Is Butler to Miami possible? Latest MHB with Albert Nahmad

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Is there a way the Heat can somehow sway Jimmy Butler to Miami even though it’s currently drowning with no cap room? Special guest and NBA Salary Cap enthusiast Albert Nahmad (@AlbertNahmad) joined the show to discuss exactly how a Butler-to-Miami move would work. 

Signing Butler straight up? No.

Jimmy Butler has a $19.8 million option to opt-in. He won’t be opting in. Butler would leave almost $13 million on the table being eligible to sign for $32.7 million in the open market. Because of this, a deal for Butler would most likely require a sign-and-trade if he decides to leave Philadelphia for the beaches of Miami. The Heat enter the summer approximately $35 million over the cap, owing 14 players a combined $144 million. Therefore, Nahmad concluded that it isn’t realistic for Miami to sign Butler straight-up, needing to clear more than $60 million in cap space to free up a max slot. 

A sign-and-trade scenario? Possibly.

The sign-and-trade is trickier than fans make it out to seem. First off, Butler needs to choose Miami over the 76ers. Butler is eligible to sign a five-year, $190 million deal with Philadelphia, while the most Miami can offer is a four-year, $141 million deal. Secondly, the 76ers would need to agree to whatever sign-and-trade package Miami would offer, which would call for the 76ers to sacrifice roughly $35 million in cap in exchange for whichever Heat players are dealt. 

Additionally, Miami must trade-match with Philadelphia because the Heat are over the cap. Therefore, they must send back at least $26 million of salaries in the sign-and-trade deal, along with complying with the hard cap at $138.3 million in the near future. 

Assuming Miami waives Ryan Anderson to save approximately $6 million, the Heat are still projected $3 million over the hard cap. In order to make the sign-and-trade for Butler, Miami would need to shed even more salary. How could Miami find a plausible path to doing this? Here’s Nahmad’s step-by-step breakdown. 

Reducing the Hard Cap for Butler (two-team scenario)

Miami’s hard cap currently sits at $146.3 million (Heat’s salaries, accounting for all bonuses that players are eligible for).

Step 1: Waive Ryan Anderson and add a replacement to maintain a 14 man roster

Step 2: Stretch Anderson’s $15.6 million to $5.2 million over three years. Hard cap becomes $131.1 million

Step 3: The sign-and-trade proposal of Josh Richardson ($10.1 million) and Kelly Olynyk ($13.1 million) would send the pair to Philadelphia and would save Miami of their combined $22.8 million. The Heat’s roster would drop to 12 players, requiring the Heat to add another player to fill its squad at 13. Assuming the one additional player is a minimum salary, Miami’s hard cap drops to $109.6 million, excluding Butler. 

Step 4: Offer Jimmy Butler $28.7 million, fulfilling all hard cap and trade matching requirements and leaving the hard cap at its apron of $138.3 million. In this scenario, Butler would need to agree to a $4 million discount of the eligible $32.7 million max. If the Heat are unable to persuade him and must offer him the max, Miami would need to shed even more salary in another way (e.g. three-team trade).

Is Butler even worth the max?

As the salary cap talk of getting Butler to Miami diminished, the debate of whether or not the Heat should go after him in the first place ensued. Butler’s age and heavy usage are strong factors to worry about if he can play to the standards of a max salary player. Nahmad suggests he would overplay his contract in the early years and underplay his contract in the latter years. Will this play from Butler in the next two-three years elevate the Heat’s young core and make Miami a contender? That’s the $32.7 million question Pat Riley and the Heat will need to answer. 

Nahmad also broke into J.R. Smith’s sought-after $15.6 million contract and how the loophole from the previous CBA would allow the Heat to save roughly $12 million. The Heat would trade-match Smith with someone on Miami who makes around that same salary (e.g. James Johnson) and subsequently waive Smith to only pay his $3.9 million guarantee. In doing this, Miami avoids paying Johnson’s $15 million and pays Smith’s smaller guarantee instead. This deal is very unlikely, however, because Cleveland would go over the luxury cap as a result of taking in more salary. 

What would Albert Nahmad do as GM of the Heat?

Build for the future; and more specifically, 2021. 

