Malik Beasley is available after no longer being the target of a federal gambling investigation. The Miami Heat are well positioned to sign him but will not because of financial constraints tied to Terry Rozier's contract and the team's commitment to avoid the luxury tax. Beasley would be somewhat redundant with Tyler Herro and Norman Powell on the roster but would provide elite spacing for smaller lineups under Erik Spoelstra. Miami can top Detroit's $7.2 million offer using non-Bird rights, but signing Beasley would push the team roughly $5.5 million over the luxury-tax threshold.
Now, Beasley can be considered somewhat redundant with both Tyler Herro and Norman Powell already on the roster. But the Heat have struggled to reliably stretch defenses in the half-court for years. With head coach Erik Spoelstra clearly planning to favor smaller lineups, adding Beasley's high-volume flame-throwing could take Miami's offense to a whole new level, immediately giving it three of the Association's most lethal shooters.
The Heat have already made it clear they won't pay the luxury tax. That's why they made the baffling decision to send Haywood Highsmith and a 2032 second-round pick to the Brooklyn Nets. It allowed them to sign Dru Smith, and remain beneath the tax line. Offering Beasley the $7.3 million they can spend would vault them right back into the tax. They are just inside $2 million of the threshold, so they'd be around $5.5 million over the line when all's said and done.
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