From the moment they hung up with LeBron James that fateful July morning in 2014, the Heat have obsessed over Summer 2016. No negotiation, trade or free agent signing was made without protecting Pat Riley's chance to swing big this offseason.
Those ambitions start with former MVP Kevin Durant, one of the most talented men ever to grace a basketball court. Riley is one of many hoping merely for a meeting with him, though no one seems to know whether he has any inclination to leave an Oklahoma City team that's currently playing in the Western Conference finals.
There are several other worthwhile targets if Durant is out -- Al Horford, Nicolas Batum and possibly DeMar DeRozan are available -- and the Heat have plenty of decisions to make about their own free agents. Of the 11 guys who logged the most minutes this season, six might not be in uniform five months from now for opening night.
"Of course I would go into battle with those guys any time," Goran Dragic said in the locker room at Air Canada Centre. "They've proven they're warriors. They don't back off. But this is the business of basketball. You never know who's gonna be here next season."
From the starting five that opened the year, Dragic is the only one under contract and healthy. Dwyane Wade almost certainly will be back and implied repeatedly after the Game 7 loss in Toronto that the Heat's future is his future.
Besides those two, who formed the third-best shooting backcourt in the league, Miami could be in for a wild summer. Chris Bosh's career could be in jeopardy after a second straight season was wrecked by an apparent blood clot. Hassan Whiteside and Luol Deng are unrestricted free agents who figure to be in high demand.
On the periphery, Joe Johnson, Gerald Green and Amar'e Stoudemire were all on one-year minimum deals and it's unclear whether either side wishes to continue those relationships.
"I don't know," Johnson said Sunday night. "I ain't had time to think about all that."
Stoudemire also punted with a "we'll see," and was unhappy about his playing time after expecting to be a more significant part of the rotation when he signed last summer. He played 52 games after sitting 25 of the first 28, though that didn't seem like as much of an issue for him as recording five DNP-CDs in the playoffs.
"That was not a part of the deal," he said after playing three minutes in Game 5 and watching the final two from the bench.
Whiteside's free agency is one of the most intriguing story lines in the league after he rose from obscurity to become the NBA's most intimidating shot blocker. He averaged 14.2 points, 11.8 rebounds and 3.7 blocks per game in his first full season.
Whiteside, who missed most of the Toronto series with a sprained MCL in his right knee, did all that while playing for less than $1 million. He has yet to make seven figures in a season since the Kings drafted him in the second round in 2010, and this is his opportunity to pull in life-changing money.
Because of the way Miami structured his contract, it can offer him a four-year deal like any other team. He is widely expected to draw offers of at least $15 million per season, and that number could surge into the low $20s.
With Bosh and Dragic on the books for a combined $39.6 million next year -- the salary cap is projected at $92 million -- and Wade deserving major money as he comes off his healthiest, most productive season in years, it will be difficult for the Heat to bring back Whiteside and add a max-level free agent like Durant or Horford.
Miami better have a good gauge on its chances at one of those guys before free agency starts July 1. The moment it opens, teams will be calling Whiteside with huge offers and there's no reason for him to wait while the Heat pursue guys who will eat up money that might've gone to him.
Then there's Deng, who will appeal to many teams and is looking at one of his last good chances to cash in. The Heat were fortunate to get him on a very reasonable contract within days of James' exit and caught a break last summer when he opted in for the second year of it.
"I'm not gonna think about anything right now," Deng said. "It hurts that our season has ended. We've battled through a lot. When that time comes, I'll figure out what my next plan is."
Everyone felt that way Sunday, but it's already time to move forward.
About the Author
