Running it back with the group that got the Heat to the NBA Finals this offseason might be impossible unless the team is willing to pay a massive tax bill, as Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald details.
Guards Gabe Vincent and Max Strus, who earned minimum salaries in 2022-23, are each expected to command an eight-figure salary when they sign new contracts as unrestricted free agents this summer.
The Heat have always intended to become a taxpaying team in 2023-24, Jackson writes, but they project to be over the luxury tax threshold even before accounting for new deals for Vincent and/or Strus.
Re-signing both players for starting salaries in the range of $10-12M per year would push the projected team salary into the neighborhood of $200M, which would result in a tax bill in excess of $120M.
According to Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report, rival executives are dubious that the Heat are willing to make that kind of tax payment. As such, it seems unlikely that both Vincent and Strus will be back unless the club can find a way to dump salary in a trade.
Kyle Lowry, Tyler Herro, and Duncan Robinson would be the best candidates to be involved in such a deal, and Pincus notes that Herro’s four-year contract probably makes him the best option if the club is seeking additional long-term flexibility.
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