As the Miami Heat polish their championship trophies, the elephant in the room is the looming payroll and luxury tax issue. As of right now, the Heat will have a payroll of more than $87 million which is $28 million over the salary cap and $15.6 million of the luxury tax line. This is a problem. There are a few ways the Heat could lessen the burden. One way is by exercising their amnesty clause. It was reported that the Heat could shave off a few players, but Heat president Pat Riley says at this moment Miami is not using their amnesty clause.
The two players at risk were Mike Miller and Joel Anthony. The Heat could eliminate about $10 million by wiping either player off the books, but Riley told the Associated Press he has no plans on doing so.
"Right now, we're not using amnesty, no," Riley said. "We want to win and we want to win again next year and we've going to try to do everything we can to do that. What I said at the end of the season is what I meant. I want to try to keep this team intact as long as we can because we have a championship basketball team here and continuity being, I think the most important thing to when it comes to winning championships."
Riley is certainly not wrong and if there is a person that is smart enough to construct a roster to win three championships back-to-back-to-back, it is him. Riley is fully aware that the Heat's time is now with big changes looming for the team next summer.
Anthony was at risk of being out after the team re-signed Chris Andersen to a one-year contract. He produced great defense during the regular season, but Andersen took over in the postseason, playing a key role for the Heat's championship run with his size. Miller was a key piece during the postseason as well, playing all seven games in the Finals for at least 15 minutes a game. However, his three-point shooting skills can be replaced by another bench player.
As of now, Riley is standing by his words. This is the NBA so to say that Miller and Anthony are completely safe would be crazy, but the team president appears content with the players in place. Next summer, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh can all opt out and head elsewhere. The Heat will aim to either re-sign everyone or clear the books. For now, the idea that Miami will be back in the Finals come 2014 is not crazy.
