Name: Offseason price tag rises on Duncan Robinson, but Heat have flexibility
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Offseason price tag rises on Duncan Robinson, but Heat have flexibility

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AdvertisementBy South Florida Sun-SentinelJan 22, 2021 at 9:00 amThe NBA basically has left the Miami Heat with a name-your-price tool when it comes to Duncan Robinson and his free-agency cap hold this offseason.Until the early stages of this season, Robinson’s cap hold for the offseason had been $2.1 million, the amount he would count when calculating the Heat’s remaining salary-cap space this summer.AdvertisementBut having remained a starter after his breakout 2019-20 season, the undrafted 3-point specialist recently achieved “starter’s criteria” for the purposes of the salary cap. That has elevated his 2021 cap hold to $4.7 million.And yet, if the Heat’s goal is to maximize their offseason cap space, there remains a maneuver that could reduce Robinson’s cap hold to only $1.7 million.AdvertisementSo how did it change? Follow the money (and the playing time).As a means of rewarding players taken in the second round or who go undrafted, the NBA established a program that would recompense such a player with the same restricted free-agency rights as a No. 21 draft pick, if that player emerges as a starter.By rule, the criteria is met if a player starts half his team’s games or plays at least 2,000 minutes in the season before he is eligible for free agency. The rule also has a two-year aspect, that if a player starts half his team’s games over the prior two seasons before free agency or averages 2,000 minutes in those two seasons, he also is considered to have met “starter’s criteria.”WeeklySee what's buzzing about the Miami Heat, including game analysis, roster changes and more inside info. &gt; Because Robinson played almost solely as a starter last season, and then reemerged as a starter this season, he recently locked himself into the criteria, and is now listed on the Heat’s books with a $4.7 million cap hold for this summer (the same as if he were drafted at No. 21, instead of going undrafted out of Michigan in 2018). The criteria has become prorated because of the shortened 2019-20 season and then this season being reduced from the traditional 82 games to 72, due to the pandemic.With the Heat potentially seeking to maximize their cap space this offseason, either to utilize in a trade or for a potential free agent such as Victor Oladipo, that means currently having $2.6 million less with Robinson’s status having changed.There is, however, another alternative, as pointed out by ESPN’s Bobby Marks, with the former Brooklyn Nets executive noting that the Heat could eventually pull Robinson’s qualifying offer, changing him from a restricted free agent to an unrestricted free agent. That maneuver would allow the Heat to reduce Robinson’s cap hold to $1.7 million, a net gain of $3 million in cap space, before re-signing him.Such a move is not uncommon and would come with an agreement that Robinson does not sign an offer sheet elsewhere before an deal on a new contract is reached with the Heat.No matter the mechanism utilized, the cap hold in no way would represent Robinson’s next salary, which the market would place at least in the $14 million-plus range for 2021-22, but rather would stand as a required placeholder on the Heat’s books. With his Bird Rights, Robinson can be re-signed above the salary cap once all other cap-based moves are completed.AdvertisementThe issue would become moot if the Heat opt to operate above the salary cap in the 2021 offseason and instead retain players with team options on their contracts, such as Goran Dragic, Avery Bradley and Andre Iguodala, and then augment the roster through salary-cap exceptions, similar to how they added Bradley an Moe Harkless this past offseason.Should Kendrick Nunn reemerge in the Heat’s rotation, or regain a foothold in the starting lineup, he, too, could wind up achieving “starter’s criteria,” with a bump in his 2021 offseason salary-cap hold from $2.1 million to $4.7 million. Nunn went undrafted out of Oakland University in 2018 and is on track to become a restricted free agent this summer. Advertisement

AdvertisementBy South Florida Sun-SentinelJan 22, 2021 at 9:00 amThe NBA basically has left the Miami Heat with a name-your-price tool when it comes to Duncan Robinson and his free-agency cap hold this offseason.Until the early stages of this season, Robinson’s cap hold for the offseason had been $2.1 million, the amount he would count when calculating the Heat’s remaining salary-cap space this summer.AdvertisementBut having remained a starter after his breakout 2019-20 season, the undrafted 3-point specialist recently achieved “starter’s criteria” for the purposes of the salary cap. That...

Offseason price tag rises on Duncan Robinson, but Heat have flexibility

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