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After giving out nearly $100 million to one player in the summer, you're not often in rebuilding mode. But that's where the Miami Heat find themselves after the last few months. Dwyane Wade left for Chicago and Chris Bosh's career with the team is over after his latest medical setback. That leaves Pat Riley with Hassan Whiteside in the middle of the rebuilding project, guys like Tyler Johnson, Justise Winslow, and Josh Richardson as guys to develop, and the rest of the team in a very fluid situation that could be changed at any time.

Riley told the media on Monday the Heat are trying to win now but are also in a rebuilding mode much like they found themselves in before LeBron James and Bosh signed with the team in 2010. During that time, they had Wade as their centerpiece and were looking to add significant upgrades to the roster. It ended up working out to the tune of four straight Finals appearances and two championships.

From CBS Sports' Ethan Skolnick:

Riley went on a little further, per Skolnick:

"Now we're on to rebuilding, I mean really rebuilding," Riley said. "But at the same time, coach's attitude and my attitude is we want to win. And we don't know what we really have. But we love Hassan (Whiteside), we love Josh (Richardson) and Justise (Winslow) and Tyler (Johnson) and a lot of the other young players that we have, so I think from that standpoint, it's a wait and let's see what happens. And then we'll go from there. We're rebuilding now. We're not tweaking, like we did with the Big Three team. Or retooling, like we had to do right after LeBron left. We're rebuilding, but we're rebuilding to win now."

For Riley, he's never valued the draft much outside of picks like Wade and Winslow over the years. He's much more into big trades like he accomplished with Shaquille O'Neal or big signings like he pulled off with LeBron and Bosh. Moving forward, the team will have max cap room this summer thanks to Bosh's money coming off the books in February. Will that be the moment in which the Heat make another big splash in free agency with one of the big time free agents available?

Let's look at the rebuilding situation for the Heat:

Hassan Whiteside is currently the franchise player

Two years ago, Hassan Whiteside was fresh off playing in both Lebanon and China after a failed run through the NBA. The big man barely made it two years with the Sacramento Kings as a second-round pick and couldn't find a job in the NBA for the next two years. After that time overseas, he came back and tried to catch on with the Memphis Grizzlies for the 2014-15 season. It didn't happen. He spent some time with the Iowa Energy in the D-League before the Miami Heat decided to give him a chance to finally create an NBA career for himself. In the blink of an eye, Whiteside was becoming an interior presence you'd want on the court without "garbage time" being involved.

It's now Hassan Whiteside's squad. USATSI

Two years later, he's the Heat's franchise player. Dwyane Wade left for Chicago and Chris Bosh's career might be over due to blood clot issues. The Heat signed Whiteside to a four-year, $98 million deal after he averaged 14.2 points, 11.7 rebounds, and a league-leading 3.7 blocks last season. He's only played 140 games in the past six seasons, but at 27 and a real presence inside, the Heat have no choice but to turn to him to be the main guy.

There is inherent risk involved here because you could argue Whiteside is still an unproven asset in the NBA. Yes, he can score points, grab boards, and block shots, but he's never been in a position of leadership on the team. In his first year back in the NBA, the Heat often had to mentor him and preach to him that he needed to be reliable on the court as he was racking up technical and flagrant fouls. Now the veteran voices on the team of Udonis Haslem and Goran Dragic will be forced to help Whiteside become that leader moving forward because the Heat don't have another choice.

How realistic is that? That's the tough question for Miami. As they try to lure free agents moving forward, you're not just selling them on playing for Riley, Erik Spoelstra, and the Heat organization. You're selling them on forming a duo or trio or super-team or whatever with Whiteside already in the mix. If he's viewed as immature then that's a hard sell. If he's unable to rise to the pressure of performing up to the standards of his new deal or even outperforming his new money, will he handle the scrutiny a franchise player is likely to receive?

This isn't just a situation for Whiteside to deal with but it's also a situation for the Heat to massage as much as possible.

If Bosh comes off the books, they'll have $14 million at the deadline

Bosh's career with the Heat is now over, and his NBA career is in question. Unless something dramatically changes for Bosh and the Heat in the next month or so, we're likely going to see Bosh's contract come off the books for the Heat in February. The Collective Bargaining Agreement states that a situation like Bosh's will remove the salary cap commitment one year from his last game played for the Heat. That means the Heat go from being $9.7 million over the salary cap right now to having $14 million of cap room right before the NBA trade deadline in February.

There is one scenario where his salary could go back on Miami's cap. Here's more from Skolnick at Heat media day:

Riley said that, while he needed to honor his own team's medical advice, he wouldn't get in the way of Bosh finding a team that feels differently. That would, however, come with some flexibility risk to the Heat. Let's say the Heat get clearance to release Bosh in February, and then Bosh gets clearance to play from another NBA organization. Once he plays 25 games for another team, his salary goes back on the Heat's cap rather than being completely cleared.

Putting that scenario aside, if Bosh's money comes off the books, the Heat will have the ability to clear enough space to offer someone the max in the summer of 2017. They'd essentially have Whiteside, Dragic, Justise Winslow, Tyler Johnson, Josh McRoberts, Dion Waiters (if he exercises his player option for $3 million), Willie Reed (player option for just over $1 million), Josh Richardson, and maybe even Briante Weber under contract with their eyes on one of the top free agents. They've been trying to move McRoberts for over a year and his expiring $6 million contract that next season isn't a bad deal to take on. If they decide that 30-year old Dragic shouldn't be in the mix either, they could try to move him to another team to clear his $17 million off the books.

