The busy part of the NBA offseason is almost here.
With the Kevin Durant trade rumblings getting louder and the NBA Draft less than two weeks away, major roster moves around the league will be made soon.
What will the Miami Heat do to its roster after being eliminated in the first round of the playoffs in each of the last two seasons? The Heat’s top decision makers will spend the next few weeks working to provide an answer to that question.
“I think we do have to make changes,” Heat president Pat Riley said in May during his season-ending news conference. “There’s no doubt, there has to be some change. So until you change the way you go about doing the things that you do to win. If you don’t win, you have to go about making changes to make sure that you can win.”
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Here’s a rundown of the notable dates and deadlines to know for the month ahead ...
▪ The first day after the NBA Finals: The Heat and other NBA teams can begin negotiating with their own impending free agents on the day after the last game of the NBA Finals. For the Heat, that means negotiations can begin with impending free agents Davion Mitchell (restricted free agent) and Alec Burks (unrestricted free agent).
▪ June 25: The first round of the NBA Draft, with the Heat holding the 20th overall pick in the first round — a selection that initially belonged to the Golden State Warriors but the Heat acquired as part of the Jimmy Butler trade made in February. The Heat is permitted to trade the 20th pick before the upcoming draft because it owns its pick in next year’s draft.
▪ June 26: The second round of the NBA Draft, with the Heat not currently holding a pick in the second round of this year’s draft. NBA teams can buy and sell second-round selections.
▪ June 29: The deadline for most contract options around the NBA. This is the deadline for the Heat to pick up the $2 million team option in Keshad Johnson’s contract for next season. In addition, this is the deadline for the Heat to extend an $8.7 million qualifying offer to Mitchell for next season’s salary to make him a restricted free agent, allowing Miami to match outside offers in free agency to retain Mitchell. If the Heat doesn’t extend that qualifying offer, Mitchell would become an unrestricted free agent this offseason and Miami would lose the power to always have an opportunity match outside offers. In addition, this is the deadline to extend qualifying offers to retain the right of first refusal on the contracts of two-way players Dru Smith and Isaiah Stevens. Josh Christopher is not eligible for another two-way deal next season because he’s entering his fourth NBA season and two-way contracts are only for players with three or fewer years of NBA experience. Finally, this is the deadline for Duncan Robinson to exercise the early-termination option on his $19.9 million salary for next season and become an unrestricted free agent this summer.
▪ June 30: League-wide free agent negotiations can begin at 6 p.m. The Heat is currently operating above the salary cap and stands just $4 million away from the luxury-tax threshold with 13 players under contract for next season. At this point, the Heat would only have minimum contracts, one of the mid-level exceptions (either the $14.1 million non-taxpayer midlevel exception or the $5.7 taxpayer million mid-level exception) and possibly the $5.1 million bi-annual exception to offer outside free agents.
▪ July 1: The start of the window for the Heat to sign Nikola Jovic to an extension this offseason. Also, the NBA’s free agency moratorium begins at 12:01 a.m. for all contracts other than the signing of first-round picks and minimum deals (two years or less). Restricted free agents are also still allowed to sign an offer sheet, and third-year and fourth-year rookie options can still be exercised. Two-way contracts can also still be signed and converted during the moratorium.
▪ July 5: The Heat opens summer league in the California Classic at Chase Center in San Francisco. The Heat will play three games in this four-team summer league event that also features the Warriors, San Antonio Spurs and Los Angeles Lakers. The California Classic ends on July 8.
▪ July 6: The NBA’s moratorium is lifted at noon, as teams can sign free agents, trades based on the new salary-cap year can become official and the clock begins on offer sheets signed during the moratorium. Rookie-scale and veteran contracts can also now be extended.
▪ July 8: The deadline to guarantee Robinson’s full $19.9 million salary for next season. If Robinson doesn’t exercise the early-termination option on his deal by the June 30 deadline, he would then have $9.9 million of his $19.9 million salary for next season guaranteed and the final $10 million of his salary would become guaranteed if he’s still on the Heat’s roster after July 8. The Heat can create $10 million in savings against the salary cap, luxury tax and aprons by waiving Robinson by the July 8 deadline.
▪ July 10: Las Vegas summer league begins and runs through July 20. After playing in the California Classic, the Heat will join the league’s other 29 teams for Las Vegas summer league. The game schedule has not yet been announced.