The Heat surprised virtually everyone but themselves by reaching the Finals. And with two more victories, they’ll complete their Cinderella run.
Miami is positioned to become a powerhouse for years to come if it makes the right moves. Jimmy Butler has not only cemented his status as a star player during the restart but has now established himself as a franchise player. Tyler Herro‘s performances have many NBA executives kicking themselves for passing him up in last season’s draft. He’s, of course, in the early stages of his rookie deal.
However, a big chunk of their roster is filled with players can become free agents this offseason or in 2021. Team president Pat Riley has spent the last couple of years making moves to open up plenty of salary cap room for top-level free agents next season, with Giannis Antetokounmpo at the top of the wish list.
The play of a couple of veterans during the playoff run could complicate the process, particularly Goran Dragic and Jae Crowder, both of whom will be unrestricted free agents this fall. Dragic has only played 15 minutes during the Finals due to a foot injury but the Heat would have been eliminated in the earlier rounds if not for his steady playmaking.
Dragic has averaged 19.9 PPG, 4.0 RPG and 4.6 APG during the postseason. He set the tone for the series against Milwaukee and Boston, scoring 50 points against the Bucks in the first two games of that series and 54 against the Celtics when Miami jumped to a 2-0 lead.
Crowder was kind of an afterthought in the February trade with Memphis that brought Andre Iguodala to the Heat. Instead, he’s proven more valuable than Iguodala, averaging 12.0 PPG and 5.7 RPG in 31.6 MPG while making 34.6% of his 3s. He’s an even bigger force on the defensive end, often assigned to the opponent’s top scorer. He can switch onto much bigger frontcourt players and still hold his own.
Dragic is 34 and Crowder is 30 and this could be their last shot at landing lucrative, multi-year deals. While the Heat’s balance sheet could allow Riley to reward them in free agency, there are other considerations. Duncan Robinson and Kendrick Nunn can become restricted free agents next summer and either one could receive a lucrative offer sheet, given their youth and production.
There’s also the overall concerns about how much the cap and luxury tax threshold could drop due to the loss of revenue during the pandemic.
That leads us to our question of the day: If Goran Dragic and Jae Crowder seek multi-year deals in free agency, should the Heat still try to re-sign them or should they continue to preserve cap space for next offseason? If they decide to sign one but not the other, which player should they pursue?
Please weigh in on this topic in the comments section. We look forward to your input.
Dragic would want 3 years contract
The scariest thing is that someone offer Duncan Robinson 100 million contract and Nunn 50 million
hahaha. No one is ever going to offer Duncan Robinson a 100 million contract. ????
Lmao at someone offering Duncan Robinson a $100MM contract. More likely he gets something worth $12-15MM per over 3-4 years on the open market. Crowder will likely be looking at a full MLE salary and could get up to 3 years while Dragic due to his age should get a 1+1 deal around $15-18MM per.
You must not remember Tyler Johnson
Johnson got 50 million.
Crowder isn’t going to get a big deal, he is the same guy he always has been. He is a good defensive player who works hard. On offense, he can’t create his own shot and is an average, to below-average three-point shooter. He shoots 34 percent for his career. he is the definition of “meh”: He won’t be getting a big contract.
Dragic is going to be 35 in May, probably two months into next season. He won’t be getting a big contract either.
Dragic will help Heat by taking 3 years contract
He can take 3 years 50m with team option
Robinson is the hottest product, which means overpay contract is waiting for him
1. Robinson is not a free agent.
2. Robinson is not” the hottest product” Not even close actually.
3. An overpay contract is not waiting for
Lakers really struggling with a 5th seed in the East despite having 2 of the top 5 best players in the league. Neither are closers and disappear in crunch time, ad/bron needs to demand the ball the way jimmy butler did. If heat pull this out jimmy has to go down as one of the greatest to ever play.
I used to know a Lakers fan from Pennsylvania who was convinced that Paul George was way better than Jimmy Butler. As usual, he was wrong.
To me Jae Crowder sucked last night. I know he’s a strong Defender but wow he couldn’t make a shot from what I watched. I didn’t look at the stats but sure seems like he was 0-8. I’m going to kick myself for not looking because he was probably 3 for 11 or something but I would let him walk if he gets a decent deal. You’re stuck with Iguadala two more years so Crowder is gone.
Way to not research because it was the wrong thing to research!
Yes he missed repeatedly. I suspect the Lakers were leaving him open… not a driver.
The 2+1 contract for Iguodala was probably to have something to trade, but it turns out to run their 2-3 they need him up front to hide the scorers.
Games are won on defense, and there are not so many guys who can defend at a high level. This is why Danny Green is very important for the Lakers even if he is in the middle of a shooting slump (+12 last night) and why Crowder has been essential for the Heat to reach the finals. I’d always want someone like Crowder in my team, and I bet Riley and Spoelstra think the same way.
He definitely does the dirty work but it would be nice if he made a 3 once in awhile.
Iguodala has one more year, then a team option.
Heat Big new contracts Next summer
Giannis
Bam
Robinson
Nunn
Next season Nets have better tradable assets
If Nunn is still viewed as a starter (and he was pre-bubble), then, with Hero being a combo G that handles the back up minutes at PG in the short rotation, does investing in Dragic make sense?
They wanted (and thought they had) Gallinari – in lieu of Crowder – in the Iggy deal when it was 3 way. So, I wouldn’t be surprised if may pursue him. He’ll want multiple years, so will Crowder.
Nunn looked like a starter yesterday so roster decisions can be made even this late… Dragic can be sacrificed. Crowder and Solomon Hill are limited; hopefully cheaper Silva is ready. Jones kept making dumb mistakes. Leonard actually succeeded in whatever minutes he got and helped them get off to a fast start, so maybe $1/11m. But to sign Gallinari for 1/$25m, he would have to be let go too.
For 10 players, $93m without Gallo, #107m with. Take it. No FAs retained, Nunn & Robinson included.
For 2021, it will be hard to add another max-y salary to Butler & Adebayo with Gallo. Nunn & Robinson will need to be paid. But that is enough for a title probably.
Bertans & Grant would be a little cheaper than Gallinari, but not by much. A 1/$20 is possible and money is left for a PG. Next level is MarcusM, Millsap & Crowder, RondaeHJ younger, but better to stick to the plan.
I expect a big 1-year deal for Dragic – need to run-it-back regardless of what happens in these Finals.
Though I can see a team like the MAVS making a (another) push for Dragic, this or the necxt offseason.
For years now, Crowder has always had one of the best team-friendly contracts in the NBA, he’ll likely would want to get paid big now and other teams want what that shooting. Crowder looks at home with the HEAT, Hope that Riley can make it work somehow.
The Heat probably lose Hill and/or DJJ this offseason ……. more teams now see the value of a DJJ, long, switchable on that defensive front.
Crowder is seriously not going to get a big contract. No way.