Miami Heat Offseason Report: Heat Check

Daniel Arellano
Staff Writer

Bittersweet is the only way to describe last year of Heat basketball. The emergence of Whiteside in the regular season was negated by the discovery of a second blood clot in star big man Chris Bosh. The Heat managed to eke out a division championship and the third seed in the playoffs despite sharing a 48-34 record with both the Celtics and the Hawks. Once the postseason commenced, the Heat began to show cracks in a close fought series against the Charlotte Hornets, only prevailing thanks to the late game heroics of franchise front man and Miami icon Dwyane Wade. Despite the absence of  Bosh and the crippling loss of Whiteside (MCL sprain), Miami made it within a game of the Eastern Conference Finals, eventually falling to the Toronto Raptors in game seven.

After making it as far as could be realistically expected from its active players, the Heat had only a few major goals for the summer of 2016:

1) Re-sign Hassan Whiteside before he was poached by the Dallas Mavericks for a max or near-max deal. [SUCCESS]

2) Get a meeting with Kevin Durant. Even though it was unlikely he would join an aging Miami roster, it is a sign of status in the association to get in the room with premier free agents. [SUCCESS]

3) Re-sign Dwyane Wade [NEAR COMPLETE FAILURE]

Unfortunately for Wade and Miami alike, the priorities were made in the order listed above, meaning that once again Wade would be asked to take a back seat for the good of the franchise. The details remain murky, but Wade was undeniably treated without the same respect that his peer Dirk Nowitzki received from Dallas. Wade wanted a contract worth at least $50 million over two years (or an even higher sum over three years). Pat Riley, ever the pragmatist, knew that a contract given to Wade in this ballpark would be painful beyond year two, eventually offering $40 million over two years. In a power move fitting of a star of his caliber, Wade announced that he would sign with Chicago for $47.5 million over two years. (For you math whizzes, that's only $3 million more after taxes than Miami's offer.) The famous "loyalty" that the Heat frequently used as a selling point to potential free agents seems to have completely dried up, as the most beloved athlete in Miami sports history joins a once proud conference rival. Aside from a few rare exceptions, loyalty is just a word to convince a player to take less than what he is worth.

In other news, Udonis Haslem has re-signed for $4 million for one year!

For what it's worth, the failure to sign Wade is not a complete disaster. The Heat have now been spared from the fate of the post championship Lakers, burdened by Kobe's albatross of a contract. Cap space is a commodity that is always valuable in the league. However, it could just as easily be argued that in the face of health woes from star Chris Bosh, the Heat could have used the opportunity to send a message to free agents that they will take care of their own. The 2018 Heat will probably not be as bad as the 2014 Lakers (27-55) when Kobe received $30 million to put up 13.8 points for just six games. However, the Lakers demonstrated that they were willing to fork over the money for a star that has proven himself to the city. Only time will tell if this will pay off, but only a fool would say that Miami should be glad to lose Wade.

Much of how Miami will go forward will rest on the slim shoulders of Chris Bosh.  He may be forced to retire because of his recurring blood clots, which could necessitate taking blood thinners for life.  These blood thinners can cause any normally routine injury to bleed uncontrollably.  As a point guard in college, current Miami head coach Erik Spoelstra witnessed the death of Hank Gathers from just a few feet away. Experiencing this just once is more than enough for a lifetime and is likely to play a role in Bosh's eventual decision.  Should Bosh have to medically retire, the Heat should immediately do what they can to rebuild around their core of Justise Winslow, Josh Richardson, Tyler Johnson, and Hassan Whiteside. Sign an under the radar big who can spread the floor and that's a lineup that belongs in the modern NBA (the basement of the association, but in it nonetheless!)

If Bosh manages to prove that he is capable of playing without such an obvious risk in play, then the Heat will be forced to once again try to reload on the fly. They should be concerned about trading away two future first round picks to the Phoenix Suns in 2015's Goran Dragic trade. However, in typical Miami fashion, free agency will be the most accessible avenue back into contention for the Heat. The most obvious concerns for the Heat were their lack of shooting  and big man depth. The loss of Joe Johnson and Gerald Green have hurt the former, while the loss of Luol Deng and Amar'e Stoudemire have hurt the latter. Of course, Bosh's fate will greatly impact both of these factors, as he is one of the premier stretch big men in the league.

As grim of an outlook this may be, Miami has performed admirably in filling out its roster. The re-signing of Hassan Whiteside was an absolute must for this off-season. Whiteside has the obvious talent and athleticism necessary for him to shine as a star on both ends. His mid-range jumper has remained a solid weapon for any that see him as just another rim-running big. Even his once woeful free throw percentage jumped from 50% to 65% in only a season thanks to the unorthodox jump in his motion. Although his ceiling is not incredibly high thanks to his deceptively "old" age of 27, Whiteside should continue to improve his smarts on both ends of the floor as he learns not to bite on every fake he sees and to pass out of the post. (Hassan has logged an astonishingly low 36 career assists.) Regardless, retaining Whiteside is a step in the right direction for Miami to avoid becoming a bottom dweller in the East.

The re-signing of Tyler Johnson is a double edged sword for the Heat thanks to the Arenas rule, which caused his contract to be largely back-loaded. Johnson will receive a mere $6 million a year for the first half of his four year deal (peanuts under the new cap). However, in each of the final two years, Johnson will be paid $19 million, an absurd skyrocket that will require some serious cap wizardry to work with in 2018-2019. Johnson is a promising young player with some not-at-all sneaky athleticism and a nice shooting stroke. Although he will likely come off the bench as Dragic's backup, Johnson is a key piece for the Heat going forward.

In order to fill the holes left in their roster by five rotation players leaving for greener pastures, Miami was forced to sign underrated and somewhat unknown role players on short term deals. To aid their shooting, the Heat have signed NBA journeymen Luke Babbitt and Wayne Ellington on short deals for $1.23 million/1 year and $12 million/2 years, respectively. (Ellington lit up his current team for 26 points with 7 threes back in December of last season.) Although Babbitt is unlikely to crack the rotation, Ellington should provide much needed spacing for an otherwise cramped half-court. The Heat also signed a pair of athletic forwards in Derrick Williams and James Johnson on single year deals for $5 million and $4 million apiece. Both of these forwards should provide energy and decent scoring ability if they are set up.Unfortunately, both players are solid "2nd guys off the bench" material and do not belong in a playoff team's starting lineup. In addition to this, the Heat have also signed two more young athletic pieces in Willie Reed (center) and Briante Weber (point guard). They are relatively untested, but are indicative of the new direction that Miami is aiming for in the post-Wade era: a (relatively) young and athletic team that is capable of allowing Dragic to push the pace beyond its sluggish 25th rank in the league.

And of course, Dion Waiters has signed for a meager $3 million after an unfortunate bout with NBA free agency. It remains to be seen if he can meaningfully contribute on a winning team. This contract has potential to be a massive steal, but it is more likely that it will be just a slight underpay for a below average NBA player.

 Aside from the unknown of the Bosh situation, Miami has a clear path forward:

• Continue to develop its promising players in Tyler Johnson, Josh Richardson, and Justise Winslow
• By the All-Star Break, make a decision as to whether or not to tank this season to take advantage of the self-owned first round pick
• Use the players on one year rental contracts to clear cap space and be ready to make a splash in the 2017 offseason

Aside from the obvious Wade debacle, Miami has done all that it can do prepare itself for the future. Only time will tell if Miami can successfully develop around its young core for sustained success.