Tyler Johnson should slide into the starting spot left open by Dwayne Wade’s departure.
Today, I feel bad for the Brooklyn Nets. Earlier today the Trailblazers surprised many by matching the Nets offer sheet for Allen Crabbe and now the Heat have decided to match the Nets offer sheet for guard Tyler Johnson.
Under his new contract, Johnson will earn $5,628,000 next season and $5,881,260 during the 2017-2018 campaign. The final two years will be at an average of $19,245,370 a year.
That’s a huge chunk of money for a combo guard who averaged 8.7 points a game last year.
The team has also acquired forward Luke Babbitt from New Orleans Pelicans for a future conditional second-round draft pick and cash.
With Chris Bosh‘s status up-in-the-air moving forward, it’s difficult to get a feel for how a roster centered around Johnson, Hassan Whiteside, Goran Dragic, and Justise Winslow will fair.
Following the recent moves, Miami projects to have about $17 million available to spend on free agents next summer.
More interesting than the Heat will be seeing what happens next with the Nets. This is now two major pieces for the future that they’ve lost today. At the wing position, the best available players would be shooting guard’s Dion Waiters (restricted) and J.R. Smith, power forward Jared Sullinger and center Donatas Motiejunas. Sticking with the theme of younger players, Waiters and Sullinger could be good gambles.
- TAGS
- 2016 NBA Free Agency
- Allen Crabbe
- Brooklyn Nets
- Miami Heat
- Tyler Johnson
