Miami’s “big three” have a message: Don’t save it, spend it.
If one thing was clear from the NBA Finals and the way the Spurs easily handled the Heat the last three games, it’s that Miami needs to revamp its roster some to compete with the best of the West. Not the tear down to the studs rebuild that some talking heads suggest, but they need to get deeper, more athletic — and that takes some money. The Heat can’t change that dynamic with veteran minimum guys.
The challenge there is that if LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh all opt in for next season, with Norris Cole locked in, the Heat are at the salary cap line (and that is before Udonis Haslem decides whether to opt in for $4.6 million). Pat Riley can recruit with the best of them, but the people he wants to recruit want to get paid and other teams can offer that.
Which is why it has been suggested that Miami’s “big three” would all opt out then re-sign in Miami for less money.
However, LeBron doesn’t want to take less if the Heat aren’t going to spend that money — he’s not concerned with owner Micky Arison’s luxury tax bill, reports Mitch Lawrence at the New York Daily News.
As team insiders have maintained for months, James isn’t interested in reducing his salary from $20.6 next season and $22.1 million in 2015-16 just so that team owner Micky Arison can avoid paying luxury taxes. As they say, been there, done that and all it got James was second place.
Bosh, who makes identical money to James, and Wade, who makes slightly less, at around $41.5 million for the next two seasons, also don’t want to rework their deals solely to give Arison another tax break. They want the money put to good use, meaning adding talent so that Miami can return to the Finals for a fifth straight season. No team has done that since the Red Auerbach-led Celtics of the 1960s.
That’s logical.
Here’s the thing — the big three don’t want to break up. LeBron isn’t looking to bolt, he likes Miami, he trusts management there (you think he trusts the owner in Cleveland? New York?) and this team has been to four straight Finals. It’s much easier to retool to win in Miami than it would be contend after a move to any team that can afford to sign him.
The long-shot Carmelo Anthony to the Heat rumors fit in here — all four would have to take a serious pay cut (down to about $14.6 million) but the Heat would add another serious scoring threat. Why that works for Heat management is they improve the team but it also likely would keep them under the luxury tax line because they could only use minimum contracts to round out the roster.
I think a smarter path for the Heat would be to get the big three to take pay cuts so Miami could go after someone like Kyle Lowry — a dynamic, scoring point guard. Positionally that is more of a need than a combo forward like ‘Melo. Even a point guard like Patty Mills (also a free agent) would be a nice upgrade at that spot. Miami also needs depth, athleticism and some size up front.
Pat Riley just needs real flexibility to go get it.
The big three might give it, but they want the owner to spend it, not hoard it away.
Miami Heat could look drastically different next season