Because Miami is $9 million over the luxury tax, this season is relatively gone in a cap space perspective. The Heat then must decide whether they want to be a 2020 cap space team, where it would look at roughly $36 million in cap space, or a 2021 cap space team, where Miami could potentially have over $100 million in cap space. Nahmad thinks that summer of 2021 could give the Heat the flexibility to entertain the likes of Damian Lillard, Bradley Beal, Victor Oladipo, Giannis Antetokounmpo and others with its triple-digit cap space. Additionally, the Heat could use its 2020 cap space of $36 million to improve its options in 2021 by taking in bad contracts in exchange for assets or taking in players on short-term deals that would help the team now. 

To listen to this week’s episode where we dove into further topics such as what exactly happened to the Heat in the summer of 2017 and if there was a way Miami could’ve avoided letting go of Dwyane Wade in 2016, check out the link below. 

https://miamiheatbeat.podbean.com/e/212-cap-gymnastics-jimmy-butler-sign-and-trade-w-albert-nahmad-heathoopscom/

Sidenote: When Dwyane Wade took a discount at $14.2 million in 2010 to allow the Heat to sign LeBron James and Chris Bosh for $14.5 million, he didn’t need to take less. Miami never used up all their cap space that year.

Roberto Luongo

Roberto Luongo – Swan Song for the Strombone

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In typical fashion,  Florida Panthers longtime goaltender Roberto Luongo announced his retirement Wednesday.

 

Ok, he actually used a slightly more serious platform to mark the occasion.

In an honest and open letter to Florida Panthers and NHL fans, Luongo voiced his decision with great sincerity.

Reactions around hockey and in the world of sports have been pouring in.

 

Luongo exits the NHL after an illustrious 19-year career, leaving an impressive if complex legacy.

He came into the league as a 20-year old rookie for the New York Islanders, who did not feel he was the one.

Instead, Luongo was quickly traded to Florida after New York drafted Rick Dipietro first overall the following year. That deal also brought over franchise great Oli Jokinen.

In 2004 during his fourth season with the Panthers he began his ascension towards greatness, earning a second team All-Star nod and finishing third in the Vezina Trophy race.

As quickly as the tide was rising on Luongo’s career, the winds of change would soon alter the course of not one, but two franchises.

After the 2005-06 season, Luongo would be traded to the Vancouver Canucks, starting a new chapter and earning a place in another team’s record books.

Potential met in Vancouver

Luongo would not disappoint in his debut season for the Canucks, posting a 47-22-6 record with a stellar .921 and 2.28 GAA respectively.

He would earn another second team All-Star selection and finish second in both the Hart and Veniza trophy races. His 252 wins and 38 shutouts are Canucks records, and he ranks second in games played (448), GAA (2.36), and SV % (.919).

Vancouver was a consistent playoff team with Lu in net, making the Stanley Cup Finals in the 2010-11 season. The Canucks would lose a heartbreaking series to the Boston Bruins, after leading 3-2 in the series. This series defined the legacy of Lu, from two shutouts wins to a three-goal meltdown and benching in Boston which changed the series.

From Sunrise to Sunset

Luongo was traded back to the Panthers in March, 2014 to finish rewriting the record books in Florida. Another excellent run would ensue but the team could not quite get over the hump.

Injuries as they usually do began to take their toll, after being durable most of his career the last three years were tough for Luongo.

He would undergo hip surgery after only starting 39 games in the 2016-17 season, and would split time more in those final seasons with the emerging James Reimer. He is the Cats leader in career wins (230) and shutouts (38), like in that other place.

Unlike with the Canucks however, he enjoyed much less postseason success in his second stint. Luongo has also endured more defeats (241) than any other goalie in Panthers’ history.

Building a supporting cast around the franchise goalie was never successful, and Lu paid the price behind a subpar blue line for years.

Now a 19-year career split almost evenly between two franchises ends.

Where he ranks in the pantheon of both organizations is an interesting question.

It is no doubt high.

But is it the height of rafters?

He may have played to his own beat, but the Strombone sure composed a masterpiece.

At least now he will have more time for elite Twitter activity.

 

The Cinco Razones Marlins All Star representative

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The Marlins still don’t know who will represent the team in the MLB All Star Game next week in Cleveland.

