5 Painful Heat regrets that set back the Jimmy Butler era

2. Kyle Lowry's contract 

In the summer of 2021, the Heat headlined free agency by signing multi-time All-Star and NBA champion Kyle Lowry. He was signed to a hefty three-year, $90 million contract in a sign-and-trade that unloaded beloved point guard Goran Dragic and newly drafted Precious Achiuwa. At first, the signing of Lowry looked promising.

He provided elite playmaking and floor general skills that helped lead Miami to the first seed in the East. However, injury issues arose in Lowry’s first postseason with the team. The years after featured him take a significant step back in performance. 

It should come as no surprise that giving a $30 million annual contract to a guy that was on the wrong end of 30 years old, and had an injury history, wasn’t a good idea. Lowry’s age caught up to him drastically and that contract did not age well. 

More importantly, his contract took up valuable space on the Heat’s cap that they could’ve used to acquire another impactful player.