But at worst, it looks like they'll have big money to spend even if they don't make a big move. How much could this newfound cap space in February influence has Riley participates at the trade deadline. He's unlikely to bring in one of the big free agents at that time unless he's willing to move Winslow in the deal, but now they have room to absorb someone's contract.

With the cap jumping again by roughly $14 million in 2017, a lot of teams will be in position to not have to shed salary to be competitive in free agency. But Riley is in position to pounce on the right trade deadline deal without having to worry about the salaries he's receiving in return.

How quickly will the Heat look to use this money and who are potential targets?

Most likely, Riley uses this new cap space in the summer of 2017 or the summer of 2018. The Heat can maintain enough financial flexibility between now and then to be relatively competitive without ruining their plans of having the opportunity to sign a big free agent. Here are the top free agent possibilities in 2017:

  • Stephen Curry: Probably isn't leaving the Golden State Warriors.
  • Kevin Durant: Seems unlikely as well, but Riley did get a meeting with him this past summer.
  • Blake Griffin: Expected to opt out of his deal and cash in. Would he really leave friend DeAndre Jordan for Whiteside pairing?
  • Chris Paul: Also doesn't seem like he'd leave the Clippers and the Heat already have Dragic, so they'd have to move him first.
  • Gordon Hayward: First player on the list with a real chance of being taken from his incumbent team, but if the Jazz have a big year, how likely is he to leave Utah?
  • Kyle Lowry: Basically the same situation as CP3 but in a lower tier.
  • Paul Millsap: Great power forward option to replace Bosh but he'll already be 32 years old.
  • Nerlens Noel: Restricted free agent but it doesn't sound like he's long for the Phildelphia 76ers. If he gets moved, that makes it more difficult to poach him with big offer sheet.
  • Danilo Gallinari: He's had major knee issues in the past couple years but he'll be 29 years old and is a very valuable forward to have. Is that a big enough splash for Riley and the Heat?

There doesn't seem to be a whole lot of superstar power that is likely to move during that time unless you believe Griffin or Durant want a sudden change from what we expect them to do. That means if the Heat can't find that splash or lure a promising restricted free agent with an offer sheet their incumbent team decides not to match then we need to look ahead to 2018.

There isn't a ton of star power to choose from here, as well, but there are a couple of big names:

  • Russell Westbrook: He can opt out of $30 million for the 2018-19 season to cash in on an even higher and more long-term deal. Unless things fall apart quickly with Durant and the Warriors this coming season, Westbrook may be the biggest realistic star the Heat can try to lure in free agency. They've had success with getting the big names in the past, but there is also a stubbornness about Westbrook and a love for OKC that could lead to him staying there much longer than this current contract.
  • DeMarcus Cousins: Are we getting a Cousins-Whiteside reunion? Probably not. But if the Heat believe Cousins is the guy for their future, could they easily move Whiteside to a team that fails to grab Cousins or another big in the process? Seems very doable if Cousins wants to join up with Riley.
  • Derrick Favors: If the Jazz and Favors don't work out an extension/renegotiation along the same path as James Harden with the Houston Rockets and Westbrook with the Thunder, Favors could be a pretty promising name in 2018 free agency. Although going from teaming with Rudy Gobert to Whiteside in the middle would be pretty interesting considering the Gobert-Whiteside rivalry that is brewing.
  • Isaiah Thomas: Thomas has said he's looking to cash in when he hits free agency again in 2018, but would Dragic really have to deal with his employer signing the small, All-Star point guard for a second time in his career?
  • Andrew Wiggins, Jabari Parker, Joel Embiid, Dante Exum, Aaron Gordon: These are all restricted free agents then and unlikely to be let go by their current teams unless the Sixers stop believing in Embiid's future health. But are you going to go from Whiteside to Embiid's uncertain future if that's the case?

There are only a couple of options for Riley where he can swing for the fences, but you know he's going to try to get in the room with them and pitch that South Beach is the best place for their brand, production, and ring chasing.

What are the Miami's assets moving forward?

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You're looking at two of three biggest assets for Miami -- Justise Winslow and Tyler Johnson. USATSI

Young guys like Justise Winslow, Josh Richardson, and Tyler Johnson are all valuable young assets they can continue to develop or move in a deal. With Johnson, he's a bit tougher to deal because of the poison pill nature of his contract the Brooklyn Nets signed him to and Riley decided to match. His deal is roughly $5.5-5.8 million each season for the next two years and then balloons to $18-19 million over the final two years of the contract. That means the Heat have less time to use the money mentioned above before Johnson's deal really starts eating up the cap.

With Winslow, he's one of the few draft picks Riley seems to value. He fell into the Heat's lap at No. 10 in 2015 and he's already proven to be a valuable young defender with a chance at being a good offensive player. Richardson was a second-round steal for them in the same draft where they snagged Winslow who projects as a top flight defender in the backcourt and is already showing huge improvements in shooting the ball. The main issue is he's currently getting over a knee injury that could keep him out of action early in the season. If that knee issue looks to be recurring in the future, you'd feel a bit uneasy about his health moving forward.

That's really it for their young assets on the roster though. The Heat owe the Phoenix Suns a first-round pick for the Dragic trade in 2018. It's top 7 protected in 2018, then goes unprotected in 2019. They also owe a 2021 first-round pick to the Suns from that trade, as well. That could hold up Riley trading future first-round picks in any move acquiring a veteran player.

If Riley is hoping to acquire a big name player in a trade either at this deadline or in the future, he may need to part with one of the young players and hope it doesn't come back to bite them.