The Miami Heat have tried to be very careful with the contracts they handed out this offseason as they prep for a big run in 2016. It is unclear exactly how big that run could be, but the Heat want to be prepared to have the most salary cap space as possible. Part of that offseason run could be giving Hassan Whiteside a big contract, but the possibility of landing Kevin Durant might hurt that effort.
According to Zach Lowe of Grantland.com, the Heat intend to chase Durant next offseason when the former MVP is a free agent. Durant will demand a max contract. At most, the Heat can open up around $45 million in salary cap space next offseason if they get rid of Josh McRoberts. If the Heat were to land Durant, they would be giving a max contract to him, re-signing Dwyane Wade to a contract that will not be a hometown discount and needing to give Whiteside a new deal.
The Heat will be in big trouble if Whiteside goes off and has a big season following the unexpected production he put up last year. While $45 million is a lot of cap space, it is not enough to give Whiteside, Wade and Durant the contracts they will demand. So who is the odd man out? According to Lowe, that could fall on Whiteside. Miami does not have full Bird rights with the big man so they will dip into salary cap space to sign him. However, they could use him as a big sign-and-trade chip to acquire another star.
It is a tough scenario for the Heat, but if team president Pat Riley is faced with the choice to either sign Whiteside or Durant, he will likely pick the later. The Heat loaded up on size in the offseason with players like Amar'e Stoudemire signing on. They also have Chris Andersen on the roster. There is the option of trading Whiteside in the middle of the season while his value is still very high. However, the Heat run the risk of losing Whiteside and not getting Durant which could leave them very empty handed.
Miami has a few tough decisions coming up for the team. It does not help that Wade is playing on a one-year deal and will want a pay day next summer. Durant would be a solid addition, but it is a question of whether the Heat can make all of the numbers work.