Heat Notes: McRoberts, Waiters, Johnson

The Heat could have between $33MM and $43MM in cap space this offseason depending on what happens with Wayne Ellington, who’s on a $6.27MM non-guaranteed contract for next season, and Josh McRoberts, who has a player option worth roughly $6.02MM, Bobby Marks of The Vertical writes. Marks notes that McRoberts is likely to opt in, but the team could utilize the stretch provision to generate additional cap space. The big man was only able to play in 22 games for Miami this season because of various foot injuries.

Here’s more from Miami:

• Dion Waiters and James Johnson had excellent debut seasons for the Heat and Marks (same piece) projects both players to earn an annual salary above the $8.4 mid-level exception on their next deals. Teams over the cap will have that amount to spend, though teams that enter the offseason season with cap space will only have the $4.3MM mid-level at their disposal (after their cap space has been exhausted). Miami falls into the latter category.
• Pat Riley, who signed a five-year extension to stay on as the team’s president last year, will continue to split his time between Malibu, California and Miami, Florida, Ira Winderman of the Sun-Sentinel relays. Winderman notes that it’s not uncommon for high-ranking executives to work in cities where their teams do not reside.
• It may not make sense for the Heat to move up in the draft, Winderman opines in a separate piece. Miami will be without a first-round pick next year as a result of the Goran Dragic deal and Winderman believes it may not be wise to further mortgage the future.