Miami Heat: Which wings are likely to return next season?

The Miami Heat are entering an offseason where creativity is required in order to improve. We’re breaking down position groups to see who is likely to return, and the wings are next up.

With the offseason under way for the Miami Heat, it’s time to take a look at the forecast for each player over the next few days, evaluating the likelihood each will return. Considering that the NBA is moving in a direction that streamlines positions, we’re going to follow suit and categorize players as primary ball-handlers, wings and bigs.

We started with the primary ball-handlers for the Miami Heat, and up next we’ll cover the wings.

James Johnson

Relative to his contract which has $31.4 million remaining over the next two seasons, James Johnson It’s a blessing when there’s almost too much to dunk on in a tweet did not have a season that lived up to its value. He played 55 games, starting 33, scoring 7.8 points per game while shooting 43.3 percent from the floor and 33.6 percent from 3-point range.

It would be remarkably difficult to find a suitor in the trade market for Johnson’s contract that would make a deal favorable for the Heat. Almost certainly, the Heat are going to have to eat the rest of his contract, at least through next season

Johnson might be the biggest lock to return on the entire roster.

Josh Richardson

Josh Richardson might be the player who is paid closest to his value on the entire Heat roster, and he is likely underpaid relative to his production with three years and $36 million remaining on his contract (final year is a player option).

This means the Heat could find value either keeping his contract on the books, or making him the centerpiece of a trade package for a star.

On a perfectly-constructed roster, Pat Riley and the Miami Heat would probably love to keep Richardson right where he is on his reasonably team-friendly deal, but greater aspirations may yet be in store and he could be a casualty as a result.

Richardson is likely to return, but a trade should be no surprise.

Derrick Jones Jr.

A human highlight film, Derrick Jones Jr. bounced around the floor for the Heat with 10 percent of his minutes coming in the backcourt and the rest fairly evenly shared between the three and the four.

Jones started 14 of his 60 games and averaged 7.0 points per game.

His 2019-20 salary is an non-guaranteed $1.65 million, and a team-friendly contract like that has value on a roster with as many bloated deals as the Miami Heat have.

Because he could be an easy throw-in on any trade and the Heat can release him with no penalty, depending on what the organization’s goals are this summer, his cheap contract makes him no better than a coin flip to return.

Duncan Robinson

The Miami Heat kept Duncan Robinson on a two-way contract right up until the last minute this past season when they converted him to a regular contract at the end of 2018-19 in order to fulfill their roster obligations.

What their plans are for him going forward remains to be seen, and his $1.4 million salary for next season is non-guaranteed.

Like Jones, Robinson’s future in Miami is likely predicated entirely on what the organization decides it needs. Robinson is likely an underdog to return.