This offseason for the Heat will be all about keeping LeBron James. As of right now, I would say he is 50/50 on whether or not he will stay. It will all revolve around what Pat Riley does with the roster. If LeBron thinks he can win a championship with what Pat Riley puts around him; if he doesn’t, he will leave.
Regardless of LeBron James, Miami needs to do a lot to improve the roster. Bosh and Wade will more than likely stay in Miami, but they need to opt out and take less money if they want anything to be done with the roster. Wade is not worth the 20 million or so that he is due to be paid. Miami has acted like they want to bring in Carmelo Anthony, but there is no chance that happens. They don’t have the money to do that even if the big three all took a pay cut. Pat Riley needs to solidify the bench rather than try to get Carmelo Anthony.
Aside from James, Wade and Bosh, Pat Riley needs to find a way to field a 12 man team. All of these players have expiring contracts: Ray Allen, Mario Chalmers, Shane Battier (will likely retire), Toney Douglas, James Jones, Rashard Lewis, Greg Oden and Michael Beasley. Therefore, Riley has a lot of work to do. In my opinion, they should only try to retain Jones, Chalmers and Allen. Chalmers might be a little challenging to keep, considering he might want a pay raise from what he’s getting in Miami.
The one move Miami might be able to make is acquiring Kyle Lowry from Toronto. They could make the money work in getting him in if the big three took a pay cut. If they got him they would not resign Mario Chalmers. As of right now, it looks like Lowry will stay in Toronto.
The one thing Miami is not used to is being able to draft a player who could actually contribute right away. This year they have the 26th pick and in a deep draft, that means they might be able to score a solid bench player. Some of the most current mock drafts have Miami taking Shabazz Napier out of Connecticut at 26th. This would be a phenomenal pick. He would provide some immediate scoring off the bench, something the Heat desperately need.
The fate of Miami literally rests in LeBron James hands. If he opts out and heads to Cleveland, the Heat will still be a good team, but they won’t be a championship contender. If he stays, they still won’t have much of a bench and Dwayne Wade will keep getting older; but they will still be a contender. The key to the Heat’s continued success is Dwayne Wade opting out and taking less money, giving the Heat more flexibility to solidify their bench.
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