-1: Is Dion Waiters an integral part of the team's success?

Let’s see what the rest of the summer will have in store for the Miami Heat.