Bam Adebayo (13) shakes hands with Pat Riley, president of the Miami Heat, right, during the second day of Heat Training Camp on Oct. 1, 2025, at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton. Alie Skowronski askowronski@miamiherald.com
The Miami Heat will soon be able to fill its 15th and final standard roster spot without entering luxury tax territory.
Saturday marks the first day this season that the Heat can sign a 15th player to a standard contract without crossing the luxury tax threshold. But the expectation, according to a league source, is the Heat won’t immediately fill its open standard roster spot in part to preserve salary-cap flexibility for potential trades and late-season signings.
With the Heat currently just about $1.6 million below the NBA’s punitive luxury tax line, the prorated minimum contract becomes just under $1.6 million for the rest of the season on Saturday.
This is important because after finishing as a luxury tax team in each of the past two seasons, the Heat does not intend to be a luxury tax team this season in order to avoid the onerous repeater tax that’s triggered when a team crosses the luxury-tax threshold in four straight seasons or four times during a five-season period.
Waiting to fill the open spot on its roster preserves some trade flexibility for the Heat. How? As a team below the first and second aprons, the Heat is permitted to take back more salary in a trade than it sends out.
By not immediately signing a player to a minimum contract to fill its open standard roster spot in the coming days, the Heat will remain about $1.6 million below the luxury tax line. This allows the Heat to take back about $1.6 million more salary in a potential trade while still avoiding the luxury tax.
If the Heat signs a player to a minimum contract any time soon, that wiggle room to take back more salary in a potential trade while still remaining under the luxury tax threshold would be gone.
Not immediately filling the open roster spot also could allow the Heat to make a second free agent addition later in the season without entering luxury tax territory. That’s because each day the Heat waits to sign a 15th player to a standard contract, the prorated minimum deal for the rest of the season becomes $13,200 cheaper.
So hypothetically, the Heat could wait until February to fill its 15th standard roster spot and then still have enough room under the luxury tax to sign another player to a standard deal in the final weeks or days of the regular season without crossing the luxury tax line.
This late-season second signing could be used to sign a veteran free agent, sign a developmental player the Heat is interested in adding to its program or convert one of its two-way contract players to a standard deal. It’s important to note that players in the NBA must be waived by March 1 in order to be playoff eligible elsewhere, and they can then sign with a new team up to the final day of the regular season.
Of course, the Heat would need to open an additional roster spot to be able to make a second signing later in the season since it currently only has one open standard roster spot.
Miami Heat general manager Andy Elisburg looks on during training camp at Abessino Court at Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton on October 2, 2025. PHOTO BY AL DIAZ adiaz@miamiherald.com
The one obvious way to create a second open roster spot is to waive guard Terry Rozier, who remains away from the Heat after his October arrest stemming from a federal investigation into illegal gambling. The NBA placed Rozier on paid leave shortly after his arrest, with the Heat continuing to list him as “not with team” on its injury reports this season.
Waiving Rozier would create an additional $1.7 million of room below the luxury tax threshold since only $24.9 million of his $26.6 million salary for this season is currently guaranteed. The Heat would need to waive him by Jan. 7 before his full season salary becomes guaranteed on Jan. 10.
Waiving Rozier before his full salary for this season becomes guaranteed would actually allow the Heat to immediately sign two players to fill its two open standard roster spots — if it hasn’t already filled its one current open roster spot— while remaining under the luxury tax.
But the Heat has not yet received clarity from the league about whether it could trade or waive Rozier in the wake of his October arrest, according to a league source.
Among the Heat’s in-season options in free agency are center Mo Bamba, guard Malik Beasley, forward Dalano Banton, guard Kobe Bufkin, guard Alec Burks, center Kai Jones (can reportedly opt out of his current contract with a Turkish basketball team in January 2026 to join an NBA team), forward Trey Lyles (can reportedly opt out of his current contract in Europe to join an NBA team this season), forward Cody Martin, guard Ben Simmons, guard Dennis Smith Jr. and guard TyTy Washington Jr.
Another option for the Heat is to convert one of its current two-way contract players — forward Myron Gardner, center Vlad Goldin or guard Jahmir Young — to a standard deal to fill the 15th and final roster spot. This would also open one two-way contract slot for the Heat to add a developmental player.
But as of Friday, nothing appears imminent for the Heat. Miami is expected to prioritize its roster and trade flexibility over making an immediate signing to fill the open spot on its standard roster in the coming days.