Could there be multiple Miami Heat answers this offseason?

Q: Hi, why no mention of Nikola Vucevic? He can also do what Brook Lopez can in terms of size and stretching the floor. And why wouldn’t Miami have enough FA currency by letting Max Strus and Gabe Vincent go? – Marc, Arlington, Texas.

A: Because the Heat are operating above the salary cap, well above the salary cap, parting with Max Strus and Gabe Vincent would not open any salary-cap space, since the Heat still would stand well beyond that threshold, when counting the contracts of Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, Kyle Lowry, Tyler Herro and Duncan Robinson (all of those, at least for now). The Heat would have to unload some of those deals for little to nothing in return to even consider being able to get into the cap-space race, and even that might not be enough. So if a player is a free agent, outside of a sign-and-trade, which new rules also limit, any such acquisition would be difficult. As for your suggestion, my point about Brook Lopez was that he not only could space the offense, but also provide quality defense against opposing big men. I’m not sure that “quality defense” is a phrase often associated with Nikola Vucevic, even with all of his Heat killing over the years.