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Pat Riley, Heat are bound for change this offseason
Walking into his end-of-the-year press conference in early May, Miami Heat team president Pat
Riley laid back in a familiar position in his chair among members of the media -- dissatisfied with
another Heat season ending short and with a lot of cryptic messages for it.
Miami, who finished the 2023-2024 season eighth in the Eastern conference with a 46-36
record, left the season with a sour taste due to a first round exit by the hands of the No. 1
Boston Celtics through five games.
Despite the Heat’s postseason success within the last five years, Riley still isn’t satisfied.
“Until you change the way you go about doing the things that are necessary to win, whatever
they are, those things you are doing to try to win if they aren’t working must change,” Riley said.
“That doesn’t mean that ‘change’ is a sinister word here.”
Miami -- backed by a culture identity and two recent trips to the NBA Finals -- have kept its
current roster nearly intact in recent years. However, change is inevitable this offseason.
Miami approaches a summer of free agency, new roster building and a potential lucrative
extension decision for a cornerstone franchise player in forward Jimmy Butler.
“We surly have to change some things,” Riley said. “But we surely aren’t gonna rip anything
apart here.”
Where the current roster stands today
As of today, guards Josh Richardson and Caleb Martin, and forwards Kevin Love and Thomas
Bryant are the only players on the Heat walking into this offseason with the ability to control their
fate. Each player has a player option to either return, or leave Miami, according to Basketball
Reference.
Richardson could earn over $3 million, Love could earn over $4 million, Bryant could earn $2.8
million and Martin could earn $7.1 million depending on their decision to resign. The deadline for
player/team option decisions in the NBA is June 29.
The players out of an active contract (Patty Mills, Haywood Highsmith, Delon Wright, Jamal
Cain, Cole Swinder and Alondes Williams) are currently in the hands of the NBA free agency
market.
This means that the only active players guaranteed to join the Miami Heat for the 2024-2025
season are Butler, Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro, Terry Rozier, Duncan Robinson, Jaime Jaquez Jr,
Orlando Robinson and more recently Nikola Jovic. The 20-year-old Serbian was originally going
into a team option next season.
Jovic through two years in the NBA started in more than half of the 61 games he’s played in,
and took a noticeable jump in his role and game this season for Miami.
Jovic logged 19.5 minutes per game while averaging 7.7 points, 4.2 rebounds and shot 45.2%
from the floor throughout the 2023-2024 season.
Riley gave the second year a lot of praise in his exit interview. Called Jovic a great athlete with
great instinct, he said.
“It all happened like that for Niko(la),” Riley said. “The learning curve was off the charts...”
Jovic’s team option contract for next season is worth $2.4 million, according to Basketball
Reference.
What Awaits in the Waters of Free Agency
The Heat going into this free agency cycle have a unique opportunity to add at least three
pieces onto their roster with an affordable price tag.
Some of the top names available as unrestricted free agents this summer are Klay Thompson,
Tobais Harris, James Harden and Pascal Siakim.
A majority of these players mentioned are either veteran players that are nearing the end of
their peak performance age, or just don’t require contracts north of $30 million annually.
Depending on what happens to the player option situations for the Heat, Miami could potentially
have $178 million committed to 10 players on salary for next season, according to the Miami
Herald.
With the Heat’s salary cap for next season at $141 million, Miami stands as a team with a
projected luxury tax at $171.3 million. This tax puts them within the NBA’s first apron and on the
cusp of the second apron, which is set at $189.5 million for the teams to qualify.
This is why realistically the Heat most likely won't pursue any huge names that are expected to
be top outliers in the market such as Paul George, or LeBron James. Both players have player
options to resign with their respective clubs that are worth north of $44 million.
The most buyable option for Miami is to consider adding back two players from last year's roster
and look into the free agents that best match their current needs.
However, the Heat won’t deny anything if it’s on the table, Riley said.
“We’re not going to avoid anything if we have an opportunity to bring in who we think is the
critical piece,” Riley said. “We have to try and control those things that we can control...”
Thoughts on potential moves this summer
As of now, the roster needs depth in the frontcourt and at least a backup guard to pair with
Rozier.
Wright is a piece from last year's roster that I personally believe would be a big help for the
reserve role at guard. An addition that came into the lineup Feb. 18, Wright is a spotty shooter
that can have a good game on offense at random, but provides veteran leadership with eight
years of experience.
The second returnee that I would bring back would be Highsmith. Considered as a defensive
presence, the 27-year-old has elevated his shooting game and shot 39.6% from 3-point range
this year. The Percentage is a career-high.
Highsmith has the capabilities to become a fortable 3-and-D player for the Heat long term.
For the new name to join Miami from free agency, Miami will have to be realistic and affordable.
That means that players that found a good fit already on their current teams wouldn’t make the
cut -- such as Siakim and Harden.
However, Harris can be a perfect addition to the Heat as someone who could play the four and
spread the floor with an efficient jumper across the hardwood. The 31-year-old vet has averaged
47.8% from the field shooting and 6.2 rebounds throughout his career.
This consistency can help Adebayo work in isolation downlow and to a frontcourt that ranked
16th in team rebound during the regular season.
The Heat will have plenty of time to think about these decisions until late June as we approach
team/player decisions. Until then, Riley and company will continue discussion --- anticipating
change on Biscayne Boulevard via the draft, or free agency.
Written by: Brandon Hernandez
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