In another rousing edition of Ask Ira, Ira Winderman of the Sun-Sentinel discusses whether Pat Riley might pursue bigger names than Dion Waiters and James Johnson this offseason. In particular, might the Heat go after Paul Millsap and/or Gordon Hayward? Winderman concludes that, while he would not understate the likelihood of Riley and company engaging both Millsap and Hayward in free agency, the Heat may not have enough cap room to nab two elite free agents. If the team were to prioritize big-name free agents at the expense of Waiters and/or Johnson, it would likely raise its chances of signing a star player or two, but it may lose either or both of its key free agents from last season, depending on the timing of the decisions being made. Winderman also brings up the possibility, though a long shot, of augmenting Goran Dragic and Hassan Whiteside with “something far more potent.” Here are some more relevant team-specific notes:
- In the same installment of Ask Ira, Winderman doubts Lauri Markkanen falling to the Heat at No. 14, but speculates that the team would pounce if he did. Winderman contends that his excellent outside shooting would fit a key need for the Heat and asserts that the Heat’s developmental program could adequately address the Arizona product’s defensive question marks.
- Suns forward Jared Dudley sees the Heat as a Plan B for Blake Griffin in free agency this offseason, reports Ira Winderman. Dudley, Griffin’s former teammate with the Clippers, believes that Griffin’s top choice is to remain with the Clippers and that that is likely where he will end up. Miami is a “good city” in a place with no state tax and “the only case scenario” where Griffin will be able “to be the man on the team,” according to Dudley. Dudley made his comments on an ESPN podcast.
- In a separate iteration of Ask Ira, Ira Winderman discusses Waiters’ proper pricing point, which he admits is “speculation” at this point. NBA insiders have told Winderman that Waiters’ hype may be exaggerated “considering the limited market last summer and the small sample size this past season due to injury.” Regardless, it takes just one suitor to set the market, and there is plenty of available cap space around the league.
dudley needs to stop talking about the clippers. Clipper fans already don’t like him and now he seems obsessed with them
Millsap and Heyward are both obvious fits, but Heyward is likely to stay in Utah or could look elsewhere, and Millsap is at an age where it might make more sense to pay a lot less for James Johnson, and therefore use cap space on more pieces…I’ll pass on Blake Griffin.
If they can get James Johnson and Dion Waiters together for $26 million or so, they can use half their remaining cap space to maybe keep Willie Reed at $6-7 million, and Ellington at his number, and/or bring someone in on a cheap deal, or the room exception, to help the 3/4 spots
That seems like the most simple possibility, but there are obviously potential trades they could make as well. I still would like to see them move Whiteside, but I don’t think they’ll do it at this point
reed doesnt deserve that much
He’ll clearly get at least that. He was part of 3 or 4 of the Heat’s best lineups last year. You either didn’t watch him play or don’t know how today’s cap influences the market. If he does get less, that just helps the Heat, so I wouldn’t be disappointed if I’m wrong, but my estimation could even be a little low