The Miami Heat reportedly are looking at other avenues for improvement after losing (at least for now) the ability to have enough cap space for a max contract in 2026 free agency.
While the Heat moved off of veteran forward Jimmy Butler’s massive salary in a trade last month, they took on fellow forward Andrew Wiggins’ contract in the trade. According to the Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson, that has limited Miami’s options for the 2026 offseason.
They are down to 37 M in 2026 space, less if they pay jovic. Once Wiggins was acquired, Max space in 2026 disappeared
— Barry Jackson (@flasportsbuzz) March 23, 2025
Jackson shared that the Heat hope to build through the draft and potential trades while also relying on development from some of their younger players.
Hope to improve from draft and potential trades and growth by the young guys. Riley will address after season
— Barry Jackson (@flasportsbuzz) March 23, 2025
Wiggins has a player option for the 2026-27 season worth a bit over $30 million. If the Heat can find a way to avoid being on the hook for that year of his deal (or if they were to open up space some other way), their options would open back up for free agency in 2026. But for now, they may need to make alternative plans.
Miami has a lot of solid young pieces, including its last three first-round picks in Nikola Jovic, Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Kel’el Ware. The Heat certainly could take a step forward if those guys were to improve going into the 2025-26 season.
However, the Heat have fallen on tough times this season, losing 10 games in a row to fall to the No. 10 seed in the Eastern Conference. The Heat may need much more than internal improvement to become contenders in the East again, so it makes sense that Jackson also mentioned the possibility of improvement via trade and/or the draft.
On the bright side, the Heat have two foundational players in Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo. Herro made his first All-Star team this season, and Adebayo is a three-time All-Star that has been a fixture on the league’s All-Defensive teams in recent seasons.
As previously indicated, Miami could look to offload some salary in a trade to open up cap space for the 2026 offseason. That may be harder to do, but it’s possible that a team with cap room would be willing to take on a deal if incentivized with draft capital.
For now, head coach Erik Spoelstra and the Heat are aiming to salvage whatever they can from the 2024-25 season. Miami still can make the playoffs (it’ll likely have to go through the play-in tournament to do so), and it did make a deep playoff run as the No. 8 seed in the 2022-23 season.
