MIAMI _ It's not exactly a yard sale, and the timing, as with all things NBA at the moment, remains in flux.
But when it comes to teams shopping for free-agent small forwards this offseason, the Miami Heat will be offering the widest selection.
The question for Pat Riley, therefore, is how much is considered surplus and how much essential.
As a matter of perspective, Yahoo Sports this past week offered an analysis of the upcoming free-agent class at small forward, an analysis with a decided Heat bent.
The overall listing had three Heat players ranked among the top 12 free-agent options at the position. But taking the list a step further, it had the Heat with three of the top seven options when eliminating those who are restricted free agents or hold player options.
For example, although Brandon Ingram (restricted, with the New Orleans Pelicans having the right to match outside offers) and Gordon Hayward (a $34.2 million player option with the Boston Celtics) top the list, the Heat's Derrick Jones Jr. is the highest-rated unrestricted free agent on the list. Moving past Otto Porter (who has a $28.5 million player option with the Chicago Bulls), the Heat's Jae Crowder then falls fifth on the overall list, but second only to Jones among the unrestricted free agents. In addition, the Heat's Solomon Hill stands seventh among the unrestricted free agents on the list.
So, could the Heat afford to lose Jones, Crowder and Hill?
If the ultimate goal is to maximize 2021salary-cap space (an ever-changing dynamic amid the league's uncertain financial future), that could be the case, with the Heat possibly (probably?) to limit offers this offseason to a single season.
That's the financial side.
Then there is the basketball side.
The Heat certainly could make it work with what is in place and then back-filling at other spots.
With Jimmy Butler anchoring the roster as the starting small, a case could be made that Duncan Robinson gives the Heat 1-2 depth at that spot, with Andre Iguodala also in that mix, at $15 million next season. Such logic would then still leave options elsewhere on the wing, with Tyler Herro, Kendrick Nunn and, if re-signed, Goran Dragic.
Of course, in Erik Spoelstra's position-less society, Butler and Robinson have started together, with Jones and Crowder receiving minutes at power forward in smaller-ball lineups.
However, with Kelly Olynyk likely to opt in to the $13.2 million on his contract next season, and with Meyers Leonard, an impending free agent, effusive in his respect for the organization, it certainly is possible that the big lineup, the one that thrived with the Bam Adebayo-Leonard pairing at the start of the season, makes a return, thereby lessening the need for small forwards cast as power forwards.
So, yes, the Heat certainly could survive without Jones, Crowder and Hill, particularly if 2019 second-round pick KZ Okpala develops.
A tell of the Heat's approach with the trio could come in the draft, where the Heat currently stand at No. 23.
Or the Heat could come to view Jones, who turned 23 in February, as their draft pick, considering he is just a year older than leading draft prospects such as Obi Toppin, Nick Richards and Payton Pritchard.
In a typical season, such decisions for the Heat would have to come by July 1. Now, with free agency likely to be put off amid the shutdown due to the new coronavirus pandemic, there will be additional time to formulate the future. There also could be a read on which of the impending free-agent forwards provides the greatest payoff in a playoff setting.
When it comes to free agency, the Heat have plenty to offer in Jones, Crowder and Hill. The corresponding issue is how much they value what already is otherwise in place.
