NBA Free Agency 2016: 5 destinations for Kevin Durant
By Tom West
2. Miami Heat
Even though the Heat won’t be forming a new big three as they did in 2010 with a younger Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and LeBron James, they still have some attraction to free agents. The flash and weather of Miami alone is always a bonus, while the organization headed by team president Pat Riley gives the Heat one of the best front offices in the NBA. For so many years now, he’s always kept his team stocked with talent.
Pursuing one of the best scorers in NBA history is a little different, though. The Heat have appeared in connection to Kevin Durant’s name for some time now, primarily due to them wanting to target him in free agency. It’s hardly surprising given the uncertainty facing their future with 34-year-old Wade on an expiring contract, Hassan Whiteside hitting free agency in pursuit of a max contract, and not a great deal of title calibre role players (in their prime at least) throughout the roster either. Goran Dragic has improved as of late and the addition of Joe Johnson is a valuable one, but they still sit behind so many other contenders; especially those in the West.
However, this won’t stop them going after a new superstar. Adrian Wojnarowski has even mentioned the Heat as one of the more well-known suitors among the countless teams who will want to make a run for Durant:
"Outside of those well-known suitors – Washington, Houston and Miami – there’s another California team determined to make a bid for Durant, league sources tell The Vertical: The Los Angeles Clippers."
There’s no need to go into too many details about the Heat’s championship chances in comparison to the other teams we’ll look at here. Besides the Wizards, they’re the worst of the bunch. Even at 4th in the Eastern Conference with a 36-26 record, they won’t be a major favorite over of the Raptors or Cavaliers whether they add Durant or not. Especially if they lose someone like Whiteside in order to acquire him in the first place.
It’s the Heat’s financial situation that makes the acquisition of Durant a difficult one. In terms of salary cap, they really aren’t in a strong position.
First off, they have just four players (Chris Bosh, Goran Dragic, Josh McRoberts and Justise Winslow) under contract for 2016-17, with a team option on Josh Richardson. The Heat will either need to re-sign a host of players on increased contracts or re-work a lot of their roster with new signings.
Bosh and Dragic are already taking up $39.63 million in cap space next season, and seeing as it’s unlikely the Heat will let Wade go, they’ll need to re-sign him on a contract that could be similar to his current sum of $20 million. If they want to even try to re-sign Whiteside on the max he’ll want, the Heat are getting far too close to the $90 million cap limit and offering a huge max deal to Durant as well just won’t work. There really is a lot riding on money for Miami that could either make or break areas of their roster.
Perhaps if Wade is willing to take a sizeable pay-cut or Whiteside walks, they can make a more comfortable push for KD.
The Heat may be considered as a suitor right now, but when combining their questionable financial situation that could really hit their depth and Durant’s desire to win a championship right now now, it’s impossible to place the Heat as a leader in the KD free agency race.
It looks like this superstar small forward won’t be taking his talents to South Beach.
Next: 1. Staying put in Oklahoma City