Caleb Smith looked like an ace for the first couple of months, and then fell off the table, and got injured, which opened the door to other members of the roster.

Cinco Razones Podcast in English made its debut on Thursday at Marlins Park with Tony Capobianco, and DutchBeek (stuck somewhere thanks to the Miami traffic).

One of the main subjects was who we think should be the Marlin that travels to Progressive Field.

These are our options:

Miguel Rojas

The Marlins shortstop is finally getting the opportunity to play every day and his work is showing up. Before Thursday’s night’s game, Rojas was hitting .276 / .342 OBP leading the team with 16 doubles, along with Brian Anderson, and among the best defenders in the National League.

Miguel Rojas: “Tenemos que jugar mejor en Marlins Park”

Harold Ramírez

Harold Ramírez arrived and started hitting as soon as he got the opportunity to play. The Colombian has been one of the good news this year for the Marlins.

He is hitting .315 (up to Thursday’s game), with a .351 on-base percentage, eight doubles, two homers and 17 runs batted in. With way more than 100 at bats less than most of the regular players in the Marlins roster, Ramírez has done as much or more than his teammates.

His two homeruns don’t impress anybody, especially among outfielders, but could make an interesting case as the best Marlin hitter so far.

Garrett Cooper

The Marlins stuck with Garrett Cooper despite his injuries and is paying off. Cooper is battling Ramírez for the best average of the team and has added some power to the lineup, with seven homeruns in about the same amount of at bats as Ramírez, and has the best on-base percentage of the team.

As Ramírez, his numbers don’t impress being an outfielder, and they impress even less if you put it among first basemen, but could definitively be a fair choice for the team in the All Star Game.

Sandy Alcántara

Sandy Alcántara has stayed healthy and seems like he is finally establishing himself as one of the core members of the future rotation for this team.

The Dominican has the second best ERA among starters this year (minimum 15 starts), with 3.51, just behind Smith’s 3.41, in 89.2 innings pitched, Marlins’ best.

 

Check out our first episode of Cinco Razones Podcast in English, in which we decided to pick out the Marlins representative for the MLB All Star Game 2019 in Cleveland and talked about the possibility of losing the Marlins in Miami if the fans don’t start to show up in the next few years:

Miguel Rojas: “Tenemos que jugar mejor en Marlins Park”

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Miguel Rojas está muy contento por estar recibiendo la oportunidad que siempre soñó: ser el campocorto titular de un equipo de Grandes Ligas.

Este año, con los Marlins, el venezolano finalmente está cumpliendo su sueño por completo, al ser el titular indiscutible de la posición en una temporada de reconstrucción.

De hecho, Rojas se ha convertido en uno de los mejores campocortos de las Grandes Ligas. Antes, su gran defensiva pasaba por debajo de la mesa, pues se le veía en todas las posiciones del cuadro, gracias a su versatilidad.

Además, Rojas ha destacado en el plato este año. A pesar de no tener cuadrangulares, el campocorto de los Marlins es uno de los peloteros mas sobresalientes de la alineación, y se ha ganado a punta de batazos y buenos turnos el ser el primer bate del equipo.

Este año, Rojas promedia .276, con un promedio de embasado de .342, y 16 dobles, ya igualando el tope personal en su carrera, y va rumbo a su temporada mas sólida con el bate, si logra mantener el ritmo en lo que queda de campaña.

Su defensa siempre ha sido su mejor carta de presentación, y este año está metido entre los campocortos élite.

Miguel Rojas y su posible primer All Star

El campocorto de los Marlins podría ser el representante de Miami en el Juego de las Estrellas que se va a llevar a cabo en Cleveland.

Hace un mes, parecía claro que sería Caleb Smith el representante del equipo, pero con su lesión se ha abierto la posibilidad para peloteros como Rojas, Harold Ramírez, Garrett Cooper o el propio Sandy Alcántara.

¿Será Rojas el escogido?

Vea lo que dijo Don Mattingly sobre él esta misma semana.

