With Dwyane Wade on his way out the door, where do the Miami Heat go from here as we look to the future of this organization?
Hard work and dedication with the ability to hustle and motivate. Phrases that have not only defined the Miami Heat organization for the past 24 years, but has been an embodiment of their last two cornerstones—Udonis Haslem and Dwyane Wade.
Unfortunately, those words also represent actions that Pat Riley is trying to convince fans—and himself—actually works without anyone elite, in a star-driven league.
As of last night, Heat fans officially said hello to the end of the Wade basketball era. Minus a playoff push or a successor to pass the torch to. Which is a reality that Miami previously experienced for a year and a half. But now this time is final.
With that said, where does that leave a team with no salary cap space or logical plans for the future?
Unless they pull off some type of miracle sign-and-trade, the Heat will not be able to compete for this summer’s stacked free agency class. And thanks to their no-tank way of thinking, the best outcome of their draft lottery odds falls between landing at No. 12-14; with a less than eight percent chance to jump to the top 4 of a weak college class.
No matter how many ways the front office wants to spin it, living in the moment did nothing to secure the post-Wade years. So again, what was their direction beyond protecting the team’s luxury tax dollars?
Ask Riley for a list of his biggest regrets, as team president, and he will tell you his main source of guilt is counting pennies when it came to paying Wade in 2014. He realized that being cutthroat with difference makers never equates to much.
No disrespect, but they cannot be treated like Mike Miller, Rodney McGruder or Mario Chalmers. Those are cap casualties.
Players who put their blood sweat and tears into the franchise–like Wade and Haslem–should always be first in line for loyalty. Wade received his on the way out and Haslem will continue to get his in the form of an open-door policy to fill out the end of the roster.
That type of loyalty does not hamper playing time or have salary cap implications. It also keeps what they call the culture around.
One could say the Heat learned their lesson after James Johnson and Dion Waiters rewarded them with mediocrity, after receiving ridiculous contracts. Or at least it looked that way with Hassan Whiteside logging zero minutes in the season finale after expressing that the lack of playing time could cause him to opt out of the $27.1 million he is owed next season.
It is a long shot that he is doing more than just talking, but the Miami Heat willingly gave him one last nudge to attempt to make it happen.
Now if they can get Goran Dragic to do the same, the offseason becomes an entirely new ballgame.