Heat’s Sharpshooter Has Cabin Fever: Leaving Miami Is ‘Enticing’

Getty Duncan Robinson #55 of the Miami Heat during an NBA game between the Miami Heat and Orlando Magic at Amway Center on December 23, 2020.

All eyes are on Duncan Robinson as he enters the offseason as a restricted free agent, as it remains unknown whether or not the Miami Heat forward will remain in South Beach or if he’ll get snatched by another team.

Robinson addressed the “stress” and “anxiety” that comes with having an undecided future on the latest episode of his podcast, The Long Shot. While the 27-year-old sharpshooter previously said that he’d love to stay with Miami, Robinson is keeping an open mind.

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“To see what’s out there is obviously an enticing thought,” Robinson admitted. “To have the opportunity to be a free agent and have some options is obviously a coveted position. ”

The Michigan alum is expected to receive a multi-year contract that would pay him roughly anywhere from $15 to $20 million a year, a massive pay raise from his current $1.7 million salary. However, whether or not Miami is willing to shell out that kind of cash to retain him remains a mystery.

“At this point, I have such little information,” Robinson said. “I know what I know and I know the experience that I have had. But I also, I have had only one experience with one team.”

This season, Robinson became the fastest player to notch 500 three-pointers in league history, and even though he’s shooting 40.2% from beyond the line, down from 44.6% from last season, his ceiling remains high.

Bleacher Report‘s Dan Favale wrote of his shooting technique, “The level of difficulty on Robinson’s threes is gargantuan. He is not binge-swishing standstill, ultra-open triples. He is firing treys off motion and doesn’t need oodles of breathing room to let ‘er rip.”


Robinson Is Trying Not to Get ‘Obsessive’ With Worry About Where He’ll End Up

Robinson admitted he’s no longer able to just not think about free agency. “Now, I will start to feel out some different things… really think critically about what I’m looking for in a potential destination.”

“I think the moment you get fixated on a certain outcome, whether it be a number, whether it be a destination, then it’s like you kind of start getting… you just get distracted by that and it becomes, like, obsessive.”

“At this point, three weeks out. Now, I am just going to continue to handle my business day in and day out, take the information as it comes, and hopefully, at some point, the ‘right’ opportunity for me will become clear and we’ll move forward.”


Robinson’s Free Agency Situation is Particularly ‘Complex’


Sun Sentinel’s Ira Winderman succinctly surmised why there’s so much interest in Robinson’s future in Miami, as there are numerous ways in which he could be resigned or signed to another franchise:

The Heat have the right to make him a restricted free agent by extending a $4.7 million qualifying offer by Aug. 2. That, in turn, would allow the Heat to match any outside offer. But the Heat also could bypass the qualifying offer to maximize their cap space and then cycle back to Robinson with an understanding that he would return.

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