Te invitamos a que escuches el EP 42 de Cinco Razones Podcast, en inglés, junto a Tony Capobianco y Michael Sonbeek (DutchBeek, el Pico Holandés), desde el propio Marlins Park

Zac Gallen gets first career hit in Marlins loss

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Rookie pitcher Zac Gallen made his Marlins Park debut on Wednesday and threw five innings, allowing three runs on four hits and two walks with eight strikeouts in a 7-5 loss to the Washington Nationals.

“I kind of settled in after the second inning,” Gallen said. “I would have liked to have gotten through six with less pitches, but other than that, I think I did OK.”

Gallen started his outing with a strikeout but ended up with two runners on base before Matt Adams lined out to second base to end the inning. He knocked in his first career hit in the third inning and scored on a RBI single by Harold Ramirez.

Gallen cruised all the way to the sixth inning until three straight hits ended his night. Wei-Yin Chen came in relief and a three-run home run by Adams broke open the game for Washington.

“I think ultimately when you get through the lineup a third time, guys have seen enough pitches and they don’t want to get to two strikes or deep into counts,” Gallen said. “They just ambushed a few pitches.”

Marlins manager Don Mattingly believed Gallen deserved to make through the sixth inning after throwing 76 pitches through the first five. However his hand was forced after the Nationals jumped on Gallen.

“Overall, you have to make a call with a young guy like that,” Mattingly said. “Do you let him go five innings and get him out of there and leave it positive, or do you let him keep growing? Obviously, it didn’t go good today but I’m sure he’s going to learn from it.”

One other interesting tidbit about Gallen is that he wears glasses on the mound but takes them off while at the plate. He has a good reason for that.

“The glasses are only because, at nighttime, I can’t see the signs,” Gallen said. “My astigmatism and the shadows. … I probably could use them for hitting, but I don’t wear them every day. It throws me off even more.”

Caleb Smith is one rehab start away from returning from his month long stay from the injured list. One of the trio of young starters (Gallen, Jordan Yamamoto and Elieser Hernandez) will have to return to Triple-A New Orleans in order to make room. What might be the best direction to go is to move Hernandez to the bullpen as a way to fortify an area of need.

Javy Guerra returns to Miami

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An old friend returned to the mound on Wednesday to pitch against his former teammates in during the Washington National’s 7-5 win over the Miami Marlins.

Javy Guerra was a member of the Marlins bullpen during the previous two seasons before bouncing between Toronto and Washington. He entered the game with a 2.08 ERA and 13 strikeouts in 12 appearances as a National.

He was tasked with closing out the ninth inning and protecting Washington’s 7-1 lead. He walked Harold Ramirez to lead off the inning and Garrett Cooper reached on an infield single to shortstop after the throw to second base was misplayed.

Guerra got the next two outs by striking out Brian Anderson looking with a 95 mph four-seam fastball and retiring Starlin Castro on a fly out.

Neil Walker came into the game to pinch hit for pitcher Austin Brice. He walked to load the bases for catcher Bryan Holaday, who hit a two-run single to chase Guerra.

Closer Sean Doolittle came in for Guerra to face Curtis Granderson with two runners on base. The Grandyman hit a two-run triple all the way to the right field wall to score Walker and Holaday but JT Riddle stuck out immediately afterwards to end the rally.

Last year with the Marlins was Guerra’s longest season in the big leagues since 2014 with the Chicago White Sox. He appeared in 32 games as one of the elder statesman of the bullpen and posted a 5.55 ERA with 30 strikeouts in 35.2 innings. In 2017, he posted a 3.00 ERA with 12 strikeouts in 20 innings.

Guerra started the season in the Blue Jays bullpen, posting a 3.86 ERA with 15  strikeouts in 14 innings over 11 appearances. He was claimed off waivers by the Nationals on May 20 after the Blue Jays designated him for assignment on May 19.

Guerra began his career as the closer for the Los Angeles in 2011, converting 21 of 23 save opportunities.

Adam Conley shakes off the funk with seven strikeouts

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There was only one bright spot for the Miami Marlins during their 6-1 loss to the Washington Nationals on Tuesday, which snapped their four-game winning streak. The bright spot was embattled reliever Adam Conley.

Conley entered the game in the sixth inning tasked with preventing the deficit from being any more disastrous. He threw three shutout innings with only one hit allowed and seven strikeouts.

