Barring another unforeseen signing for the minimum, the Miami Heat completed perhaps their last order of business before training camp opens up in less than two weeks.
On Friday, the Miami Heat extended guard Pelle Larsson, signing him to a brand new four-year, $60 million deal. That deal will not take effect until the 2027-28 season. Thus, Larsson will still be playing his 2026-27 season on his $2.3 million salary.
How does this affect the Heat’s books in the future? Let’s examine!
Miami Heat’s future salary cap sheet through 2029-30:
| PLAYERS | 2027-28 | 2028-29 | 2029-30 |
| Giannis Antetokounmpo | $62,786,682 | ||
| Bam Adebayo | $53,447,364 | $57,406,428 | |
| Andrew Wiggins | $16,346,754 | $17,653,846 | |
| Bobby Portis | $15,597,074 | ||
| Nikola Jovic | $14,904,000 | $15,096,000 | $16,200,000 |
| Pelle Larsson | $13,392,857 | $14,464,286 | $15,535,714 |
| Klay Thompson | $5,880,000 | ||
| Dru Smith | $2,934,742 | ||
| Myron Gardner | $2,525,901 | ||
| Ryan Conwell | $2,294,370 | $2,694,363 |
For the sake of this exercise, we will only examine what exists through 2029-30 — a three-year future window. Larsson and Nikola Jovic are the only two players on contract through that timeframe; Larsson’s new deal features a $15.5 million mutual option, while Jovic is on contract for $16.2 million, the final year of his four-year extension.
The two players’ extensions are fairly similar in size and structure, minus the aforementioned mutual option, which essentially gives both the Heat and Larsson the ability to split up if it doesn’t work.
Miami will have 10 players on contract in 2027-28, which includes Giannis Antetokounmpo’s $62.8 million, as well as options tied to Bobby Portis (player), Klay Thompson (player) and Dru Smith (team). Myron Gardner’s contract is also non-guaranteed.
As it currently stands, the Heat would be $23.5 million below the luxury tax, $32.4 million below the first apron and $45.9 million below the second. More space could be created if any of those aforementioned options aren’t exercised.
While I remain critical of the Wiggins extension, the most beneficial part is that he is only on the books for $16.5 million next year; $30 million combined from both Wiggins and Larsson, two of the Heat’s five players, is massive. This also creates enough flexibility to re-sign Mitchell, who will be an unrestricted free agent next summer, as well as potentially use their mid-level exception and/or biannual exception in free agency.
Antetokounmpo will not be extension-eligible until Jan. 6, and Adebayo won’t be until next offseason, although the latter’s new deal wouldn’t take effect until 2028-29 at the earliest.
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kawhi signs 2 year extension im really nervous about my 4th.got lebron in phily with brown.kawhi in toronto .jeez i wish we were in the west
Hang loose. It will take the team a while to gel. We should know more about it’s potential well before the trade deadline.
Who knows what kinds of deals may fall out of the trees before then. Trades, buyouts, etc. Maybe one or more of the younguns breaks through as a legit rotation player.
Bottom line is it should be interesting, if nothing else. I still think many here and around the league will be surprised by just how disruptive/ effective the Heat’s defense will be.
Yeah, OKC and the Spurs would be real pushovers.
think nyk tor phily all better okc lost bunch guys.wembys kinda been figured out how to stop doesnt like contact give him some dusty rhoades elbows every now and then he/ll be hanging out with uncan at 3pt line lgh
I think we are right up there with Toronto and can compete with the other two.
Minn, Denver, Houston, Lakers also piece of cake.
More pushovers! They’d all be play-in teams in the east.
Yup. One of them might make #6 seed, if lucky.
Oh, btw, did you see how after one playoff series, the NBA has Wemby figured out. He’s no longer a threat – might even go to the G League.
Per AI:
Wemby is not “overpowered” by physical defenders, but they can disrupt his preferred inside game and force him into different offensive roles. He has shown the ability to adapt, but physical matchups remain a notable strategic consideration for both him and his team.
He has adapted by using his shooting, movement, and off‑ball skills to counter physical defenders, and he continues to lead the NBA in blocks and earn Defensive Player of the Year. His ability to adjust — and his overall skill set — means that while physical defenders can create problems, they do not define his ceiling.
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Bottom line, with Giannis, Bam and Richards, Miami should be able to make Wemby uncomfortable and take him out of his game. Unlike Richards and other big defenders,Giannis and Bam both have the strength and athleticism to make life difficult for him. Match-ups should be fun to watch.
Cross fingers Pele is worth the $$$.
Meanwhile…a month to go to see how this new look Heat breaks the court. Go Heat!!
Apparently the Heat dodged a bullet by Kawhi rejecting Pat’s trade offer and saying yes to the Raptors.
