As the Heat and Oklahoma City continue discussions on a Russell Westbrook trade, one issue that both sides need to navigate is competing financial interests.
The Thunder ideally would like to take back salaries slightly less than the $38.2 million that Westbrook will earn this coming season because OKC doesn’t want to increase its luxury tax payments. That’s a big deal for OKC, which is $2.25 million above the $132.6 million tax threshold and is subject to the punitive repeater tax if it stays over that threshold.
But because the Heat is hard capped at $138.9 million after the Jimmy Butler trade and won’t have space to sign any more players after eventually signing Tyler Herro, Miami cannot send out less money than it absorbs in a Westbrook trade. And the Heat needs to send out players earning at least a couple million dollars more than Westbrook’s $38.2 million if it’s a 3-for-1 trade.
Here’s why: Because the Heat likely will need to send OKC three players for Westbrook, Miami would be left with 12 players under contract if it’s a 3-for-1, instead of the 14 that will be under contract with the current roster after Herro signs.
Teams must have at least 13 players under contract by the first game of the regular season, meaning Miami would somehow need to find a way to trim additional salary to add a very cheap 13th player by mid-October. It would be OK, within league rules, for the Heat to have fewer than 13 players under contract before then.