The left-hander started the season as one of the high leverage options in the bullpen but has struggled this year. He has entered the game with a 1-7 record and 8.00 ERA but after those three innings, he has 30 strikeouts in 30 innings this season.

Conley said in an interview during spring training that his primary focus is to throw the perfect pitch. With a bevy of breaking balls and a fastball that topped out at 97.4 mph, 11 of the 37 pitches he threw were swinging strikes.

Conley’s role has changed in recent weeks after he fell off the top of the bullpen. He entered the season as the primary left-handed option in high-leverage situations and split the setup role with Drew Steckenrider, who was the primary right-handed option before his season ending injury.

Marlins manager Don Mattingly said during the previous homestand that he “has been out of sync” and by adding length to his role would allow him to use more pitches. Conley started his career as a starting pitcher but was moved to the bullpen in 2018 after a 6.14 ERA in 2017. Relievers typically shrink their pitching arsenal in an effort to be more efficient in a single inning sample size. The three inning performance was his highest since being moved to the bullpen.

“Hopefully that is something that is a positive for him and is something that gets him on the right track and in the right direction for us,” Mattingly said. “Most of the stuff with Adam has been balls in bad spots and really not getting the ball where he needs to in the strike zone. We see 97 and 98 [mph] at times. But guys hit that if he’s just throwing in the zone.”

After that performance, it would not be surprising if Conley wasn’t available for the rest of the series.

Marlins returned to home-cooked beef, Scherzer-served 10K burger

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The Miami Marlins returned home riding a four game winning streak and a 5-2 road trip but immediately ran into the buzzsaw that is Washington Nationals ace Max Scherzer.

Scherzer notched his 89th career 10+ strikeout game on Tuesday, leading the Nationals’ 6-1 win over the Marlins. It was also his third consecutive 10-strikeout game and in his last seven starts, Scherzer (7-5) is 5-0 with a 0.92 ERA. Not even a black eye and broken nose can stop him.

“You’ve got to come down here and you might not have many fans in the stands, there’s no atmosphere here, but you’ve got to mentally bring it every single time,” Scherzer said.

“They know how to play in this atmosphere and that’s what they’re really good at, catching you and grinding you away. It’s happened to me coming down here. I was fully aware of that and I wanted to come out there and really put an `A’ game against them,” he said.

This is the first home game since radio broadcaster Glenn Geffner went full William Wallace on Twitter after the Marlins’ series sweep in Philadelphia. The announced crowd of 7,327 was actually the second highest attendance mark on a Tuesday home game in Miami. So there’s progress.

This game wasn’t without it’s episode of drama. The only Marlins hitter with any success against Scherzer was shortstop and leadoff hitter Miguel Rojas had a little beef brewing during the game. He got the first hit of the game in the first inning and in the third inning, he got hit in the thigh by a pitch (which also hit catcher Kurt Suzuki) after hitting a ball back to Scherzer that was thrown during a timeout.

“I didn’t think it was professional to do a quick pitch that way,” Rojas said. “I was still looking down. I wasn’t in the box. He was trying to get a cheap strikeout because I wasn’t ready to hit.”

Rojas was ejected along with manager Don Mattingly by home-plate umpire Mike Estabrook in the eighth inning after disputing a called third strike pitch, Scherzer’s 10th strikeout. He sprinted out of the dugout and onto the field toward Estabrook, with Mattingly beside him trying to contain the fury.

“I wasn’t happy with that call, strike three right there,” Rojas said. “I feel like sometimes they make calls because sometimes the game is a little [lopsided] right there. You don’t know if you can come back. I thought it was inside. I had a lot of feelings during the game.”

Mattingly defended Rojas and said that the frustration was over the strike zone established by the umpire. He noted that there is possibly a bias that favors the long established veteran like Scherzer and gives him more room to work with, while tightening the zone for younger pitchers like Trevor Richards and rookie Zac Gallen.

“For us, you’ve seen it a little bit in St. Louis, when you get Wainwright and somebody out there,” Mattingly said. “It seems like every pitch they throw close is a strike, and then we’ve got Gallen going and everything has to be over the plate 100 percent, and we’re not getting it. Miggy, basically, is right. He’s basically saying, ‘Hey, we’re still playing. We still have a game going.’ Max is plenty good enough, he doesn’t need help.”

