Miami Heat: B/R predicts that no stars sign with the Heat this offseason
By Jack Simone
It seems as though the Miami Heat are brought up in trade rumors every offseason. This year, players such as Kawhi Leonard, Kyle Lowry, and John Collins have been linked to Miami in rumors.
Landing any of the three would completely change the landscape of basketball in South Beach. They would become instant contenders in the Eastern Conference.
Bleacher Report makes a disappointing prediction regarding free agency and the Miami Heat this offseason
However, according to Dav Favale of Bleacher Report, this offseason could be a dud for the Heat. In his latest article titled “1 Free-Agency Prediction for Every NBA Team,” he says that Miami won’t land a star this summer.
Favale notes that the Miami Heat could create a decent amount of cap space, however, he is skeptical as to whether or not it will be enough. He believes that the money they will have won’t be able to compete with some other teams.
Starting with the idea of John Collins, Favale thinks that the Heat don’t have enough to lure him to Miami. Giving him a max contract offer would do that, but they simply cannot create enough money to offer him that sort of contract.
Meanwhile, teams like the Spurs, who are rumored to be very interested, can offer him a max deal. Regardless of whether or not the Hawks match an offer sheet or not, the Miami Heat just can’t compete with other teams such as San Antonio.
Moving on to the point guards Miami is rumored to be targeting this offseason, Favale’s doubt continues on. He brings up players such as Lowry, Mike Conley, and Chris Paul during his article.
All three of these players could command over $25 million per year in free agency. Whether or not that money is worth it is one thing, but another is the fact that Miami might not be able to pay them that much.
The Miami Heat can create over $20 million in cap space easily, but things get tricky when trying to get up near $30 million. If another team swoops in and makes an offer in that range, Miami may be out of luck.
All of these factors combined together make Miami’s pursuit of a star free agent this summer seem hopeless. However, Favale does suggest another route the Heat should take this summer.
He suggests that the Miami Heat should look to make a blockbuster trade instead of targeting free agents. This would involve accepting the team options on Goran Dragic and Andre Iguodala in order to match salaries.
Favale also writes that they should re-sign Victor Oladipo to a one-year deal. This would give him the chance to prove his worth and stay healthy for a year before hitting the open market again next offseason.
Another option he brings up is doing a little bit of both. This would mean spending a bit of money in free agency while also retaining Dragic.
Regardless, Favale is of the belief that signing a big-name free agent is not in the cards this offseason. The Miami Heat will try, but whether or not they will succeed is yet to be seen.