Getty Miami Heat president Pat Riley addresses the media during Jimmy Butler's 2019 introductory press conference.
After the Miami Heat fell just short of making good on their championship aspirations last season, big questions were being asked about how team president Pat Riley would respond. Would he make a play for Bradley Beal? Donovan Mitchell, perhaps? Or was there some kind of sneaky free-agent play to make?
While we all asked ourselves those questions, one thing felt like an absolute certainty — that the Godfather wouldn’t be content to run it back. However, 10 days into NBA free agency, that’s essentially what has transpired.
Sure, the Kevin Durant thing is hanging out there in the ether, and there’s still the whole summer left to get stuff done, too. As it stands, though, Miami’s big moves have been to re-up with Victor Oladipo, Caleb Martin and Dewayne Dedmon. There’s nothing inherently wrong with that, either; all three played a part in getting Miami the East’s No. 1 seed and a spot in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Whether there are more dominoes yet to fall remains to be seen. In the meantime, Spotrac’s Keith Smith has uncovered new details on two of the returners’ contracts. Namely, those of Oladipo and Martin.
Oladipo’s Option & Guarantee Total
As reported by Smith, Oladipo will make $8.75 million with the Heat next season, after which he’ll see a bump to $9.45 million. Not only that — both years are fully guaranteed and the 30-year-old will have a player option in year two. There are no incentives in the deal, either; what you see is what you get.
By structuring the deal this way, Riley and Co. have a smidge more leeway in 2022-23 where managing their books and making moves with their roster are concerned. However, Oladipo also comes out looking like a winner.
If the former No. 2 overall pick has a big comeback year — as he fully intends to do — he can opt out and score an even bigger payday next summer. Even if that doesn’t come to pass, he has an additional $7.2 million in guaranteed money at this very moment.
Originally, it was reported (by The Athletic and others) that Oladipo — who successfully returned from a lengthy knee rehab in March — would be back in South Beach on a one-year deal worth $11 million. However, the two sides eventually agreed to re-work the contract in a way that appears to be mutually beneficial, per the Miami Herald’s Anthony Chiang.
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Martin Signed Using Part of MLE
Smith also reported that the final year of Martin’s three-year, $20 million pact with the Heat came with a player option. And while the three-year pro is undoubtedly happy to control his contractual destiny in such a way, the fact that he’s getting so much guaranteed scratch on a multi-year deal is the big win.
Less than a year ago, Martin was inking a two-way contract with the Heat with the simple hope of landing a back-end roster spot after getting waived by the Charlotte Hornets. Now, he’s a made man in Miami.
In addition to the third-year option and Martin’s deal being made with part of the non-tax midlevel exception that was equal to the taxpayer MLE, Smith further revealed that the 26-year-old’s contract includes a 15% trade bonus.
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