There will be pieces added along the way because Pat Riley and right-hand man Andy Elisburg, like the NBA itself, never sleep.
But the Miami Heat roster already has reached its breaking point in terms of being overstocked when it comes to the regular-season limit of 15 players. At the moment, they're at 17 and counting (you can carry as many as 20 during the offseason).
Amid the uncertainty with Chris Bosh and the blood clots that have sidelined him at midseason the past two years, the very foundation of potential 2016-17 success requires further inspection.
Because the 2017 NBA draft lottery is supposed to be very, very good.
And the Heat roster at the moment is not nearly as good as what was in place at season's end.
If the recent flurry of acquisitions was supposed to stabilize, it instead added to the increasing skepticism. For $15 million in 2016-17 payroll, the Heat added Wayne Ellington, Derrick Williams, James Johnson and Luke Babbitt. If there is a starter in that group, it could say all that needs to be said.
Ordinarily, you wait until the end of the summer to recalibrate where a roster stands. But this is no ordinary offseason for the Heat, not when Dwyane Wade, Luol Deng and Joe Johnson, three-fifths of the playoff starting lineup, depart for less in total salary ($141 million) than what is given to Hassan Whiteside and Tyler Johnson ($148 million), a pair of players who spent considerable time playing off the Heat bench last season.
For now, as we contemplate the position-by-position breakdown, consider this a summer of skepticism, amid questions about the Heat headed toward the fall.
