After the signing of Davion Mitchell, losing Duncan Robinson via free agency or as a cap casualty was always a possible scenario. However, if the Heat want to avoid a complete offseason disaster to begin the offseason, they must figure out a way to retain him in free agency.
On deadline day, Robinson officially opted out of the final year of his contract to hit the free-agent market. Robinson can now elect to work out a new deal with the Heat (ideally at a lower price) or sign with another team. On Monday night (June 30 at 6:00 p.m. ET), Robinson will officially be able to speak to other teams to pursue a new contract.
At least for now, it's not clear if Miami is interested in keeping Robinson long-term, but I'd argue letting him walk would be a massive mistake to begin free agency.
Duncan Robinson should be a keeper for the Heat
There are several players on the Heat's roster who it may be time to move on from. Robinson is not one of them. Sure, his contract number is not ideal. If there's a way the Heat can work that down while negotiating a new deal, it's certainly a scenario they should strongly explore.
Robinson is still one of the best 3-point shooters in the league and will likely go down as the best shooter in Heat history. That should count for something. Considering shooting is one of Miami's biggest weaknesses on paper, the move to let him walk for nothing in free agency makes even less sense.
The Heat may accomplish getting under the tax line with this move, but the lack of shooting that the team now has will be a much bigger problem on the basketball court. Of course, that's assuming this team wants to remain competitive heading into this upcoming season.
There's going to be a big problem within the fan base if the Heat elects to keep a player like Terry Rozier while losing Robinson. It's understandable that the Heat doesn't have a ton of flexibility on that front, but it's certainly not the message they want to send heading into the start of free agency.
Miami needs to find a way to keep Robinson. This is not how they should be looking to kick off the start of free agency.