The good news is that all of the needle-movers on this team are locked in for next season. Butler ($48,798,677), Adebayo ($34,848,340), Tyler Herro ($29,000,000), Terry Rozier ($24,924,126) and Duncan Robinson ($19,406,000) are all tied in for next year, while the rookie scale contracts of Nikola Jovic and Jaime Jaquez still have plenty of time left to run.
There are, of course, potentially some moving parts on the bench. Free agencies are supposed to be staggered, so as to avoid having too much roster turnover at once, and it is inevitable therefore that some rotation pieces will be in flux headed into the new year. In particular, Kevin Love, Josh Richardson, Thomas Bryant and Caleb Martin all have player options they now have seven weeks to decide on, while the increasingly important Haywood Highsmith heads to unrestricted free agency for the first time.
The bad news is the rising cost of it all. The Heat have never been the most intrepid when it comes to luxury tax payments, and while it is admirable that this has not prevented their recent spending and Lillard-shaped aspirations, the lack of significant expiring salary this offseason means they are destined to be taxpayers once again. For an eighth-seeded team, like they were this season, that becomes hard to stomach.
If another needle-moving player comes along, the cost of their salary will surely not be a problem. The problem might start if they do not. As it is, things are starting to get expensive.
