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

The Miami Heat are entering an offseason where creativity is required in order to improve. We’ve broken down position groups and see who is likely to return, and our last group is the bigs.

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 the fact 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, continued with the wings, and now we will wrap up our series with the bigs, possibly the most intriguing of the position groups.

Hassan Whiteside

By far the heftiest salary on the Miami Heat roster belongs to Hassan Whiteside, but that comes with a catch. Whiteside’s $27 million 2019-20 salary is a player option, and he’s expressed that he may choose to opt out of this final season.

It’s hard to imagine that Whiteside could recoup this on the open market, even if he signed a deal for less money up front that paid him more than this amount over multiple years. He’s concerned with playing time, but as the summer nears, he will likely find that he’s more concerned with that $27 million (and with good reason).

Whiteside is very likely to return to the Miami Heat next season.

Ryan Anderson

Ryan Anderson has one of the worst contracts in the NBA, but on the plus side, only $15.6 million of his $21.2 million 2019-20 salary is guaranteed. This could make it easier to trade him to a team looking to clear cap space for the summer of 2020.

Depending on how the Heat want to approach his situation, there may be a variety of ways Anderson could depart.

Regardless of which one they choose, it wouldn’t be surprising at all to see Ryan Anderson be moved before next season begins.

Kelly Olynyk

On a team littered with bloated contracts, Kelly Olynyk has a bloated contract that is not as bad as some of the rest of them. Olynyk has $26.6 million remaining over the final two years of his contract including a player option in the second year.

Head coach Erik Spoelstra likes to play Olynyk and Bam Adebayo together in the front court, so between his utility on the floor and his relatively solid value on the balance sheet, it would be stunning to see Olynyk get moved.

Bam Adebayo

Bam Adebayo is practically playing for free compared to some of the guys on this Miami Heat roster. He makes $3.45 million in 2019-20 and $5.1 million in 2020-21, the second year being his rookie option and under team control.

Adebayo has been a rising star for the Heat, quickly gaining Spoelstra’s trust to the point where he supplanted Whiteside in the starting lineup. With the remarkably favorable deal he is on and the deep trust he’s earned from the coaching staff, Bam Adebayo is as close to a lock to return next season as it gets on this roster.

Udonis Haslem

As for Udonis Haslem, this one is up to him. If he wants to retire, he’ll do so as a Heat legend. If he wants to come back as a veteran leader and essentially as a coach in the locker room, the Heat will be happy with that too.

Whatever Udonis Haslem wants.