The Miami Heat watched Max Strus and Gabe Vincent sign elsewhere in free agency last summer. This offseason, the Heat is hoping not to lose two rotation players in free agency for the second straight year. That’s why the Heat — with the first round of this year’s NBA Draft being held on Wednesday night and the second round on Thursday (4 p.m., ESPN) — is working to find a way to avoid losing both Haywood Highsmith and Caleb Martin in free agency, which opens around the league on Sunday at 6 p.m.
Highsmith is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer and Martin holds a $7.1 million player option in his contract that he needs to decide on by Saturday. Both are in line for the biggest paydays of their NBA careers this offseason. But as the Heat prepares to enter free agency with a payroll already above the first apron and not far from crossing the ultrapunitive second apron, the best Miami can realistically hope for is to re-sign either Highsmith or Martin and not both players. Bringing back Highsmith and Martin would push the Heat, as presently constructed, past the second apron — a threshold that Miami prefers not to cross because of the onerous restrictions that come with it. Crossing the second apron means the Heat wouldn’t be able to take back more money in a trade than it sends out, aggregate salaries in a trade or send out cash in a trade, among other limitations.
ESPN’s Bobby Marks, an ESPN front office insider and former team executive, told the Miami Herald that he projects Highsmith to get in the $8 million to $10 million range per season and Martin to receive the full $12.9 million nontaxpayer midlevel exception in free agency this offseason. According to league sources, since NBA teams were allowed to begin negotiating with their own impending free agents on June 18, there have already been discussions between the Heat and Highsmith regarding a potential new contract. The Heat has interest in keeping Highsmith, and Highsmith has interest in returning to the Heat. “I definitely want to stay in Miami,” Highsmith said after the Heat’s season came to an end in early May when asked about his impending free agency. “I love being here. My family lives here, my daughter lives here. So that’s a big priority for me, just to be around my daughter a lot. But I just got to figure it out and just take my time and understand it’s going to work itself out and everything happens for a reason.”
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