Speaking of Gallen, he will make his second career start on Wednesday against Patrick Corbin.

Qué esperar en la segunda fase de la Copa América

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La Copa América Brasil 2019 nos ha dejado pocas sorpresas tras la fase de grupos que culminó la noche de este lunes con la clasificación de Uruguay, Chile y Paraguay.

Durante la primera ronda vimos a varias superpotencias del mundo del fútbol sufrir con equipos inferiores, con Brasil empatando con Venezuela, Argentina perdiendo con Colombia y sufriendo para ganarle a Catar y Uruguay empatando con una Japón mixta entre sub-23 y algunos veteranos.

De hecho, el VAR ayudó en un par de estos encuentros para evitar que los favoritos se fuesen con la derrota.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afmEJtTC4qM

Las principales favoritas del torneo siguen en pie, con Colombia como la mas dominante de la primera fase, ganando sus primeros tres encuentros.

Uruguay, Argentina y Chile se asoman como los que junto a los neogranadinos, podrían amenazar de arruinarle la fiesta a Brasil.

Sin embargo, Venezuela, Perú y hasta la propia Paraguay, que clasificó de carambola gracias al empate entre Japón y Ecuador, buscarán darle una zancadilla a los grandes en cada uno de estos cruces.

Cruces recientes en Copa América

Estos emparejamientos tienen antecedentes recientes, tanto en la copa, como fuera de ella, como es normal, pues estos países se enfrentan constantemente en este torneo y en las eliminatorias camino a los mundiales.

Sin embargo, hay ciertos cruces que llegan con un panorama diferente a lo que es costumbre.

Brasil – Paraguay

Brasil es el amplio favorito en esta copa que se organiza en su país. Sin embargo, le tocó como rival en cuartos de final una selección que ha sido su bestia negra en esta misma competición en 2011 y 2015:

Venezuela -Argentina

La Vinotinto ha disputado sus tres encuentros con mucha seriedad y un trabajo táctico remarcable, que gracias al VAR, se vio beneficiado con puntos. Tiene ahora la oportunidad única de eliminar a una selección histórica, en medio de una reconstrucción que los tiene tambaleando en esta competición.

El último enfrentamiento entre ambos, fue hace pocos meses, en Madrid:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uCy1-w8xcE

Hace tres años, la albiceleste eliminó a Venezuela en cuartos de final en la Copa América Centenario en un encuentro de trámite disputado, pero que terminó en goleada.

Chile – Colombia

La bicampeona Chile se va a ver las caras con la mejor selección de la primera fase. Colombia quiere vengarse de la eliminación de hace tres años en la Copa América Centenario:

Uruguay – Perú

En el camino a su último campeonato de Copa América en 2011, la celeste superó a Perú en las semifinales. Perú llega de ser goleado por Brasil y sin su estrella Jefferson Farfán, pero buscará hacerle frente a un Uruguay que llega como amplio favorito al cruce.

 

Disfruten del episodio 41 de Cinco Razones Podcast con Ricardo Montes de Oca, Leandro Soto y Alejandro Villegas con sus predicciones de esta ronda, quiénes jugarán la final y qué selección será campeona:

The Jimmy Butler chatter is back (Thank God!)

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Something to liven up your slow sports time.

Nothing gets Miami Heat fans more excited — other than an Udonis Haslem angry Instagram post — than a good transaction rumor.

Especially one that involves Jimmy Butler.

You remember October and November? It was Butler all the time, and we played into that — after all, I was the one who kept reporting strong mutual interest when the big national guys were writing and re-writing Butler’s lists.

Anyway, it’s back. And it fits the whole narrative of some star needing to force his way here, which Pat Riley alluded to during his press conference right after the season.

We covered it on today’s podcast.

You can hear it here:

 

Of course, the issue now is making it happen.

Because there’s three elephants in the room, named Waiters, Whiteside and Johnson that crowd out a lot of options.

But you can bet we’ll be here to cover it and overcover it until Jimmy puts on his Clippers jersey.

And maybe not stop then.