Winderman: Butler, Robinson, Iguodala part of Heat 2020-21 intrigue | Commentary

Last weekend was about free agency. The coming week will be about the starting of training camp. Such is the tornado of an offseason on steroids.

There can be no exhale, just a second wind to get back up to speed.

So what to make of how the Miami Heat emerged from free agency?

Three thoughts:

— It is becoming increasingly evident that there may not be a specific, quote, unquote Jimmy Butler Team with the Heat, a roster with constant complements, the way the Big Three of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh had Mike Miller, Mario Chalmers, Udonis Haslem, James Jones and other enduring elements.

For Butler, his Heat tenure began with the possibilities of Justise Winslow, James Johnson, and Dion Waiters alongside.

Then it was the season-ending rotation with heavy doses of Jae Crowder and Andre Iguodala.

Now there are the potential fits of Precious Achiuwa, Avery Bradley and Maurice Harkless.

And, all the while, there is the front-office goal of adding another leading man, be it the Giannis Antetokounmpo infatuation or an elite free agent or trade acquisition.

In the end, the most stable roster of Butler’s career might have been his initial roster with the Chicago Bulls and developing alongside Luol Deng, Taj Gibson, Joakim Noah and Derrick Rose.

— For as expertly as the Heat have crafted their salary-cap sheet, including the nominal cap hold for next summer’s free agency with Duncan Robinson (either $2.1 million or $4.7 million if he, as expected, meets “starter criteria”), the bill assuredly is coming due with the 3-point revelation.

Even in a depressed free-agency market, the value placed on shooting was sobering, with Joe Harris receiving $75 million over four years from the Brooklyn Nets, Davis Bertans $80 million over five years from the Washington Wizards, Danilo Gallinari $61.5 million over three years from the Atlanta Hawks and Bogdan Bogdanovic $72 million over four years from the Hawks.

And that is where it will get interesting for Pat Riley and Andy Elisburg next summer.

Already, the Heat have Butler on their 2021-22 books at $36 million, Bam Adebayo at at least $28.1 million (and possibly $33.7 million if he makes one of the All-NBA teams or is named Defensive Player of the Year), with the hopes of luring an elite talent to play alongside those two.

So with Robinson seemingly in line for upward of $18 million, it not only would create a roster overwhelmingly top heavy, but perhaps one awkwardly positioned for Tyler Herro’s 2023 free agency.

— So where do the Heat’s moves leave the team, with Achiuwa, Bradley and Harkless in, and Crowder, Derrick Jones Jr. and Solomon Hill out?

Largely where they stood last season, with a shot to fight for homecourt advantage in the first round in the Eastern Conference and then steel themselves for something more significant in the playoffs, which yet could potentially offer Bubble 2.0.

The Milwaukee Bucks, whether with an extended Antetokounmpo or not, will again push for regular-season supremacy, if only to re-instill confidence with Giannis.

The Brooklyn Nets have waited over a year for this Kevin Durant-Kyrie Irving moment.

The Boston Celtics still have Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Kemba Walker (Better than Butler, Bam and Goran Dragic?).

And the Toronto Raptors made a sneaky good signing in Aron Baynes after losing Serge Ibaka and the remnants of Marc Gasol.

Yes, Herro’s game is on the rise, and Achiuwa could provide a welcomed boost of youthful athleticism to a team that could be returning with a playoff hangover.

But what ultimately could redefine this season’s Heat from the team that wrapped things up at Disney on Oct. 11 is the complete Andre Iguodala, an element yet to be fully integrated into mix. Last season, it was almost as if Crowder was playing the role of Iguodala. This season, there is no such alternative.

IN THE LANE

HARD TIMES: This offseason’s free agency served as the perfect example of the hoops the Heat front office jumped through in the 2019 offseason to offload last season’s $27 million salary of Hassan Whiteside. With Whiteside unable to land no more than a deal for the $2.3 million veteran’s minimum with the Sacramento Kings, it showed exactly where the former Heat center stands in the eyes of league executives. Consider that in the past week, Robin Lopez received $7 million for 2020-21 from the Washington Wizards, Mason Plumlee a three-year, $25 million contract from the Detroit Pistons, and Jacob Poetl a three-year, $27 million deal from the San Antonio Spurs. The cost of unloading Whiteside in order to clear 2019 cap space or Jimmy Butler was a 2023 first-round pick. Now it becomes clear why such a sweetener stood as necessary.

KEEPING UP WITH JONES: With the New York Times chronicling the opening hours of Derrick Jones Jr.’s free agency, it became apparent that the Heat’s invitation of a return on a one-year deal was not going to make the final cut for the versatile forward. Instead it came down to the Sacramento Kings, Minnesota Timberwolves and Portland Trail Blazers, especially after the Charlotte Hornets concentrated their focus on Gordon Hayward. The Blazers emerged as the choice, with Jones receiving a two-year, $20 million deal at the full mid-level exception, with the second year at his option. Unlike with the Heat and their loaded wing rotation, Jones said he saw a clear opportunity with Portland at small forward. “At the three position they need me to come in here and do exactly what I do,” he said during his welcome interview session, “which is get out, run the floor, get shots if they open, play great defense.”

THE GOOD FIGHT: Now back in the gym after limping to the end of the NBA Finals, Goran Dragic said there are no regrets about pushing through Game 6 against the Los Angeles Lakers essentially on one foot, after tearing a plantar fascia earlier in the series. “I wanted to be out there,” he said of the Oct. 11 loss that ended the Heat’s season. “I wanted to be out there. Of course, I was not 100 percent. I was not even close. But I was talking to Spo [coach Erik Spoelstra], and he told me it doesn’t matter how many minutes you can give me, just try, and I begged him to. So I think it was the right decision. I didn’t want to have regrets after a few years and ask myself, ‘What would happen if I tried?’ At least I accepted what was done and now we move on.”

THE LONG ROAD: Sometimes the smallest of free-agency signings are the most gratifying. Such is the case with forward Greg Whittington getting a two-way contract with the Denver Nuggets. If the name sounds familiar it is because Whittington, the undrafted forward out of Georgetown, had a solid 2015 summer league and training camp with the Heat before moving on to the team’s G League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce, and winning the 2016 championship there under Dan Craig. In the interim, Whittington has played in Australia, Japan, Israel and Turkey. “It was a tough decision this year, leaving that money on the table and not going back [overseas], but I decided it was time to bet on myself and trust that my talent would get me this opportunity,” Whittington, 27, told the Baltimore Sun. “I honestly don’t even know how to feel right now, just so many emotions. But I feel like tough people prevail.”

NUMBER

43 1/2. Over-under line for Heat 2020-21 win total by BetOnLine for the NBA’s 72-game regular season, a win total that would translate to 49 1/2 for a typical 82-game season. The Heat went 44-29 during last season’s truncated schedule. The Heat have not won more than 49 games since going 54-28 in 2013-14.

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