3. Miami Heat
Much was made about the Miami Heat’s potential to make a splash in 2021 NBA free agency over the last few years. They’ve been a surprise destination in the past and made a real effort to structure their recent signings in a way that gave them flexibility to make a run at a max contract player.
READ MORE: NBA Trade Rumors: 3 offseason moves for Miami Heat to take the next step in 2021-22
Those efforts will have flopped before they even had the chance to make their case to a superstar. Players like Giannis Antetokounmpo and Paul George have already long past agreed to contract extensions to stay with their current organizations – leaving the Miami Heat with money to spend and not much for high-level options to do with it.
The point guard position will be one to watch for the Miami Heat this offseason. Goran Dragic has a $19.4 million team option and he is now 35-years-old. Is he a long-term answer at this spot? Or would Miami rather transition him to a different role or move on from him altogether? That remains to be seen.
One option for the Miami Heat would be to simply let Victor Oladipo walk since he will not be an effective player next season, even if he were to return to game action in the late stages of the regular season. Using the cap spending that previously would have gone towards Oladipo on signing Wall could be a more appropriate gamble for Miami to take.
Wall may have a riddled injury history, but he’s still only going to be 31-years-old as of September and will have a full season back in the fold under his belt. There wouldn’t be a need to get a lengthy contract done to bring him in either. If it doesn’t work, the worst case scenario is they just simply move on if it doesn’t quite work out as they had hoped.