Kawhi with Giannis would’ve been a bad thing?
No money to pay Giannis, Bam and Kahwi. Heat aren’t the Dodgers.
I wasn’t addressing the finances. I was trying to figure out if he was saying having both those players wouldn’t be good.
Sure. If there wasn’t a cap limit.
what was the offer mr insider
Wiggins extension was clearly done with the Larsson extension in mind. It cost resigning Powell for this year, who the Heat are attempting to replace in the aggregate with THJ, Klay, Simone and Conwell. It’s 100% worth it for Wiggins to make 30 this year because it sets up next year when he is making just over the 16m MLE and Larsson under. The 3rd and 4th best players on the team making only MLE level deals, MLE is only 9.12% of the cap, is very good from a salary perspective for the team.
Miami Heat star Bam Adebayo publicly signaled his support for retiring Jimmy Butler’s No. 22 Jersey.
WTF Bam? Don’t you know Wiggins is wearing #22 and that if he wins a ring in the next couple of years, his number 22 should go in the rafters since that will be one more ring than what Butler won in six years?
Losers and quitters don’t get their jersies retired or statues built in Miami! Maybe the Sixers will do that him. F’n quitter!
I agree. There’s no reason for having this discussion at the moment. He made that decision himself. He chose money over his legacy. Sorry, I meant joy over legacy, of course. And I don’t blame him for choosing money, that’s his business. But leaving the way he did, I think he made it clear he was not interested in having his jersey retired.
Under no circumstances should his jersey be hung in the rafters
Maybe Chicago, Minneapolis, Philadelphia or Golden State will do it… although I doubt it since up until it he hasn’t won jack s**t.
if he would have just played out his contract like every other nba player id have no problem retiring his # even w/o winning a ring he was really really good here especially in playoffs .but the way it ended theres no shot that will happen.hes was a difference maker here 4 sure.bam is not a diff maker ,u just have to look at the cleve playoffs w.o quitter will i always say this u cant win a champ with bam as second best player and unfort right now he is
He still wouldn’t deserve to have his jersey hung in the rafters.
If my ex had just waited until our daughter grew up. She didn’t. It’s on her.
If if if, no no no
Can Riley and Spo can get him to buy into a specific role and contain his enthusiasm and wrecklessness? If so, is it worth a shot bringing in Russell Westbrook on a non-guaranteed contract to see if he fits? If Miami is going to roll the dice, may as well go for broke.
If he doesn’t fit he can be released. No harm…no foul. If he fits well in a limited part-time role that helps the team, everyone wins.
He’s never played fewer than 20mpg and announced he was retiring rather than accept that type of role on a team this year.
Assuming Westbrook is playing on the Heat, what is he doing better than Dru Smith and Ryan Conwell at backup guard? He doesn’t space the floor around Giannis. He doesn’t provide defense by containing the ball 1v1 and rotating in help defense. His career playoff ppg 22.5 looks impressive but was done on 19.5 FGA per game. In the playoffs he shoots 40% FG, 30% 3FG, 44% eFG, and since 2016 his teams were never out of the first round except with Denver two years ago.
He can rebound, be a playmaker and play defense if he puts his mind to it and still run. I didn’t guarantee he would fit. I just suggested it might be worth exploring. Nothing more.
The Heat were the 8th best defensive rebounding team before adding Giannis, they don’t need rebounding on a team with a frontcourt of Wiggins, Giannis and Bam.
Westbrook can’t change his game to play defense, but people have been saying this for the last 10 years. His entire career was about being a top option on offense and saving energy on defense for offense. If you watch back the 2016 WCF between OKC and GSW, OKC loses in part because of Westbrook’s defense. He doesn’t guard on defense and goes all out on offense, and on defense chases rebounds and steals. And that was in the WCF on the highest stage with a chance to go to the Finals. His game hasn’t changed since then.
Can Riley and Spo get him to buy into a specific role and contain his enthusiasm and wrecklessness?… If he doesn’t fit he can be released. No harm…no foul. If he fits well in a limited part-time role that helps the team, everyone wins.
I gave reasons why “Can team X get him to buy in to a specific role” doesn’t work, despite being an offseason headline every single year. Terrible defense and needing to be a volume shooter on offense are the main reasons, which have been consistent since his peak years. And he just declined a limited role on a non-guaranteed contract by retiring.
Limited role on a terrible team. With Miami, he has a chance to win a ring for the first time in his career. He reached the NBA Finals only once in 2012 with the Oklahoma City Thunder but lost 4–1 to the Miami Heat.
Former NBA All‑Star Zach Randolph has said he believes Russell Westbrook could come out of retirement. Names Heat as Potential Destination.